So what is the idea with a little bit of bread and a tiny cup of grape juice? Is it really the body and blood of Jesus and if it is why is this a sacred thing for Christians. What is the purpose? Who is it for? What is it about?
The Last Supper
Most people are familiar with Leonardo Devinci’s painting of the Last Supper.
While it isn’t entirely accurate (people in Jesus days reclined to eat rather than sitting at a table) it still captures the essences of the evening. There are his closest friends spending a nice evening celebrating the Jewish Passover.
There is the proud impetuous Peter; the careful, skeptical Thomas; the unsophisticated sons of Thunder, James and John. There are all of the other disciples closest to Jesus and there is Judas who, torn between guilt and greed, will that very evening sell his friend’s life for 30 silver coins.
But most of all – there is Jesus. He is pictured in the center of this rather eclectic group of would be leaders. Everything has come to focus at this moment in time. In fact all of the history of human kind either builds to or builds on the hours which start at this table and end in an empty tomb three days later.
All of Jesus’ life takes meaning in this moment. It was to be an event and moment so important that it demanded a memorial.
This is not new. We are used to such things.
In fact, we need and demand them. From the very beginning of time when God flooded the earth and then majestically gave Noah a rainbow to the crude pile of rocks Jacob and Labon piled up to mark the time and place when they separated from each other and agreed to not hurt one another.
Significant events demand significant memorials in life.
The more significant the event, the more lives involved, or the more important the life, the greater the memorial is needed.
Today there are those who are struggling to build a fitting memorial for 9/11 in New York City on the site of the World Trade Center. We have seen the memorial build on the site of the Oklahoma City Bombing. Some of us have visited the Arizona memorial in Pearl Harbor. Our cities are full of memorials. Some like the Viet Nam Memorial created to remember the 50,000 lives lost. We have literally millions of memorials covering fields and hills with individual pillars of stone and markers of marble – they recognize the significance of the lives spent here on this earth.
Jesus’ memorial would be different than these.
There was a Death – But there was also resurrection.
There was sacrifice and heroic love. But there was also victory and promise. The moment would not end in tragedy. It would end in hope and salvation.
Jesus did not leave what other men leave. There is no tomb like that of Egyptian Pharaoh’s. There is no marvelous bust like that of Julius Caesar. There is no great city with his name on it like Washington, D.C. There isn’t even a small village like the one named Williamston (short for William’s Town) or the one named Okemos (named after a local Indian Chief).
No, the memorial Jesus left for us would be quite different.
There is something compelling about a cemetery
Some people are afraid of these places. They conjure up images of ghosts, vampires, devils, and demons. They are pictured as dark and dreary, scary, and to be avoided except when duty demands.
There is an old story about a man who used to walk home from work by way a cemetery. One dark moonless night on the way home from work he essentially had to feel his way across the dark fields and in between the markers. Unfortunately for him a fresh grave had been dug and he slipped into it.
The grave was deep and it’s walls were steep and he tried for several hours to climb out – without success. Finally, tired, cold and weary he leaned against a corner of the pit, put his head on his knees and fell asleep.
Another man came along some time later following the same short cut through the cemetery on his way home. It was still very dark and he too fell into the same pit. While the man in the corner was slowly coming to his senses having been in a deep sleep the second man was rather frantically trying to get out – thinking he was quite alone.
For some time the second man jumped and grabbed hold of bits of grass trying to get out and was as unsuccessful as the first man – now sitting groggily in the corner watching. Finally the first man said, “You’ll never get out of here.” But he did!
That’s not how I see a cemetery. For me a cemetery is a place that is very comfortable.
It might be the result of my summers visiting my Grandpa and Grandma who ministered at a church that sat along side a cemetery. My sister and I used to run through that place, playing hide and seek among the tombstones. One tombstone was chiseled into the shape of a pulpit and I used to stand at it and preach to my sister – an audience of one.
It might be because I have been many times with many families to lay their loved ones to rest.
In any case, for me, the cemetery is just that – a place of rest and peace. It is a place of comfort and contentment – there is some sorrow and some grief – but there is far more peace.
This is what Jesus came for. He came to provide a way for us to make peace with God.
What we have been given by Jesus is a bit of bread and a sip of wine which brings us peace with God
Listen to what Jesus said of his life…
"I am the bread that gives life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but still they died. Here is the bread that comes down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give up so that the world may have life.”" (John 6:48-51, NCV)
He said this early in his ministry and those who followed him then certainly didn’t understand what he was saying. They didn’t even understand it when he took the bread [take bread and break it while speaking] and broke it the evening before his life was sacrificed because of the sins of the world. Because of the sins of the very men he broke bread with that night and to whom he offered a piece – a piece of bread like this [hold up bread] which Jesus held in his hand – and then said, “This is my body, take it and eat it in remembrance of me.” With a piece of bread he offered to these men and to all who would follow after them – including me and you – with a piece of bread he marked the way to make peace with God.
It was his body that was made to die instead of mine. It was his body that was pierced instead of yours. It was Jesus who died and satisfied the requirements of what is right and what is just. With this sacrifice we make our peace with God and the slate is wiped clean. We become as innocent and pure as a newborn baby. That event demands a worthy memorial.
Listen to the apostle Paul…
"God was pleased for all of himself to live in Christ. And through Christ, God has brought all things back to himself again—things on earth and things in heaven. God made peace through the blood of Christ’s death on the cross." (Colossians 1:19-20, NCV)
After Jesus passed the bread to his friends he took the cup [take cup and hold up] and he said, “This is my blood, shed for you”. With this sip of wine – the fruit of the vine – He gave us a way to remember that his life was offered
He was our Savior on the cross then. He is our Lord in life now and He will be our advocate the day we cross over to Him or the instant He comes for us – which ever is first. He will be there and He will know my name. He will know My name. This is my memorial. [hold up bread and cup] This is my bread. This is my cup. This body was broken for me. This blood was shed for me.
The Last Supper is about Making Peace with God
In a few minutes you will have an opportunity to participate in the Lord’s Supper. It was his Last Supper with us until he comes for us at the end of time. You see after he had broken the bread and passed the cup he said, “I will not eat of this bread or drink from this cup again until I come for you at the end of the ages.”
You see, the Lord’s Supper is not only a memorial – it is also a promise. We are bonded to him now as his servants and disciples. We study his ways. We practice his behaviors. We take on his mission.
We are promised to him then as his friend. His archangel will sound the trumpet announcing His return for us. His angelic army will sing for us of his wondrous love. His house will be our house. The streets paved with gold will be under our feet. His cities will become our cities. His presence will be our peace.
Special Communion Service
Invitation: In just a few minutes we will share in the Lord’s Supper. As you are passed the broken bread and the cup of juice would you wait for just a moment before you eat or drink? Just take the bread and the cup and hold them till all are served.
While these are being passed our worship team will sing sing a song entitled “Peace”. This song was written by Rich Mullins, a songwriter, believer, and a man that some of you here have known in times past. He made his peace with God and he has already gone home.
Let me read for you the words of the refrain. “And may peace rain down from Heaven Like little pieces of the sky; Little keepers of the promise; Falling on these souls. This drought has dried In His Blood and in His Body. In the Bread and in this Wine; Peace to you; Peace of Christ to you.
[pass out emblems as the song is played during the taking of communion and for a time of meditation following]
The Lord’s Supper
"Then Jesus took some bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to the apostles, saying, “This is my body, which I am giving for you. Do this to remember me.”
[Invite congregation to eat the bread]
In the same way, after supper, Jesus took the cup and said, “This cup is the new agreement that God makes with his people. This new agreement begins with my blood which is poured out for you." (Luke 22:19-20, NCV)
[Invite congregation to drink from the cup]
Meditation and prayer
