Do This In Remembrance Of Me! (Part 1)
Sunday, July 10, 2005 (16:52:22)

Posted by Conx

Jesus was a practical person. He was a carpenter, after all. In fact, on many occasions, his opponents were people who had separated life from religion, retreating into a ritual world where common-sense had no value.

Just read the Gospels and you'll see how Jesus recoiled from this idea - guiding his disciples to the idea that salvation was in the "here and now" and could only be obtained on earth. If that were not so, why would he tie our relationship with God firmly into our relationship with our fellow man? Why, for example, would He preach the need to forgive others in order to obtain God's forgiveness for our own sins?

"For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the king will answer them, "I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me".
Matthew 25:35-40

Jesus was linking Himself totally with the life of man. Jesus was not concerned with rituals, but with the everyday behaviour of man. A man who hoped to add to his spiritual wealth was told firmly to give everything he owned to the poor and follow Jesus. No comfortable religious ritual there!

"Now a certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother." The man replied, “I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws since my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was extremely wealthy".
Luke 18:18-23

Yes, there are times in our earthly walk with Jesus that we rise above the humdrum and commonplace. But that is not what we should be seeking. Our reality is HERE, on earth, NOW. That is our normal state - the thing to which we always return after our brief glimpse of the Holy Spirit.

Rituals should prepare us for the "here and now" - not try to give us a few seconds out-of-body experience.

But we are only human. We have emotions, and those emotions can be easily manipulated. If you don't believe me, just ask Hollywood. We are all to willing to suspend our disbelief if it means an escape from reality for a few brief moments. If it is true of films, then how much truer is it for deeper spiritual matters? We want to escape from religious reality sometimes, because we know we can never measure up to the ideal Jesus compares us with. We are sinful, wretched creatures really; so how like human nature to wish to fly with the Lord.

"Now when the hour came, Jesus took his place at the table and the apostles joined him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And in the same way he took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood".
Luke 22:14-20

"DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME!" This is the reason why Communion exists. We are not drinking the wine and eating the bread in order to advance our claim to Heaven. We have been told that we need to take communion regularly to maintain a good spiritual life. OK, I can accept that although the Salvation Army seem to be able to carry out the Lord's work without it. I'm sure for some, communion is an intensive act of adoration. But for others, the experience is probably a total let-down, because they've failed to grasp the practical reasons for taking the bread and wine.

But we somehow can't admit our disappointment. Even though it makes us feel wretched, we continue to take communion regularly because that's what we're supposed to do. We become slaves to a ritual (and that's what the Salvation Army understands). We pretend to enjoy the experience because we see others around us enjoying the experience - but how many of those are showing the same false front that we are?

The simple fact is that we can't make any type of spiritual progress until we are honest with ourselves.

Conx

Copyright (c) Conway Billington

(Part 2 will follow shortly)