On this night when our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed into the hands of sinful men, we receive the blessings of forgiveness and new life as we partake of the Lord’s Supper. Give us this day, our daily bread. Jesus gave of His own body and blood to feed us our daily bread and make us a new creation!
When Christians gather as the church, it is for what we normally call a “service.” In daily life a “service” is, of course, a person or group who provides something of value to others; for instance, a food service, a cleaning service, or a place for “servicing” your car. But when we gather as church for a service, who is doing the serving and who is being served? After all, with our eyes we only see one another singing and praying, making the sign of the cross, standing, sitting, kneeling, baptizing with water, and communing with bread and wine. It is easy for some to get the impression that this activity we call “worship” is a gathering where we are doing something for God. What is really going on of most importance is God’s doing, God’s serving us through the ministry of Word and Sacrament. This divine service was most dramatically shown in this night on which our Lord Jesus serves and feeds us.
Tonight, our mighty Lord, who has proved His power over demons, sickness, and even death, takes the humbler part. His loving service is shown, first, by taking the role of a servant washing His disciples’ feet. His greatest and chief service, however, He announced as He took charge of the ancient Passover meal, changing it from a mere memorial of what God has done in the Old Testament exodus of the past to its fulfillment in what He was about to accomplish in His innocent, bitter suffering and death on a cross. From now on, the fulfillment of the annual Passover feast is to be celebrated “often” as the chief means by which God literally connects us with our Lord’s crucified body and His precious blood that take away the sin of the world “as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup” (LSB, p. 162).