Midweek Minute in Mark: Mar 24
You check the time multiple times a day, but do you know what a.m. or p.m stand for? It turns out that these are Latin abbreviations, Ante Meridiem and Post Meridiem, which mean before or after noon.
In the same way, there are common practices and symbols we experience in church that we can pass by without fully understanding their meaning.
Every week at Trinity we partake in a sort of meal, often called The’s Lord’s Supper or communion. This practice is based on Jesus’ last supper with his friends. They thought they were going to share the traditional Passover meal to celebrate what God did in the past, in history. But what they didn’t know is that this particular meal, this supper, was about what God was about to do that would change the future.
As Jesus passed the bread and wine, he foreshadowed his own imminent sacrifice – his body broken and blood poured out, the perfect Lamb slain once for all upon the cross.
Those who put their trust in Jesus can experience the fullness of this meal, a gift of grace and eternal life that we could not earn and do not deserve. The Table isn’t the reward for the perfect Christian, it’s a meal for the hungry. The price of admission to this table is just your need. Jesus has given the rest.
I like what Jack Hayford once said: “When we tell people that they have to be strong before they can come to the table, it’s the same thing as saying to a person who’s dying of malnutrition, ‘After you get over that, we’ll let you have some food’.”
We are invited as we are. At that table, Jesus even served Judas, the one who would betray him and turn him over to his death for the price of a new iPhone. Judas failed to recognize the gift, but we can embrace it for ourselves. Jesus died for us while we were still broken. All those who know their need for Savior may come, eat, and be fully satisfied.
Communion isn’t just some empty ritual, it’s a rhythm of remembrance of the costly love of Christ and our continual need for mercy.
Blessings,
Ben