All That He Had

Text: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Theme: “All That He Had”

Maundy Thursday

April 21, 2011

First Presbyterian Church

Denton, Texas

Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

In the Name of Jesus

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

His name was Oscar Bredthauer. That’s a good, solid, substantive German name! He lived in Nebraska – Grand Island, Nebraska, to be exact. He farmed and fed cattle during his productive years. He was president of the National Livestock Feeders Association, a city councilman for thirteen years, and then Mayor of Grand Island. He served as president of the National Meat Board, the Fonner Park Race Track, and Memorial Hospital Board. He was president of the Trinity Lutheran Church congregation, a member of the church’s board of elders, and served on the education and building committees as well. He was my mother’s brother’s wife’s father. He died on Christmas Eve of 1993 of an apparent heart attack.

Given what Oscar Bredthauer did during his earthly sojourn, it becomes pretty clear that Texas isn’t the only state in the union that raises good cowboys! One thing, however, Oscar Bredthauer did not do during the days of his life. He did not prepare a last will and testament before he died. To use the legal term, he died intestate. As a result, a portion of his estate – that he could have earmarked for his children, children’s children, or posterity – went undesignated. In death, he lost the right of say so.

In my previous place of employment in the church, Sunday bulletins would often carry a question at the bottom of the page: “Have you remembered the church in your will?” Some might call that “soft” fund-raising. Others might call it a “stewardship reminder.”

Tonight, we’re not attempting to raise funds or dish out periodic reminders. We have come this evening – this Maundy Thursday evening – to the Lord’s Table, the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, the blessed sacrament of Christ’s body and blood, the feast of victory for God. In a few moments, we will receive what St. Ignatius once called the “medicine of immortality” – the very presence of Christ with the bread and the wine.

The good news of Maundy Thursday is that our Lord did not die intestate. He did have a last will and testament – and He spoke it and enacted it the night before He died.

It was Passover time. Jewish families were in their homes remembering Moses and the exodus so long ago. Jesus, however, was not at home or in the temple. He chose an upper room. Likewise, we’re not at home tonight. Neither are we in our sanctuary. We’re in a different setting – perhaps a more intimate one. We are, to use the Biblical phrase, “at table” with one another. We hear the words of our Lord again: “Take and eat. This is my body given for you. Take and drink. This is my blood of the new covenant shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

The word for covenant, in the original Greek language, is diatheke. Interestingly enough, it can also be accurately translated as “testament” -- as in last will and testament.

At the Lord’s Supper, it’s as if Jesus is reading His will. Are we beneficiaries of His will? What, if anything, will be our inheritance? Clearly, He did not bequeath to us a substantial sum of money. There were no deeds to property and the mineral rights to go with them. There were no personal effects, life insurance payouts, or any golden parachutes funded in trust. He gave us none of those things.

But what He was able to give, He gave. He gave Himself – His body broken and His blood shed.

In our Lord’s Words of Institution – that we’ve already heard in the New Testament Reading and will hear again in a few moments – body and blood is spoken of separately. Take the blood out or away from its body, and there will be death. Body and blood spoken of separately denotes sacrifice.

At Passover time, there was always a lamb that figured prominently in the holiday feast. In the upper room, however, there was no lamb for the feast. But the more you think about it, you realize that there was: for Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Tonight we partake of the fruits of that sacrifice at table with one another. With Christ’s presence and the joy of sins forgiven, we rejoice that Jesus did not die intestate. Rather, He gave us all He had. What a rich and blessed inheritance is ours to share!

Amen.