Gifts of Lent: Remember and Rest in the Cross
Rest and remember is such a fitting theme for Holy Week, and here’s another reason why. Every time we eat the bread and juice of communion we are reminded to remember the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf with physical representations of His body and blood. At the last supper that He shared with His disciples, Jesus said to them, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” (Luke 22:19) He would later instruct Paul, “This is My body, which is for you….This cup is the new covenant in My blood do this...in remembrance of Me.” Paul then added that in taking communion, we are proclaiming the death of Jesus until He comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
Why would we want to proclaim the death of Jesus? That sounds macabre. Death in general is not something most of us like to discuss, and especially not the death of someone we love. For the first few years after Jeremiah died I refused to use that word. It felt wrong, especially since I knew that he was alive and I would see him again. (2 Samuel 12:22-23)
The death of Jesus, though, is unique in all of history. As the Son of God and only perfect, sinless Man whose ever lived, His death brought to mankind the reconciliation with God that we could never achieve on our own. Separated by our personal and corporate sin from a holy God, all we could expect was condemnation. But God (my favorite phrase). Because of the great love with which He loved us, He sent His one and only Son to give us the opportunity to spend eternity living in the light of that love. He would allow Jesus to suffer on our behalf and then raise Him to life again. This resurrection that the whole world is getting ready to celebrate, is also a promise for us. (Ephesians 2:4-9)
His is a death worth proclaiming; a sacrificial act worth remembering; a love worth resting in. There is nothing we can do but accept the Gift. And let others know that the Gift is for ALL. Here’s a few passages for further reflection:
John 3:13-18; Hebrews 9:26-28; Romans 3:22-26, 5:6-11, 6:23, 8:38-39, 10:9-14
