The Bread

I'm sure we can all think of a holiday we look forward too. Seeing family we don't normally see or eating food that we don't normally eat, it hold a special place in our hearts. For me it has to be Christmas Eve. My family on my mom's side gets together at my Grandmother's house. It's nice to see my uncle and aunt whom I don't get to see very often but I think the real reason we all gather on that night is the two pounds of shrimp that my grandma makes. She has this stainless steel bowl that is as big as a cauldron, it's huge. Every year it's filled to the top with those yummy crustaceans. She puts a bowl of melted butter at my place so I can peel them, plop them in there and let the butter do it's thing. It's delicious!! I'm drooling just thinking about it. I look forward to it every year.

In Jesus' time the holiday that everyone looked forward too was Passover. It was a celebration with special foods, games and storytelling. The host of the meal sets up a tray with bitter herbs, a lamb bone, salt water, an egg and a yummy nutty apple mix, all symbolizing a part of the story of how God rescued the Jews out of slavery in Egypt. The children play a game where they take three pieces of matzo, put them all in a napkin, with the middle one broken. One of the parents will hide the middle piece somewhere in the house and all the children go and find it. The youngest child is suppose to ask at a certain time, "What's so special about this night?" This is a lead in for the host to tell the story of the Passover. Passover was the celebration of the final plague in Egypt. God told Moses that the first born child of every family would be taken unless their was lamb's blood smeared of the door posts of the house. If the blood was their the LORD would passover that house. An animal was sacrificed, blood had to be split, a life of one had to be taken in order to save the lives of many. This was the beginning of their sacrificial system. It was every Jew's favorite holiday.

This particular night in Luke 22 was a Passover meal. The disciples were very anxious and excited. They knew something big was about to happen and now they get to celebrate Passover together. Jesus being the master of the group led the meal. They went through the different cups, He told the story with the different symbols, it's was probably a really nice time.

Then toward the end of the celebration Jesus shifts gears. He has told the story of how God rescued His people out of Egypt, which is usually the end of it but it seemed like Jesus had more to say. As if being rescued from Egypt was not the end, there was something else. Jesus takes a piece of bread and gave thanks for it, then He ripped it apart and gave each of the disciples. He said, this is my body, which is broken for you, do this is remembrance of me. They would have immediately known what he was talking about. Jesus was saying I am now the sacrifice that will bring peace. This was the beginning of a new era, Jesus was taking something old and gave it a new meaning. The Last Supper is the completion of Passover because Jesus is the completion of God's plan, the final sacrifice for all men.

In my old church the communion table has the words carved into it, "Do this in remembrance of me". These words of Jesus mean not just to remember but to take yourself back and relive this event. Every time I see a jumbo shrimp I am transported to Christmas' past. That is what this means, when we partake of this meal we are to be transported back to remember the cross, the sacrifice that Christ made for us. How odd it is that we Christians need a reminder by this simple meal of the sacrifice that Jesus made through his broken body and blood. This bread symbolizes, reminds us that God Himself allowed his body to be ripped to pieces and his blood to be spilt for our freedom. When we partake in this Supper, remember what Christ did for you, through His love. He paid your ransom, so that you could be freed from sin. Through his broken body we have healing and peace.

May our LORD be with you