April Newsletter

April 2011

Jesus celebrated the His last Passover with His disciples in an Upper Room. Passover is the celebration of the Exodus from Egypt; freedom from slavery. The scriptures would require them to get rid of all leavening, in order to recall how the Hebrews in Egypt had to leave so quickly, and feel in solidarity with those who escaped Pharaoh’s rule. The ritual to this day does not simply recall the events of Moses and the Hebrews when God saved them from slavery, rather the Passover ritual is worded as if the participants are there. The reality is that Jesus and the other Jews present at The Last Supper where remembering God’s salvation of their ancestors from Pharaoh’s slavery, as if they were the ones that walked through the parted Red Sea.

In the 22nd chapter of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (vv 15-16) As they celebrated God’s deliverance from slavery to freedom, they did not simply remember the historical miracle, they reenacted the miracle; they tried to experience it through the ritual. “Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’” (vv 19-20)

The word that is used in this scripture for “Remember” is the Greek word anamnesis which means more than to simple recall, like what was written on a grocery list; it includes the idea of re-presentation and thus the real here and now. Such it is when we smell our favorite comfort food; we do not simply remember when it was prepared but are brought back to all the feelings and reality, for at least an instance. This is what is meant when we break bread in remembrance of Jesus’ body, we recall what he did on the cross and what Jesus’ presence has done in our individual lives. Barnett Blakemore states it well in The Revival of the Churches (1963) “The role of remembrance is not that it brings the Lord into our presence, but that remembrance opens our eyes to him into whose presence we have already been brought by faith.”

We remember not simply historically that Jesus died on the cross; we remember Jesus is saving us via that cross. Every Sunday we center our worship upon this important remembrance, additionally I invite you to participate in a Special Holy Thursday Service at 7 pm on April 21 to remember Jesus’ Last Supper.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor JC