We come together tonight at 6:00 pm in the Social Hall to mark the last meal Jesus had with his followers. In his book Wishful Thinking Frederick Buechner writes about breaking bread together that may help you prepare.
“For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
“The Lord’s Supper is make-believe. You make believe that the one who breaks the bread and blesses the wine is not…your pastors but Jesus of Nazareth. You make believe that the bread and organic grape juice are his flesh and blood. You make believe that by swallowing them you are swallowing his life into your life and that there is nothing in earth or heaven more important for you to do than this.
It is a game you play because he said to play it.
‘Do this in remembrance of me.’ Do this.
Play that it makes a difference. Play that it makes sense. If it seems a childish thing to do, do it in remembrance that you are a child…
This same reenactment of the Last Supper is sometimes called the Eucharist, from a Greek word meaning “thanksgiving,” that is, at the Last Supper itself Christ gave thanks, and on their part Christians have nothing for which to be more thankful.
It is also called the Mass, from missa, the word of dismissal used at the end of the Latin service. It is the end. It is over. All those long prayers and aching knees. Now back into the fresh air. Back home. Sunday dinner. Now life can begin again. Exactly.”
May we be mindful of what we are doing and why we are doing it as we gather tonight.