Eating on the Run -- Meditation for Maundy Thursday

Exodus 12:1-4, 11-14

We gather tonight around the Lord’s Table to remember Jesus’ last meal with his disciples. During that meal Jesus took bread and wine, blessed them, and gave the elements to his disciples. He told them to continue sharing this meal in remembrance of him until he returned (1 Cor. 11:23-26). The roots of this meal of remembrance are found in the Passover celebration. The reading from Exodus 12 describes the origins of that meal, which celebrated God’s deliverance of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt.

According to Exodus 12, this meal featured three items—roasted lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs. It’s a fairly simple meal, which took some time to prepare, but once the meat was cooked and the bread baked, it could be eaten on the run.

There is another part of the story that needs to be mentioned. Not only did God direct the people to prepare a meal, but God told them to take some of the blood from the slaughtered lamb and put it on their doorposts. This blood would serve as a sign to God, so that God would pass over that house when the angel of death struck down the first born of Egypt, because of the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart.

The Lord’s Supper is similar to the Passover meal, because both meals invite us to remember that God has redeemed us from bondage, whether that bondage is slavery in Egypt, or the bondage of sin. Both involve the shedding of blood as a promissary note, guaranteeing that God will fulfill God’s promises. Both meals are meant to unite the community in a common purpose. Both are intended to be celebrated as a perpetual ordinance.

As I read this passage, something caught my eye. It has to do with the instructions given in Exodus for eating the meal:

This is how you should eat it. You should be dressed, with your sandals on your feet and your walking stick in your hand. You should eat the meal in a hurry. (Ex. 12:11 CEB).

In other words, Passover isn’t a nice leisurely meal. It’s intended to be eaten on the run. It’s supposed to sustain a community that’s about to march toward Zion. There’s no time to waste, because Pharaoh might change his mind and chase after them.

Jesus’ last meal has a sense of urgency as well. He knew that the days to come would be difficult, and that he needed to prepare them for what was to come. In preparing them for the future, he established a meal that would help them, and us, to remember God’s promise of redemption revealed in Jesus.

The meal we celebrate this evening speaks to the urgency and the danger involved in God’s mission. Walter Brueggemann put it this way: “leaving Egypt is a dangerous anxiety-ridden business” (NIB, 1:777). The same is true for us as Christians, as we head out into the world bearing the good news of Jesus. Brueggemann helps us understand the connection between the two meals and the urgency of these two missions. He writes:

Christians like Jews are children of these marked doorposts, marked for safety in the midnight of chaos and crying. Christians like Jews, are Children of this hurried bread, postured to depart the empire, destined for freedom outside the norms and requirements of the empire. [NIB, p. 779]

What does it mean to be “children of this hurried bread?” What does it mean to live outside the norms and requirements of the empire? Are we ready to take the journey to true freedom that God offers us and the world? Are we ready to eat on the run?

By: Dr. Robert D. Cornwall

At: Northminster Presbyterian Church

Troy, Michigan

Maundy Thursday

April 13, 2017

Living Faithfully in Times of Crisis - Sermon for Pentecost 23C (Luke 21:5-19)

Luke 21:5-19 It’s almost Thanksgiving. The weather is changing, the leaves have dropped, and pumpkin spice is everywhere, letting us know that winter is on the horizon. We also seem to be living in a time of crisis. The United States government suffered its longest shutdown in the history of our country, which only ended late Wednesday evening. People who were working without pay, or trying to figure out how to put food on the table with the suspension of SNAP benefits, are thankful that the government has reopened. However, damage has been done. We can’t forget the war in Ukraine that continues unabated, while the ceasefire in Gaza remains tenuous, and trouble is again brewing in the West Bank. Then there are the political and cultural divisions here at home that continue to get worse, which can make for challenging times at many a family Thanksgiving table. Times like this can lead people to wonder if the end of the world might be at hand. As we ponder the chal...

Meeting Jesus, Changing Direction in Life - Sermon for Pentecost 21C (Luke 19:1-10)

Luke 19:1-10 People often had life-changing experiences when they met Jesus. While not everyone responded positively to his ministry, there were many others who left behind their old lives after they met Jesus and chose to follow him. This was especially true of people like Peter and Andrew, who, along with James and John, left behind their fishing businesses to follow Jesus. Then there’s Levi, who left his tax collection booth when Jesus invited him to join his band of disciples, but not before he threw a banquet for Jesus and his friends. Jesus would add seven more members to his inner circle, but there are others who followed him. Luke also mentions the seventy who went out on a mission. Then there were several women who joined his team after they encountered him, including Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and others who provided for Jesus through their own resources. Even if they didn’t join the band, there are many other stories of life-changing encounters. ...

Is It Time For a Lament? - Sermon for Pentecost 17C (Lamenations 1)

Mourners, Pran Nath Mago, 1947 (National Book Trust, India) Lamentations 1:1-6 It is said that American Christians struggle with laments. We like our religion to be positive and uplifting. I understand why. We often go to church when life is difficult, hoping to be inspired, but there are times when we need to be in a community where it’s okay to weep. We need places where it’s okay to share our concerns as well as our joys, a place where we can acknowledge that there are things happening in our world that trouble us. Because we are a religious community, when bad things happen to other religious communities, we’re affected as well. We can empathize with them. So, when news came last Sunday that a man drove his truck into the front of the LDS church in Grand Blanc, shot and killed four members, while wounding eight others, before setting the church on fire, we feel their pain. Next time it could be us. There were also two other mass shootings that day, one in North Carolina a...

Words of Welcome

Search This Blog