Maundy Thursday 17th April – A New Communion – Pastor Adrian Kitson

A New Commandment, Matthew 26:26-30, maundy thursday, pastor adrian kitson

Matthew 26: 26-30

²⁶While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’

²⁷Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸This is my blood of the^[^a^] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.’

³⁰When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

There is so much effort going into finding some kind of community spirit and connection at the moment.

Gather Round – a Celebration of Football. Come together and experience the power of connection and celebration.
85 events of the Vintage Festival – everything from Town days to Markets, to concerts, to our own big display right here, to food and wine events and of course, the grape stomping and parade. Community, communion, enjoying life….

We will spend millions on trying to find connection and community and communion. We humans seem to need communion!

And here we are, at “Gather Easter: A celebration of Jesus of Nazareth”.

Bigger than football. More beautiful than a Barossa Shiraz. Longer lasting and more world-shaping than many millions of dollars. At least, we who look at him with faith believe this. Many don’t, we know. But some do and that is us tonight.

The thing that makes this community gathering different, special, lasting, global, timeless and true is not us. Not our wine. Not our food. Not our footy. Not our skills and beauty and work.

The thing that makes this gathering is him. His blood in wine, body in bread, light in darkness, skill in teaching, prowess in forgiving and healing – this event where an ancient family and national meal is transformed not by better food, better wine, better waiters, better surroundings, but the best human, best God, best human ever who is not that because he dominates the field but because he shockingly serves the field.

It is Jesus’ serving that makes this meal a new communion the world had never seen or could ever imagine – the God of the universe bending down to washing smelly feet on the way to going even further – going to wounds and vice and shame and death.

This is a communion between a holy God and broken incomplete people who could not cook this up to save themselves.

He takes that embarrassing place of servant washing smelly feet. He speaks those words over that everyday wine and bread in this ancient meal and thereby forever makes it a meal of holy communion between God and everyone.

This is gathering is a promise. This is a covenant – a new relationship. A new way. A new creation, a new community, he says.

This gathering is a marriage feast. A vow is taken. Not by us but by him with us and for us. The groom makes a lasting promise that only he can keep for us:

This is my body, my blood forever given FOR YOU for the FORGIVENESS of you.

This is open access to the forgiveness and healing of God for anyone who has dirty feet, broken heart, grieving soul, cowardly disposition, shameful countenance and merely a mustard seed sized portion of faith in his words here tonight.

I don’t know if you still long for a communion with others. I don’t know if you long for a holy communion with your Creator, your church, your Saviour.

But it is here because he is here, and he makes this a forever new communion available to us all.

Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, hosts us and he is the one upon which we feed. ‘Him the victim, him the priest’, as the old hymn puts it.

What other faith proclaims a God who would do all of this, serve humanity like this, love broken people like this and promise to do it all for us any moment we call on him in faith?

What other God would not want us as his slaves – having to perform our way through life in the hope we get some lasting reward, but who only wants us sons and daughters, no less – fully functioning children of God sharing a holy communion with him all our lives with the great reward of resurrection to life in his new creation, new garden, new city when our life in time is complete?

There is no other religion, faith, God who does this because there is no other God besides this serving washing eating drinking sharing dying and rising God.

He has us. We have him.

Gather Easter: This is a celebration of Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified and risen God of whom we are a part.