Maundy Thursday (Ps) April 5th

Psalm 22:22-31
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he cried to him.
25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the LORD!
May your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
28 For kingship belongs to the LORD,
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30 Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
that he has done it.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Ps 22:22–31). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

There is a question that children ask during the celebration of the Passover: What makes this night different from any other Night? This question is asked to remind everyone of what Happened in the Land of Egypt to the people of Israel and how God delivered his people. When people ask you How God saved you from your sins what story do you tell them? When the church proclaims the crucifixion of our LORD what does it say?

Verse 29 states, "All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive." Do we eat with the people who have went down to the dust? We proclaim the same message which St Paul and St Peter preached so many years ago. We proclaim Christ's death for the forgiveness of our sins. We know that he has suffered greatly, as he paid the price for our transgressions.

"It shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;" How do you tell the story of Christ? Do you tell it in words? Pictures? Or do you tell it in a meal? Jesus Christ commanded his disciples to do this as often as you drink this in remembrance of me. Whenever we take the bread and take the cup we do this in remembrance of his pain and suffering upon the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Therefore, the Psalmist also writes, "The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD!" Let us Praise the LORD and eat his Body and His Blood for the forgiveness of all our sins remembering his great affliction for us.