Maundy Thursday
Posted on April 2, 2026 by under
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:23-32 (NKJV)
11:23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
Devotion
Ordinary bread and wine are the Body and Blood of Christ in His holy Sacrament. This mystery is beyond understanding. To venerate the holy Sacrament of the Altar is a faithful thing to do. Martin Chemnitz, the greatest Lutheran bishop and theologian after Luther, and writer of the Formula of Concord, said, “Here those statements of the ancient church are also pertinent which teach that the ancients venerated and worshiped Christ the Godman, indeed the very flesh of Christ, not only in the Supper but also on the altar where the mystery took place.” Chemnitz taught the veneration of the Sacrament. He also said, “We do not want to have anything to do with such people…that regard it as idolatry to adore the most venerable sacrament, nay, Christ in the Sacrament.”
There is nowhere where the consecrated bread and wine are that the Body and Blood are not. Where the Lord’s Supper is, there is Christ. We do not focus on the bread and wine as bread and wine. We worship the Christ who is present in that bread and wine. The bread and wine are the place of His presence, but it is He whom we venerate, adore, and worship. Yes, we worship Christ in the Eucharist. We worship Christ in the Sacrament as we observe His command to take, eat, drink, and remember in true faith.
Collect: O Lord God, Who hast left unto us in a wonderful Sacrament a memorial of Thy Passion: Grant, we beseech Thee, that we may so use this Sacrament of Thy Body and Blood, that the fruits of Thy redemption may continually be manifest in us; Who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for the Season of Lent
Almighty and Everlasting God, Who hatest nothing that Thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of Thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
