Eleanor always used to say to
her grandkids: You got some hard work
ahead of you today. Come and sit at the
table; you need a good meal. Fill
yourself before you have to empty yourself.
You may have had a mother, an
aunt, or a grandmother who said something along the same lines: Eat a good breakfast to start the day. Good advice that stands the test of time: Be
filled first before going off to do the day’s deeds.
You got some hard work ahead
of you: “Love one another. Just as I have loved you.”
Now, that’s some hard
work---to love other people as Jesus loves us.
To love people with mercy and forgiveness---even those who have hurt us,
ignored us, failed us, and disappointed us.
Even them, Jesus? Yes, even them.
Love one another with touch
and close contact---drawing close to those who have been left at the
edges---intimate connection with those who make us most uncomfortable, those
who are our lepers or our outcasts. Even
them, Jesus? Yes, even them.
Love people who have betrayed
us. Those who work toward our downfall,
who make our way more difficult, those who only have their interest at
heart. Even when they don’t earn it or
deserve it, love them with grace. Even
them, Jesus? Yes, even them.
Beloved. We have hard work in front of us. Like Eleanor, God advises that we be filled
before we have to empty ourselves. “This
is my body that is for you. This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” God
calls us to Eucharist—this sacrifice of thanksgiving—knowing that it is the
receiving of Jesus that empowers us to go and be Jesus. To go and serve. To wash the feet, welcome the stranger,
forgive the enemy, empower the marginalized, feed the hungry, give rest to the
weary, and to refresh those who thirst.
Why? Why would we do this hard work? Why us?
Christ our Passover has been
sacrificed for us. Our Passover. Like our Hebrew brothers and sisters, thanks
to the Passover, no plague shall destroy us. Oh, we will face pain and
suffering—like Jesus who carried the cross, we will face death; we will be
struck down; we will be taunted and tempted, wounded and overwhelmed, but we
will not be defeated. The cross looms
before us, but we know what comes after.
We know there is life beyond the struggle. The shadow of the cross exists, but we cannot
forget that the cross is backlit by the glory of the Resurrection. And because we know this, we give
thanks. Why us? This is what we are made for—our reason for
being---this is the purpose which makes us whole.
The light and love of
Jesus---the glory that allows for death to be vanquished and for love to
win---has been passed onto us. We, the
living members of the Body of Christ.
Jesus says, “Do this in
remembrance of me.” When we gather and
make eucharist, break and share the bread and wine—we, by the power of the Holy
Spirit, are re-membering Jesus. We are
putting the Body of Christ back together—making Jesus a living and real
presence in the world. What we do here
this evening, and every Sunday, and at every Eucharist—is an act the makes
Jesus alive and well in the world. And
as we consume Jesus, we are consumed by Jesus---empowered and inspired to
continue the work of Jesus as we leave this place.
Episcopal priest Becca
Stevens puts it this way: With every bite of bread, with each sip of wine, we
become Eucharistic expressions of love: loving one another as Jesus loves us. We
got some hard work ahead of us. Come and sit at the table; you need a good
meal. Fill yourself before you have to
empty yourself.
And by this, everyone will
know, Jesus declares, everyone will know.
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