Holy Week — The Meal is Served
We have spent so much time getting here! So much preparation has gone into this meal. We have traversed forty days of wandering in the Lenten wilderness to arrive here, at a meal, at a garden. We have prepared to partake of this feast, this Passover, whose primary purpose was to reinforce and embody the memory of God’s goodness.
What are the seeds that we plant in our gardens if not embodied memory? Every seed that a gardener places in the ground carries the memories of the plants that came before it, of harvest, of rain, of drought, of sunshine, of darkness. What are the meals that we eat if not embodied memory? Each dish, each bite, carries the memory of the garden or farm from which it came. They carry the memory of seasons, of skilled hands, of fire, and water, and time.
Jesus offered up to his Disciples, and offers up to us now, an embodiment of memory. In taking the bread and the cup, giving thanks for them, and offering them to all present, he reminds us of God’s grace and goodness.
And yet, the memory is not something for us to bask in. The memories offered by a seed, a meal, by Jesus, beckon us forward. They call to us to live, give us energy to stand in courage against the evils of this world. The meal that Jesus shared with his disciples on the night on which he was betrayed was a turning point. It was the moment where Jesus began to transfer the responsibility for the mission which he was sent to fulfill to those who would follow him. He embodied his continued presence with them in the bread and the cup, and fed and blessed them for the work ahead. They would go on to found the church, and to make many disciples in the name of Christ.
The embodied memory of the Eucharist calls us to no less a task than that handed to the disciples by Jesus. When we partake of that meal, or any meal, we should be reminded that the work of bringing the kingdom of heaven closer is our work. We should be enlivened to set free to those who are held captive by the systems and powers of this world. We should be invigorated to tell good news to those who see only darkness and ruin. We should be empowered to feed the hungry and heal the sick. We should be strengthened to go and build the church; not the building or the institution, but the real and lived, embodied, manifestation of the shalom that Jesus preached.
The next stops on our journey are the cross and the resurrection. Beyond them is the work that we have been preparing to do all through this Lenten period. Take now the meal that your preparation has made. Eat it. Be enlivened by the memory of grace of God and the mission of Jesus. Then go and do as he commanded.
