“On the night he was betrayed”
The words of institution
passed on through the Apostle Paul
begin with a reminder,
a reminder of betrayal.
But the betrayer is not named.
The conspiracy is not placed
on the neck of Judas,
nor is it necessarily confined
to the inner circle of twelve,
who each fell away
in their own right.
More specific traditions
about the last supper,
likely exist as Paul writes,
but Paul has his own concerns.
The Corinthian assembly
is missing the mark
when it comes to living in the spirit
of the rituals they practice.
Where there should be unity
and mutual sharing
there is division
based on socioeconomic status.
By not naming the betrayer,
Paul implicates the Corinthians
as they fail to consider
the deeper meanings
of their actions.
The implication is potentially universal.
In a way, all of humanity
has a share in the betrayal.
All miss the mark
and fall short of God's glory,
to paraphrase Paul's thinking
in another letter.
Faced with utter betrayal,
the surety of human failure,
and a potentially disastrous end
to his earthly mission,
Jesus responded with a simple,
yet radical act of hospitality.
He took a humble loaf of bread,
and as he broke it said,
“this is my body, broken for you
do this in remembrance of me.”
Jesus offers himself, his very body,
symbolically in the loaf of bread.
Jesus gives his followers
a way to physically know him
and experience his real
and abundant presence.
But bread alone is not enough.
A body without the Spirit
will be incomplete.
A mission without motivation
will not get off the ground.
A community without covenant
will not truly be community.
So Jesus took the cup and said:
“This cup is the new covenant
of my blood,
Whenever you drink it,
do it in remembrance of me.”
This new covenant
has a complicated relationship
with older covenants.
The new does not replace the old
making them null and void,
nor does the new
merely supplement the old,
as if they were inferior.
Rather, the cup offers
renewed understanding
of God's desire for covenant
every time it is shared.
Paul's record of the words of institution
ends like it begins...
with a reminder.
“You proclaim Jesus' death
until Christ comes.”
Again, there is purpose
in the way that Paul
presents the tradition.
He invites the Corinthians
to consider what is at stake
in the rituals that they practice
and the possible implications
of superficial participation.
But this need not be reason
to restrict access to communion.
There is much at stake;
the potential cost of discipleship
is found within
the powerful symbols
of the bread and the cup,
but ability to partake
is not about courage or conviction.
It is not about
worth or understanding.
These concepts are not addressed
in the simple refrain,
“do this in remembrance of me.”
Jesus served the first communion
without asking questions.
He served those who would fail him
and those who would betray him.
In doing so,
he entrusted them with his mission
of radical hospitality
and transformative justice
in the face of failure, betrayal,
and even death.
As we examine ourselves today,
centered in God's presence,
it is likely that we will find
courage and conviction
in limited supply.
It is also likely
that worth and understanding
lie just beyond our reach.
But our invitation to the table
is still open
and we still have a share
in the mission of Christ,
in this world and for this world.
The bread and the cup,
come with the promise
of Christ's real
and abundant presence
in our work, in our suffering,
and in the outpouring
of our lives,
for the sake of God's
dwelling among us.
May this communion
help draw us closer to God
and closer to one another
in this time of deep centering.
May it inspire us
to acts of love
and hospitality
even in times of difficulty
and times of trial.
May it remind us
that every time we share,
and every time we serve,
we do it in remembrance
of Jesus Christ,
whose love knows no bounds.
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