Each week during our communion time, we gather around table and reflect on the body and blood of Jesus – represented by small amounts of bread and juice. It is a central part of our time together during worship. In Luke’s account of the Last Supper, in chapter 22, we find the familiar phrase “do this in remembrance of me.” And so, we gather together each week to honor Jesus and observe the sacrament.
If you’re like me, each week during communion I think back to what it must have been like during that fateful Passover weekend – for Jesus, for his disciples, Peter, even Judas. Week in and week out I rehearse what I know of the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord. As I should. As should we all.
Lately, though, I’ve been wondering if I shouldn’t be remembering more. When he said to remember him during this time, did He mean for us to just remember that one chapter of His story – or would it be better for us to remember the Story of Jesus in a more wholistic way?
The sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus might be central in our minds, but it is an old, old story as the hymn reminds us. Jesus life, for us, recalls thoughts of the past and distant memory handed down through the ages. Yet the story of Jesus goes way back beyond that. John’s first chapter tells is that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was god.” The story of Jesus starts at the very beginning.
Before you setup camp solely in the past, though, let me remind you of Matthew’s account of the Great Commission in chapter 28. Jesus tells his disciples “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” As we remember Jesus, we are remembering the one who is Alive and present – seated on his throne.
You may have had the opportunity to know a Memphian named Darrin Ruddy. For a time, he was the campus minister at SOMA, the Christian student center at the University of Memphis. You can’t be around Darrin for very long before you hear him refer to Jesus. Except he almost always calls him “King Jesus.” It’s just one of many ways Darrin chooses to honor Jesus with his life. The Story of Jesus is past and present.
But, the Story of Jesus has another chapter. One which has already been written, but we have not yet been able to read. The Story of Jesus continues in the future as well. Nearly every NT author references the Second Coming. Jesus himself taught his disciples to be ever vigilant in this regard. As quirky as it may sound in English – we should always remember the future coming of Christ. Our weekly observance of Communion is the perfect opportunity to remind ourselves of the New Heaven and New Earth that is to come through Jesus Christ’s work in the world.
The Story of Jesus is our past, our present, and our future. May your next communion experience serve to help you remember Him better.
~ Clay
Fowlers in Japan 