Read Luke 22:14-20, here’s a highlight:
“Do this in remembrance of me.” v.19
This Sunday, we’ll hear once again a portion of the story of the liberation of God’s people from the slave master of Egypt. Something that has always appealed to this lover of a good dinner party, is how the ritual of retelling this story is woven around a meal. God’s people are not only instructed to remember this pivotal event, every year but that they are to do so gathered around a table and in sharing a meal, one that ties them immediately back, through the centuries, to a time when God’s love triumphed over the evils of empire and delivered freedom and salvation.
2000 years ago, Jesus reprises and reshapes this same meal. For his disciples, and now for all of us who hope to follow as well, we’re given another meal, consecrated in response to another corrupt and complicit empire, to be reminded that there is a power greater than anything that could hold us captive. For our sake, the sacrifice has been made. The blood of the lamb that keeps death at bay has moved from the doorpost to the cup in our hands. Freedom now tastes of wheat and wine. Taste and see, remember that the Lord is good.
But it’s not only the holy supper that offers this chance to remember God’s love. It’s any meal or even morsel that makes its way into your mouth. Every bite, every sip you take is an opportunity to remember. What will you remember today as you sip from your cup, bite into that tasty treat, clean your plate, empty your glass? Perhaps, in the goodness of this meal, you’ll remember the good that God has offered you in your life and the freedom that God continues to promise in the life to come.
May you find peace in the freedom that comes from God. -Pastor Peter
Community Prayer:
Lord God of grace and liberty,
On the night of the Passover, the sacrificed lamb became a sign of freedom and you freed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. In Jesus, you freed all humanity from sin and death. Help us live into this new life, teaching us to serve you in faithfulness as you have served us. To you we offer our gratefulness in the name of the one who turned slavery into new life, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.