Jesus told us to do THIS in remembrance of HIM. Some perform only the ritual of bread and wine as Jesus’ “THIS.” We often remember what He DID for us by His death. Yet, because He is alive, He is STILL doing lots of things, so why not remember HIM, instead, who He IS, as He told us to do? After all, if we gather in His Name, He is with us. We can celebrate the broader “context” of His “this,” by sharing a meal all together, with Him, Present. Today.
We can lament our part in His crucifixion every time we partake of the bread and wine, or we can believe we are forgiven and move forward in that reality: being with Him. After all, He died on the cross once and for all. By His death, He empowered us to walk in Him, in His omni-Presence. We can continually recognize and remember Him in every situation and believer. His death on the cross was no small event, yet it was only the beginning of becoming like Him, becoming His Bride: living His way, truth and life, thus enlarging His kingdom.
Of course, DO reflect on what He did, but also on what He still does. Remember who he IS as well as what He DOES. Don’t forget WHY He died: for you, all of us together, His Bride. Hear His voice and follow Him: do and say what He does and says. Do also the “greater things.”
Do continue to perform the beautiful tradition of taking in bread and wine to remember Him. In doing so, also remember the context in which He said to “do THIS:” The context was His last MEAL before death, together with His friends. Can we do His “this” without facing one another around His Table? It is not just about ingesting bread and wine representing His body and blood. It’s about Him nourishing us with Himself at the cellular level and beyond, deeply and inseparably integrating Himself into us and us into Him. He is the content of the last supper. Eating and drinking of Him, we become one with Him. We are to fully embrace this mystery of relationship. Depending on what we believe, whom we believe, this nourishment can transform us into His likeness, each one, all together, the Body of Christ. Communion, the Lord’s Supper, is much more than ritual, memorial-service food.
John’s book does not even mention Jesus’ prophetic act that declares the significance of the bread and wine passed around; yet that act has become so important to us that we often overlook the context that accompanied it. John records the context and content of that night. Chapters 13-18 of his book are full of last words and actions that Jesus wants us to remember. Among many other things, Jesus said “So now put into practice what I have done for you, and you will experience a life of happiness enriched with untold blessings!” John 13:17 TPT
We are His Body. This “meal” we share, Him, unites us as ONE. That last night, Jesus asked His Father, in the hearing of the disciples, that we’d be one with Him and with one another. His Father, our Father, did not ignore that prayer. He answered and fulfilled it, but do we recognize Him within one another, even though imperfectly expressed?
We need to continually move from theory into the PRACTICE of our faith in/with Him, from theology into knowing His voice in person. Follow Him. Also, love and recognize Him in one another. Remember HIM.
Submitted for reflection and comment by Bernie Weigand
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well said, He is all in all and always within, ready and more willing than we can comprehend to lead, guide, protect and correct us.