2 Commands: "Do this to Remember Me" and "Go tell"

Maunday  Thursday  Sermon     by the Rev. John Donnelly

 So now with this sermon, we continue our reenactment of this glorious, yet horrifying night, all which took place in the attic of a house in the poor section of ancient Jerusalem.  There in the candle light,   Jesus has washed the feet of his disciples, commanding them to, please repeat after me, “Love one another, as I have loved you.”     Next, Jesus and his disciples shared the Passover Feast, just as some of us did earlier tonight.

Finally, after the traditional Passover prayers have been offered, and dinner has been finished, Jesus decides to share something else.

Now, to appreciate this scene you must have in mind that Jesus gave every bit of his love, his wisdom, his patience, his physical strength...he gave his whole heart doing God’s work;

·       He continued giving even when all He shared with the world was utterly rejected and thrown back in his face.  

·       He had poured his very life into the disciples, knowing that they had failed to understand what He was all about.   So, Jesus sits at the table as a broken man.   So then he breaks the bread, symbolizing His brokenness, which he shares with the disciples.

The breaking of the bread, which we do at communion on every Sunday, symbolizes the world breaking Him down and nailing the pieces to the cross.  He says, “This is my Body, my very life, which I now share with you and for those yet to come.”

·       Next, he shares the wine, saying, “This is my life blood…which I have poured out for you through my life’s work, and which I will pour out for you, tomorrow, on the cross; and which I pour out for those to come after you.”

·       Then Jesus gives us this command, this directive, which I invite you to repeat After me  ”DO THIS TO REMEMBER ME.”

 Jesus invites us to share his life with one another and the world AS WE REMEMBER Him---as we remember not just this holy night, but as we remember his teachings and all His commands, or directives:   confess your sins, feed the hungry, forgive others as you wish to be forgiven, love one another, be peace makers, and believe in me, even during dark times, and do this in remembrance of me.

So, as we share the life of Christ with one another this night, we remember that this life is given not for us alone---but that it is given for the world.  And that we who are so privileged to be heirs of the disciples on this night, are also called to be the heirs of the disciples in sharing Christ’s life with the world.

Those 11 disciples at that first Last Supper fed on the life of Christ; then they were empowered to go forth to share his life with this bold proclamation:  JESUS is Alive.   You see, without the Resurrection, Holy Communion loses its meaning and power.   If there was no resurrection, then communion would be some quaint religious ceremony of a failed prophet.    But He is alive and when he proves it to the disciples on that first Easter Sunday, Jesus gives them another command: “Go tell the world that I am alive.”

And that is the same command that He gives to us, here tonight, as we prepare to share the life of Christ with one another at the altar.   Go tell the world—go share my life with your Words—Go tell the world that I rose from the dead.....that I am alive.

It seems to me that   during our own time, it is essential for modern day disciples to tell the world that Jesus is alive.  Why?  Because too many Christians are afraid to speak out these words: “I believe that Jesus is alive//because …you fill in the blank.”

As you may know, I am inviting members of our congregation to do just this on Easter Sunday.  I am inviting all the willing to help me preach the sermon by standing up and telling us one reason why you believe that Jesus is alive.”   Do you know that many of the visitors will have never heard an unordained person actually say that He or she believes that Jesus is alive, because…..”

It seems to me that most Christians believe that if the pastor says it, that they do not have to.  But that is wrong.  Jesus says, YOU, YOU  go tell the world that I am alive.”   Back in the days after the first Easter, your regular believers, just like you and me, told their friends, family & neighbors that they believed that Jesus was alive.  Then, those who heard discovered the truth for themselves—and then Christianity spread across the world. However, in our day and time, most churches in our land are weak and anemic.  The strong churches are where people are not shamed to proclaim that they believe.  Jesus wants us to be one of those strong churches.

Now, I want you to be honest with yourself and answer this question for yourself:

Do you remember a time when you actually told a person that you believe that Jesus rose from the dead?  That Jesus is alive?  If not, then I want you to pray about doing this on Sunday.  You see, communion is meant to be shared with the world.  But if that sharing is to actually take place, then the Good News of Christ being alive needs to be shared first.