Meals, Memories, and Mandates
a devotional homily in preparation for Holy Communion
submitted by an anonymous DPSer

What makes a meal special? Is it the special date on which it falls? Is it the fine china, the candles, the festive table dressings? Is it the food—the turkey on Thanksgiving, the ham on Easter? Is it the gathering of family and friends? Is it the remembering of old traditions and the making of new ones? What is it that makes a meal special?

Tonight as we celebrate Maundy Thursday, or “Mandatum”, “commandment” Thursday, we come together for a very special meal. A meal made special not by what we eat. No one will walk away here tonight remembering how wonderful the bread tasted, or how flavorful the wine was. The meal will not be made special because of the elaborate decorations we have displayed in our sanctuary, or the festive altar paraments. The meal this night is special for another reason.

Tonight we are called as a common people to reflect on God’s redemptive activity of the past, manifested through Christ for now and eternity. Tonight we join in a special meal, for special people, given a special command. As we remember our own tradition tonight, we recall the traditions of our past, and the special meal that first celebrated God’s redemptive work with His people.

As we read the scripture from Exodus, we heard the recounting of the meal of the Passover, that is still celebrated by Jews and Christians (messianic seder) to this day. On this night, we come together in community to remember—to remember the promises given to our forebears—Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Rachel /Leah. The promise to grow into a mighty people and a blessing to all nations. The promise that God would be our God and we would be His people. We remember how the covenant relationship made "somebodies" out of those who were deemed to be "nobodies". They were slaves, condemned in Egypt under the oppression of Pharaoh. And yet, God, who is merciful, saw their suffering and with his love brought them to freedom.

The Jewish people remember in this special meal how they were commanded to eat unleavened bread—a sign of the great haste and speed with which they needed to eat before their march to freedom. It serves also as a symbol of the relationship between the believer and God. Just as unleavened bread is not puffed up, so too, should the believer not be puffed up with arrogance, but approach all relationships with humility—remembering they are made from the dust of the earth. The eating of the bitter herbs is a reminder of the bitterness and struggle which the slaves in Egypt endured. The herbs recall and recount the bitterness of sin—calling the community to abandon the alienation from God, embracing true humility before God and one another.

Tonight as we gather, we celebrate a new covenant in Christ. A covenant that does not destroy the old, but fulfills it. Just as the Jewish people were chosen by God and rescued from their oppression, so too, are we rescued from the sin of the world and made God’s children—heirs of the kingdom of heaven.

We, like the ancient Israelites are nobodies. As Paul says, “not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth...so that no one might boast in the presence of God.” But we are made somebodies by the nature of Christ’s death and resurrection. As we take together Christ’s body and blood, we remember the price Christ paid for us on the cross to usher in the new covenant, proclaiming his everlasting love for us and for the world.

In that proclamation, we are given a special commandment. As Christ gathered his disciples in the upper room, so too, does our faith extend to others. Our relationship to God is not in isolation. God reached out to his people with a command to be a blessing to all nations. Through Christ, God reaches out to us, as believers in faith and gives the command, “love one another as I have loved you.”

Just as the eating of unleavened bread and bitter herbs reminds the Jewish people of their humility before God, so too, does Christ command our humility and love, taking upon us the form of a servant.

A seminary professor once told his graduating class that he was going to present to them a tangible symbol that could help them in their future ministries. As the students filed quietly to the front, they wondered what it would be—a special scripture verse, a prayer, an inscribed medallion?

To their surprise, it was a small square piece of cloth -- a miniature towel, if you will, symbolizing the attitude of service demonstrated by Jesus in the footwashing.

One graduate, who later served in overseas missionary work, said this about the experience. “We were commissioned to go into the world as servants. That small piece of towel, frayed and grubby from years in my wallet, is a constant reminder of that moving moment of commissioning to service.”

We are a called people. Called through the rich traditions of the past to proclaim Christ’s redemptive activity in the present and future. What makes this meal special? It’s not the food. It’s not the setting. It’s not our worthiness at being at the table. It’s the gathering of God’s people in remembrance of a holy meal. It’s bearing witness to a rich inheritance of God’s redemption. It’s the gathering of a special people united in the Holy Spirit for the common purpose of proclaiming Christ’s truth. It’s our commitment to live as Christ’s servants, following in his command.

With a towel clasped in our hands and the cross upon our backs, we stand in humility before our Lord. Coming together to the table as one people, we open our hands and our hearts to the redemptive power of the spirit. Loving one another as Christ first loved us.  Come, ye chosen of God, the meal of the Lord is prepared.  Let us share in it with love, serving one another.  Amen.