On the evening before Jesus was taken to die He shared a meal with His disciples. In a letter Paul wrote to the Corinthians he records some of the words spoken by Jesus at that dinner. Words that His followers were asked to remember in the days and years to come. Words that would make more sense to them following the crucifixion and resurrection of their Lord. Paul shares, “The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 1:23B-25).
Christian churches re-enact Jesus actions during the Eucharist rite. Every Sunday, somewhere around the globe, congregations repeat the actions of Jesus while reminding Christ followers of His words. Participants become acquainted with the sacrifice Jesus made, the victories won and the salvation offered. As the service comes to an end and the congregation slips away to their homes, is it just the words from that last supper that Jesus asked us to remember or is there more?
Scripture shares that, often when Jesus woke, He slipped away from the others and prayed. Does Jesus want us to remember this? Does He want us to remember that daily we can and should speak to God our Father? When He reached out and embraced the lepers, the poor, and the sinners, did He want us to remember that this is what He meant by loving our neighbour? When He turned over the tables in the temple and scattered the moneychangers, did He want us to remember that God deserves our respect and reverence and that we should not be complacent in our worship of Him? When He went out to teach, sleeping wherever He was invited, at times eating the grains plucked from the fields, and owning nothing, did He want us to remember that there are more important things in life than material possessions? Did he want to remind us that at times our pursuit of possessions and personal pleasure sometimes distracts us from loving Him with all our being? Did He want us to remember that salvation is a gift from God and there is nothing we can do to earn it? When He sat on a hillside and told those who had gathered around Him that He was the source of eternal life and that only by believing in Him could they be saved, did He expect us to remember His words when we got caught up in trying to figure out how to be good enough for Him? When we partake in communion does He want us to remember that we are sinners who can be forgiven because His body was broken and His bloodshed?