Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
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Original Manuscript:
The words we hear in the Gospel this evening are very similar to the words we hear whenever we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, particularly Jesus' words: "Do this in remembrance of me."
That word "remembrance" is very important, and it would have been something the Disciples would have understood much better than we would, especially in the context of the Passover.
"Remembrance", or rather αναμνησις, is less about recalling in our minds the memory of the past or more about making the past present for us now.
When the Disciples, or anyone for that matter, were celebrating the Passover, they weren't just commemorating a long ago eventing, they were reliving those events. When they thought back to the story of their ancestors in Egypt, they saw themselves in that story too. They saw themselves as participants in the story as well.
What Jesus is saying is that the same is true for us. When we celebrate the Eucharist, we aren't just calling to mind the Last Supper; we are actually taking part in it. That means when we are at our table here, we are at the table with Jesus and the Disciples too. Not only are we at the table with them, but with all who have celebrated the Eucharist in the past, present, and future, no matter where those persons may be. We celebrate with generations long past as well with generations far in the future and, too, with all Christians near and far to us now.
The Last Supper isn't over. That cup Jesus poured out for us is active still, not because we are making a new sacrifice, for Jesus died once for all. The Last Supper isn't over because its effects are not over. Jesus' death still saves us from our sins just as His Resurrection brings us to new life in Him.
This moment, this remembrance, is important because it reminds us that Jesus' work is never at an end. It reminds us that we too take part in Jesus' self-giving grace and love and that the time to receive that gift will never end.