Cand do you keep in mind what you ate yesterday? Perhaps you had a bagel for breakfast or a burrito for lunch; no matter it was, the meal almost certainly served as a transition to the following exercise of your day. Whereas most meals are an obligation to fill our stomachs with out incident, some sluggish us down and feed our souls. The reminiscence of the meal on November 20, 1993 nonetheless feeds my soul. It was a cool, drizzly night – typical of that point of 12 months in Vancouver. On the finish of a rigorously choreographed day designed to optimize the circumstances for my success, I requested Toni to marry me. After she stated sure, we celebrated with a scrumptious salmon dish. Meals gave us an opportunity to recollect why and the way we fell in love. It was a second of dedication, a time of promise.
In an intimate night with beloved buddies, Jesus organized a meal of everlasting significance. Mark's account of the Lord's Supper depicts the scene of “the primary day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to supply the Passover lamb” (Mark 14:12). The Passover meal commemorated God's nice deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt. As God's folks practiced the memorial, it will definitely grew to become an expectation and fueled their want for freedom from Roman oppression. The act of sacrificing the Passover lamb was carried out afresh within the temple annually, and its that means will quickly be freshly offered within the Lord's Supper.
Nevertheless, the story turns from anticipation to nervousness. Jesus interrupted the dinner dialog by saying, “Amen, I say to you, one among you’ll betray me—he who eats with me” (v. 18). Any courtesies shared on the desk would come to a screeching halt. This stark assertion shattered the peace symbolized by the communal meal. The communal meal offered a time and place the place treaties could possibly be ratified, friendships deepened, and even enemies may lay down their arms. Whereas all betrayal is improper, betrayal within the context of such hospitality can be appalling.
When the disciples had digested his phrases, “Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take; that is my physique.” Then he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, they usually all drank from it. “That is my blood of the covenant, which is shed for a lot of,” he stated to them” (vv. 22-24).
Usually, the blessing and breaking of the bread would merely start the following course of dinner—the equal of claiming grace and passing the pita. However Christ's phrases within the context of this Passover meal, stuffed with salvific expectation and private anguish, ritualized one thing important about God, each for the disciples on the desk and for all who’ve adopted since. The fruit of salvation got here from the ugly tree, the outdated tough cross on which Christ's battered physique was to hold. And so “we proclaim the Lord's loss of life till he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).
Sure, Jesus commanded the wind and the waves to be nonetheless. He raised Lazarus from the grave. At his return, each knee will bow and each tongue will confess that he’s Lord (Phil 2:10-11). Such visions of divine energy encourage awe and admiration. However Jesus provides himself as a Savior damaged and battered, memorable in hospitality on the desk and susceptible to betrayal even within the midst of blessings. We will come to him trustworthy and unconcerned about our personal brokenness. By his stripes we’re healed and thru his blood we’re healed. At any time when we take the bread and drink the cup in the course of the Lord's Supper, we decelerate to benefit from the divine present of pleasure that got here via the struggling of our Savior.
Walter Kim is president of the Nationwide Affiliation of Evangelicals. He beforehand labored as a parish priest and college chaplain.
This text is a part of Easter within the Weekdays, a devotional to assist people, small teams and households get via Lent and Easter 2024. Be taught extra about this particular version right here!
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