"Eat, Drink, and Proclaim" - April 2, 2015 (Maundy Thursday)

I Corinthians 11:23-26

There are many ways to say important things without using words.

[Gestures follow:

Thumbs-up.                 Holding your stomach.

Rocking a baby.          Drawing a heart.

Pointing to eyes.         Shrugging.

Cupping an ear.           Pointing to wrist.

Etc.]

            This evening we gather to repeat together one of those important messages that comes to us not only in words but enacted.

[Break bread.             Pour juice.]

Do you see?  What do you see?  Bread?  Juice?  Or do you see the act as well as the thing: bread being broken, juice being poured out?

“For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” [I Corinthians 11:23-26]

It isn’t just the bread that speaks to us.  It’s the act of bread being broken, torn apart like a body that suffers terrible abuse, and it speaks of Jesus’ arrest and trial and mocking and torture.  It isn’t just the dark liquid in the cup that signifies, it is the way that it has been poured out, like Jesus’ blood that stained the wood of the cross.  It’s the being here, the gathering, the actions, the sharing, that proclaim the Lord’s death.

            One thing further, though.  He didn’t stop with tearing the bread and pouring the wine.  He told his disciples to eat and drink.  He told them to make the signs of his death something that would sustain their lives.  We need food and we need liquid to survive.  By taking part in this meal, and not just sitting back as spectators, we ourselves make a gesture for the world to see.  We show that his death has, by God’s grace, become the source of life to us.  His self-giving is something that we depend upon.  He said,

“The bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world,” [John 6:33]

and went on to say,

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  [John 6:35]

When we eat and drink, we proclaim what he has done, and also proclaim what he continues to do, which is bring life to our souls.

            It matters very much that we do these things.  It is a message for the world that in him we have been given all that we need, and all that they need is also found in his life.  It is an invitation to share in the very life of God.