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Body, blood, remembering, captureThursday, April 21, 2011
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "Take and eat, this is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
But there is the valley of the shadow of death to toil through. Walk slowly, but don't stop walking. One step follows on the last. Feel the ground underneath my feet. Notice everything, hold on to nothing. Passover is a remembrance. God's angel of Death, seeking firstborn sons, passed over every door with lamb's blood brushed above it. Moses led the Israelites into the wilderness, surrounded by shocked and desperately sad families of Egyptians. Jesus remembers, even as he is about to become the lamb of God. Jesus thinks on this night unlike any other night ... well, I don't know what Jesus thinks. What would I think? What will become of me? I am about to be captured? My father will not remove me from this circumstance? Who will rescue me from this body of death? Jesus' thoughts are much clearer than mine would be. But I do wonder what those thoughts are, watching him speak to his disciples about the end of things being just the beginning, watching him weep tears of blood in the garden while he prayed. Waiting for the capture and the crucifixion. Each year as these days come, Lord, I want to know whatever I can know about your suffering and your acceptance and your wholeness. Show me what you have to show me this year, Father. Jesus. Holy Spirit. My eyes are open; open them wider. |
We only proclaim death to proclaim resurrection. The phoenix might burn, but the point is that he rises from the ashes. Always in all ways, death begets life. The sting still stings, and then ... it's gone. New life, new bud, new breath, new brings a whole new thing. The thrill is back.