God is with us.
God is with us.
Among god’s most enduring desires is the desire to be with us in our lives – as we wake and sleep, as we work and play, as we struggle and as we sing, as we eat and drink. In our confession and in our celebration, God is with us.
This meal, then, is God’s continuing work to be with us. We share bread and wine because Jesus did and said that we should also. It went like this:
The night he was about to be arrested, after a too-short life of provoking the powers, teaching the crowds, and showing compassion to those in pain, Jesus gathered for a final meal with his friends. They gathered in an upper room, a borrowed space because they owned no space at all.
They ate and drank, laughed and pondered. And then, just as they were about to start the dishes, Jesus took one more piece of bread, one more partially drained cup.
He gave thanks for both, the bread, the wine, and he passed them around. This is me, he said; whenever you gather and share this meal, this is me. This is my work for justice, this is my desire to bring you close to God, this is me reminding you of what matters, this is me, teaching you again and making you brave and strong for the days you face.; this is me, making God’s vision clear and helping you remember the point of it all. This is me: bread and wine, broken, poured, passed and shared. This is me, for you.
Do this and remember.
Do this and know that I am with you still.
So, we eat, we drink, we remember, we work. Bread and wine that take us through our days; bread and wine that help us stomach the headlines, challenge the conventional wisdom, endure the worst that we could imagine. This bread and wine, this divine presence of Jesus, is the strength and courage we need for the long days of a faithful life.
Eat, said Jesus. Drink, said Jesus. And remember. I am with you.
We eat, and we remember.
Let us pray:
Pour out your spirit, O God, the spirit of Jesus, the power of love, the hope of transformation. Let the meal take us where we could not go alone.
Be with us, O God, as you have pledged, and make us wholly yours. amen.
This meal is ready, the gifts of God for the people of God. Please, come and eat.