“Do this in
remembrance of me."
§ We hear two different statements this evening – one from Paul and
one from John. Paul talks about the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper. John talks
about the washing of feet.
§ Both are important to our lives as disciples of Christ. They are
quite different and they are not at odds. In fact, they approach the same thing
from different directions.
§ Paul writes that I received from the Lord what I also
handed on to you, namely that the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion is
something we are commanded to do in remembrance of Jesus. If we “re-member”, we
take part in the event again. We use our memory and our faith to bring what
happened in the past into the present. In a sense, when we eat the bread and
drink the cup, we are there in the Upper Room with the first followers of
Jesus.
§ Taking part in what Jesus has given us in this sacrament unites the
past, the present, and the future in what might be called “a moment out of
time.” Nothing magical, but certainly something grace-filled.
§ In John’s retelling of the Last Supper, Jesus washes the
disciples’ feet. This is a tremendously humble act and one that shows both
humility and love. Jesus tells the people whose feet he has just washed For
I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.
§ Oddly enough, this washing does more for the one washing than for
those washed. It is not intended to be a simple cleansing from dirt, but an
action of service to the members of the community. It is a symbolic act, but
symbols convey the reality, much as our language does.
§ So we have a community meal and an act of service to the members
of the community. They are as simple as simple can be: bread, wine, and washing
with water. Yet the presence of Jesus is carried into our own day and into our
own lives in these simple actions.
§ Luke’s Gospel tells of the two disciples who encountered the
unknown Jesus on the road to Emmaus and how he had been made known to them in the
breaking of the bread. Jesus also said that
§ An early Christian writer, Tertullian of Carthage wrote of how the
world saw the Christians of his day: "Look,"
they say, "how they love one another…"
§ This is how I (for one) would want to see Jesus Christ in my time;
to hear his Word, to know him in the breaking of the bread, and to see his love
embodied in his friends, following his example.
§ Hear… eat… serve… These might be
three words the sum up the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ… because he said “Do
this in remembrance of me."
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