Sermons In Time Easter

Maundy Thursday

The Community of Memory and Hope

March 28, 1991 Luke 22:7-20

When Jesus went with his Disciples to the Upper Room, an important bridge was set between memory and hope. In that place on that night, Jesus reminded this little group of friends of who they were as Children of God. He also gave to them the symbols of all they would become in the years ahead. We gather on this night of all nights in the Church year to remember who we are and to claim the hope for the time ahead.

1. How vital memory is to us! To be able to look back across the days of our own lives and remember all that has brought us to this place is vital to our identity. We remember the families from which we have come.

Memories of mother and father may be rich in sustenance and warmth. Influences of education, worship, experience of life shape who we are today. To be without our own sense of history is to not know who we are as persons. Recently Joan Woodward played the role of a victim of Altzheimers disease. To watch the pain of soul as memory lest and confusion increased was indeed difficult to fathom and deeply moving.

Memory gives content and meaning to this moment and hope to the future. Jesus knew how important it was for the Disciples to know they were a part of God's deliverance of Israel. The Passover feast was a way of going back to the most important time in the History of God's people.

The Passover was also important in understanding who Jesus was. In the hours just ahead, they would be deeply puzzled by the events of the Cross. Sorrow and defeat could easily overwhelm their souls. If only they would be able to understand that the death of Jesus was different than other deaths. Jesus was being obedient to the Will of God. His loyalty to the righteousness of God was complete. He was the Lamb of God. The death of Jesus would be the New Passover.

They would remember this wine and bread as symbols of his body and blood shed on the cross. Jesus wanted them not only to remember the history of Israel. He also wanted them to remember the life God was calling them to live as his followers. When the Church remembered Jesus, the story was told over and over again. The shared it with anyone who would listen. As they told the story, their own lives were changed. They were filled with the Spirit, and the hope in their hearts did not disappoint them.

2. The story has been true throughout every generation. Those who eat the bread representing the body, and drink the wine, representing the blood, feed on Him in their heart with thanksgiving. The bread and wine are representative of the life we are called to live as Christians.

We are those who remember Him who washed his Disciples feet, and rejoice at the privilege of Christian service. We are those who remember the way in which the lame walked, the blind saw, the speechless spoke. Because of that memory, we are not content until all those who suffer physically in any way are healed.

We are those who remember how Jesus fed the 5000 who were hungry. Because of that memory, we are not content until all the world knows the comfort of home and food and clothing.

We remember how Jesus put a small child on his lap and said, "Let the children come to me, and do not stand in the way of their development..." Because of that memory, we are not content until every child shall have a healthy home life, a good education, and the privilege of developing fully as whole persons.

Jesus said, "Blessed are those who sorrow now, for they shall be comforted." Remembering is not always pleasant. Sometimes it is filled with sorrow and grief. Even the Disciples said, "Did our hearts not burn (or ache) within us as we walked with Him along the way?" To remember people we have loved can bring tears to our eyes, an ache to the heart."

But our hope is not for this life only. When the Church speaks of his coming again in victory, it also speaks of life that is abundant. The life which is abundant is life eternal. So Jesus also called his Disciples to the future. "You weep for me now, but you will be comforted. Even more, when the comforter is come, you will receive power."

Isn't that an interesting combination? The same one who comforts our soul empowers us. That power is not a power of might. It is a power of hope. It is the internal conviction that the life which is abundant is the life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

3. As the Disciples remembered Jesus, they also realized something about themselves which was important. They remembered how Jesus has said, "Neither do I condemn you.." They had seen those whose lives were tarnished with sin and disorder changed into wholesome and productive individuals. They remembered that Jesus spoke of forgiveness in a new way. They knew their own sins forgiven, their own lives changed. They were no longer under the power of guilt and condemnation.

The difference empowered them to live with courage. It filled their lives with personal hope. The disciples knew there was nothing which could separate them from the Love of God in Christ Jesus their Lord. Our hope is grounded in that forgiveness. Not only is there a comfort for our souls in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. There is also a cleansing from all that which we might carry as guilt, as an inability to do well. There is an openness to being known and to sharing ourselves which gives power to our presence in the midst of the world as it is. The Christian knows the power of forgiveness as the absence of guilt and condemnation. There is "nothing between our soul and our Savior."

After the events of Easter, after the resurrection, those who sorrowed were confused. They did not know where to turn. So, they went to the upper room and waited. The coming of hope was a sense of direction. They knew what God wanted them to do. They knew again who they were. They knew the message they were to share. To tell the story of God's Love, was to remember all that Jesus had said. It was also to remember all that God had done through the ages. To tell the story of God's love was to believe, to trust God for the future. It was to be filled with hope that what God had promised, he would do.

Thus, tonight, we eat the bread and drink the wine remembering who we are. We eat the bread and drink the wine believing, trusting God. We do not lean on our own understanding, but in all our ways, we commit ourselves unto the Lord, who will direct our paths. This is, for those who love God, the very essence of life itself. The bread and the wine are the fulfillment of memory and the anticipation of Hope. Thanks be to God.

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