Mark 11:1–11

Palm Sunday: them is Communion

¹Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples

²and said to them, "Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.

³If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.'"

⁴And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.

⁵And some of those standing there said to them, "What are you doing, untying the colt?"

⁶And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.

⁷And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.

⁸And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.

⁹And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

¹⁰Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!"

¹¹And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple.

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you, righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey...and he shall speak peace to the nations, his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth." When has there ever been a greater yearning for peace than today. When has the world ever more needed someone who could reign over land and sea, around the world, who would establish a kingdom of peace. The world cries out for peace.

Rejoice greatly! The King of Peace has come. He has cut off the chariots and horses of war. He has broken the battle bow and he speaks peace to the nations. His rule is from sea to sea and over all the lands of the earth. His is a righteous King and he has brought salvation.

But the world did not recognize him because he comes humble, riding on a donkey. He came as a servant, not a mighty warrior or ruler. He came humbly, not on a throne of power but his throne was a wooden cross. His scepter was a reed used to lash him. His crown was made of thorns. His army was a mob of poverty stricken widows and orphans, and prostitutes, and sinners led by twelve generals who were former fishermen, tax collectors, and revolutionaries.

He entered Jerusalem to the shouts of the crowds: (Open your hymnals to page 161 and take a look at the Sanctus. The Sanctus is what we sing as we prepare for Holy Communion. The third and fourth lines read:) "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" These are the very words Jesus was welcomed with by the jubilant crowds as he came to bring them peace; as he came to offer them salvation by going to the cross and giving his life for them.

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. He went to the temple because only there was it permitted to offer sacrifices for the atonement of the sins of the people. He went there as our High Priest to offer the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. He went there to offer himself as the sacrifice. There His cross shaped throne became the altar of sacrifice and his blood was poured out on all the world and washes us all from our sin.

He went to the temple because the temple is where God dwells. Here the presence of God officially passed from the building made of stone to the new temple; the person of Jesus Christ, in whom "dwelt the fullness of the godhead bodily," in human form.

And this same Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of God, comes to us, just as he came to Jerusalem, in the humility of his suffering and death, by giving us his own body, the very one which hung on the cross, and his very own blood which he shed for the forgiveness of our sins, so that we might eat and drink them. And thus, the very Jesus in whom dwells the fullness of God, comes to dwell in us, making us the temple of God, the dwelling place of God in our world today. Where is God today? Where is God in our hurting and dying world? He is in us, the church of Jesus Christ.

While in Jerusalem Jesus instituted his Supper. In his Supper he made several promises. He promises to be present with and in us. For it is his very flesh and blood he gives us in the Supper. His bodily presence with us is what he was talking about when he promised his disciples at his ascension: "Lo, I am with you until the end of the age." As we eat and drink his very body and blood, he comes to us and dwells in us. The temple of God's dwelling place is transferred to us. For this reason we sing the Sanctus as we prepare for Communion. With the Sanctus we welcome Jesus into our church and into our very bodies with the very same words as the people of Jerusalem: ""Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"

And then he promises in his Supper, " I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." Here he promises us a place in his Father's kingdom and a seat at the eternal banquet table, for the next time He drinks of the cup, he says it will be with us in heaven.

And what does he promise us in that cup? That cup is his blood shed for the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness of sins is promised. And where there is forgiveness, there is life and salvation. There is freedom from sin, freedom for the devil, freedom from death, freedom from hell, and freedom from punishment. Where there is forgiveness there is communion with God; there we dwell with God and God dwells with us. This is heaven! For where Christ is, there is heaven. Heaven is communion with God in Christ Jesus our Lord. When Christ comes to us in bodily form in the Sacrament, there is heaven, right here on earth. When we come to the altar and receive Christ into our mouths, heaven touches earth.

Wherever Christ is there is heaven. So wherever Christ is there are also all the angels and archangels and all the company of the saints. Also as we prepare for Communion, what does the pastor say in the Preface: "...with angels and archangels and all the company of saints we laud and magnify your glorious name evermore." We are in heaven when we are in the presence of Christ; therefore we are also in the presence of all who are present with Christ, including those who are already in heaven. This communion with Christ includes all the saints who have died and risen in Christ...our grandparents, perhaps husbands or wives, parents, children and so forth. It is, therefore, good to think of them as we come to the Supper, knowing that as we commune here below at the table of the Lamb and sing the Lambs songs we join the saints in heaven at the marriage feast of the Lamb in his kingdom that knows no end. In Christ, in that great mystery of our union with him, we are joined to angels, archangels and the whole company of heaven. In Communion we become members of this eternal community, a community that even now participates in heavenly things as through Word and Sacrament we have a foretaste of the feast to come.

But this community doesn't stop there with the saints in heaven. When Jesus said, "This is my blood shed for you," for whom did he mean? Since it is for the forgiveness of sin, he means it for all sinners. When he says "for you," he is telling you that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness. He means it for all sinners who repent and receive forgiveness of sin in faith. It is for all believers including those still alive today in all the world. Therefore, as we are continually refreshed and renewed in our faith in communion, our heart is also refreshed anew in its love of our neighbor and is made strong and equipped to do all good works and to resist sin and all temptations of the devil. Since faith cannot be idle, it must demonstrate the fruits of love by doing good and avoiding evil.

"This fellowship at the Lord's Supper consists in this, that all the spiritual possessions of Christ and his saints are shared with and become the common property of him who receives this sacrament. All sufferings and sins also become common property, and thus love engenders love in return and mutual love unites," says Martin Luther. The "for you" in the Lord's Supper means all who partake of Christ by faith; the "Holy Christian church, the communion of saints." We are not mere individuals coming to church or kneeling at the Communion rail, we are a communion of saints, a community, a family. One body, we are members of each other. We share the sufferings and sins of each other and thus mutual love in return unites us. The problems of one member, become the problems of all, and the joys of one member become the joys of all.

Luther points out: "Christians in the early church cared for one another, supported one another and sympathized with one another, bore one another's burdens and affliction." But he also lamented, "This has all disappeared and now there are many who receive this sacrament without understanding or practicing what it signifies."

Jesus comes to us in the Sacrament as he came to Jerusalem. God is serving us with his gifts of forgiveness, life and salvation through the bodily presence of Christ. But that worship is not complete until the Christ in us goes out into the world as we act out the love, mercy, grace, and charity God gives to us in Christ amongst one another as he satisfies the needs of our neighbor through us. Worship takes place in the public worship service at the font, pulpit and altar as Christ comes to us. But that worship is not complete until love and service flow from the altar where we are served and takes place outside the doors of the worship service, finding it's expression wherever suffering and sin afflict and infect the lives of the world.

This means that we are not alone when we commune at the Lord's Table. Rather we are joined in Christ with all the saints and their sufferings. God commands us to "bear the burdens of one another and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2) "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, you shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:14). Christ fulfilled that law by loving his neighbor all the way to the cross where he bore the burdens of all humanity as the very Son of God. The law of Christ is fulfilled in us when we love our neighbors as ourselves, bearing their burdens and sufferings "as if they were our own." There is no better way to love one's neighbor as oneself than to go to the Lord's Supper and share with our neighbor Christ's suffering and the sufferings of the whole company of saints.

But sharing them does not mean leaving them there at the altar when the last "Go in peace" is pronounced, but taking our neighbor's burdens and bearing them. As the Apostle James says: "If one says to them "go in peace," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?"

So what does Luther say about the Sacrament of the Altar? We will close with a quote from Luther: "Whoever is in despair, distressed by a sin-stricken conscience or terrified by death or carrying some other burden upon his heart, if he would be rid of them all, let him go joyfully to the sacrament of the altar and lay down his woe in the midst of the community of saints and seek help from the entire company of the spiritual body. The immeasurable grace and mercy of God are given us in this sacrament to the end that we might put from us all misery and tribulation and lay it upon the community of saints, and especially on Christ. Then we may with joy find strength and comfort and say, 'Though I am a sinner and have fallen; though this or that misfortune has befallen me, nevertheless I will go to the sacrament to receive a sign from God that I have on my side Christ's righteousness, life, and sufferings, with all holy angels and the blessed in heaven and all pious men on earth. If I die, I am not alone in death; if I suffer, they suffer with me. All my misfortune is shared with Christ and the saints,...' Then the heart cannot but rejoice and be strengthened. When you have partaken of this sacrament, therefore, ...you must in turn share the misfortunes of the fellowship...and be certain that Christ and all his saints are coming to you with all their virtues, sufferings and mercies, to live, work, suffer, and die with you,...for this sacrament of fellowship, love, and unity cannot tolerate discord and disunity. You must take to heart the infirmities and needs of others, as if they were your own. Then offer to others your strength, as it if were their own, just as Christ does for you in the sacrament. This is what it means to be changed into one another through love, out of many particles to become one bread and drink, to lose one's own form and take on that which is common to all."

Amen.