While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. “Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Mark 14: 22-25
There are so many moments in our lives that we don’t recognize as sacred until after the fact. Maybe it is the last meal we share as a family before the kids return to college, the last day of normalcy before a pandemic hits, or the last time we spend with someone before they unexpectedly pass on to heaven. I think the disciples appreciated this time spent with Jesus, but I don’t think they could have possibly understood the significance of this moment. This was an event of such significance that Christians all over the world still celebrate it, especially on Maundy Thursday.
Many times, I think we don’t recognize the sacredness of the Lord’s Supper, even though we appreciate the time we spend with Jesus. We recite the Communion liturgy, and appreciate the beauty of the words, but we don’t understand the responsibility those words place on us. We are called to confess our sins, to give thanks, and to offer ourselves as living sacrifices. And then we say, “Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here. and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.” This is a call to action- by taking the Lord’s Supper, we, who are redeemed by the body and blood of Jesus, are called to recognize the sacredness of the moment. We are to be the body, the hands and feet, of Jesus to the world.
Father, we regret the times we have failed you, failed to be the body of Christ to the world. Forgive us for not recognizing the sacredness of these moments. Help us to remember that the Lord’s Supper is not something we merely receive, but a sacred moment in which we are called to be active participants. What a joy to be included in your work in the kingdom of heaven. In Jesus’ name. Amen
