It Will Begin with Promises Held in Symbolism ...

A wedding ring is supposed to hold a clear purpose.  It is supposed to be a symbol to all who see it, that the person wearing it is married.  But wearing a ring is no defense to the actions of evil.  What begins in the heart is seldom forestalled by a certain ring on a certain finger.  When you think about it, Adam offered Eve no such symbol, yet he was her husband for more than 900 years before his death, and will remain her husband for all of eternity when the saved are called up to redemption.  A ring was not needed to make that promise, or to hold to it.  His heart aligned to hers, and hers to him, was more than enough to make that marriage so.  Hearts display fidelity, or they do not, rings have little effect.  Yet some modern Christians get lost in the idea that a wedding ring is some sort of fence to keep the evils of betrayal at bay.  They put faith in the symbol, instead of the in the God who alone can keep the hearts pure.  But then as noted above, these rings were never given to us by God to be a part of our marriage services or lives, they were symbols we chose to adopt on our own.

I see women who wear necklaces of gold or silver with a Greek fish symbol, or a cross, as the only piece on the chain.  The Greek fish was to symbolize how early Christians could recognize each other during a time of violent persecution.  Though more often this symbol was drawn in the sand and quickly erased, not put on constant display for any to see.  And in our world today, there are few places where persecution exists, and where it does, this symbol would not be a secret anymore, it would be a neon sign effectively identifying a Christian to go persecute.  The cross on the other hand is more of a mystery to me.  For reasons I do not understand, Christians choose to venerate and treat with reverence the most ignominious symbol of torture and death ever to be invented by the spirits of cruelty.  We make them out of gold and silver and hang them around our necks.  We adorn our churches with fantastic stained glass depictions, or tall steeples on the tallest towers of our church buildings to declare to all who see it that this is a “Christian” church.  We talk about the cross as if “it” were the magnet drawing us to Christ at the most painful moments of His life.  Why?  Why not venerate the stone rolled away on the tomb that could not hold our Savior down?  Why do we pick the moment of death to uplift, and seem to ignore the moment of resurrection, is it because it is not as pretty on a necklace?

But while Christ was crucified on a Roman Cross, He was put there by the leaders of His own church.  And it was not Christ who chose that fate, we chose it for Him.  He died willingly, we made sure it was the most painful way ever.  Christ did not offer the cross as our symbol of our salvation.  We chose that as well.  And now we sing about it.  We wear tiny little ornate crosses around our necks.  We tell each other there is grace found at the foot of the cross, as if it is found no where else.  And again we get caught up in a symbol Jesus never offered, as if it is protection against vampires and evil of all varieties.  It is not.  It is a symbol of wicked evil we choose to venerate over the symbol of a heart steeped in love for others.  And so we expect the Christian to be recognized by Greek fish symbols, or the wearing of a Roman torture device, but notably NOT for the fact that said Christian loves other so hard nobody can scarcely believe it.  Love has always changed the world for the better.  What we wear is a symbolism we choose for ourselves that does not increase our love one iota.

But Jesus did offer us modern believers some symbolism.  Not just empty remembrances of historical events, but rather promises embedded within the symbols.  Promises we cling to.  Luke recounts now the main events of the death of Jesus Christ accomplishing the salvation of you and I.  They begin in a most unlikely place, at dinner.  But not just any dinner, a Passover dinner.  You may remember the Passover dinner contains unleavened bread, which is the bread of haste.  No time to let it rise.  Just get it in the oven and eat the tortilla, or pita bread, or naan bread if you prefer, whatever your culture may be.  Also at this meal were bitter herbs to remind Israelites of their bitter time as slaves to Pharaoh.  And perhaps our bitter time as slaves to sin.  A lamb offering used to spread blood over the doorposts would also serve as the meat at such a dinner, though there is no mention of that in the gospel accounts.  Is that detail significant?  On the other hand the drinking of pressed grapes is mentioned.  A delicacy unlikely to be experienced by any captive Israelite on the night when this feast was first commemorated.

Luke begins in chapter 22 picking up in verse 14 saying … “And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. [verse 15] And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:”  Luke omits a preliminary of Jesus washing the feet the disciples.  Other accounts offer this.  But Luke does capture how much Jesus was really looking forward to eating this meal with His disciples using the words “before I suffer”.  You will note it is not even His death that occupies His mind, but it is the suffering He will endure at having to be separated from the presence of God while He carries the sins of this world on His shoulders.  Jesus has never known a break in that connection, and He can sense it is coming very soon.  It will begin this very night in fact.  So this meal Jesus will enjoy with His merry band of followers is the last moment of reprieve before what comes is an agony no mortal will ever understand.  Time with those you love is more important than anything this world will ever have to offer.  And how casually so many of treat the meals we spend with each other, until they are gone forever.

Luke continues in verse 16  saying … “For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. [verse 17] And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: [verse 18] For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.”  This is it for Jesus.  This is not just dinner, not just a special Passover feast, but it is His last dinner, His last supper on this earth.  Over the next few days, no one will think to offer Jesus any food.  You don’t feed the torture victim, you starve Him, as it adds to the torture.  He won’t be eating again until our salvation is fulfilled.  And as for pressed grapes (juice not wine), He won’t be drinking that until after the second coming and we can drink it with Him in heaven,  What a wonder I expect that taste will be.  Jesus has been waiting more than 2000 years to taste it, I should imagine it is going to be earth shattering.  The point here though, is that this particular dinner is different, special, and is something Jesus plans to mark as well.

Luke continues in verse 19 saying … “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. [verse 20] Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”  And here is where our salvation is bound up in symbolism and intended to be committed to our collective memories.  So the eating of this Passover style bread, and the drinking of pressed grapes, is supposed to remind us of the sacrifice Jesus made to save us.  Jesus was to be lamb.  The innocent blood to cover for our guilty blood.  His body given for us.  His blood shed for us.  Now we modern Christians do just what our Pharisee forefathers liked to do with stuff like this.  We create pageantry out of it.  We give it a ceremonial name like “communion” and attach this ceremony to calendars to offer it “every so often”.  Outside of that, go about your normal routines.  But when “communion” comes up, we do things in a special way.  We may even setup a ceremonial foot washing service ahead of the trinkets of food and grape juice.

But that is not what Jesus proscribed.  No, what Jesus said, was … every time you eat bread, think of me.  At every meal.  Every day.  Nothing special about it per se.  The bread is the reminder.  And every time you drink pressed grapes think about how my blood was shed for you.  Jesus attached no names to these behaviors.  Jesus attached no special calendars.  And eating a tiny ceremonial morsel of bread, or small sip of grape juice, does not make it special.  It defeats the point.  Eating meals with our loved ones is the back story.  Bread is a frequent menu item at these meals.  Grape juice perhaps more rare.  But anytime we do choose to consume these things we are meant to remember Jesus offering body and blood for us.  We don’t have to be in a church to get it.  And as for being humble enough to wash each others’ feet, we should be that humble, and provide that level of service every single day, to every single person we come across.  You don’t need communion to make that special either.  That defeats the purpose.  Jesus was servant of all of us all the time.  So we should be to each other, all the time, to every single person you encounter.  Especially your own family.  If you find it hard to serve them, you have found your practice grounds to get better at serving.  Just don’t let it end there.  Take that service out and find others who need it, and keep serving.

And you married couples who have been relying on a ring to make you feel married.  Imagine what it would be like for the husband to rub the tired aching feet of his wife every single evening at the end of the day.  Not just for 2 minutes, but for as long as you possibly can.  And imagine if you wives rubbed the tired backs and heads of your husbands.  Not just for 2 minutes, but for as long as you possibly can.  Serving each other with affection, with love, with attention to the needs of each other.  Now add to that some toast, and grape juice, from time to time, and you have your own version of family communion where you can remember what Jesus has done for us.  You don’t need “church” to help you embrace the true symbols Jesus has offered.  You only need humility, service, and time to share a little food with each other with some particular ingredients and drink.  And the beauty is, you can do it anytime, with anyone.  Call out what Jesus has done, and you unlock the promises of your own salvation in the doing, in the remembering, and in the serving with love.

For so long we have chosen to create our own ideas of symbols that hold promise.  And we ignore the ones Jesus actually gave us.  We box those up and only attempt to experience them 4 times a year.  We trust to trinkets of silver or gold, and ignore the humility in our hearts that would lead us to submit, to allow Jesus to teach us what it really means to love.  A Christian should be easily identifiable because we love so hard, and so wide, there becomes no other explanation than we must know Jesus on a first name basis.  A true experience with Jesus leads to that kind of love.  A casual experience with Jesus results in no real changes of the heart.  Where are you with that?  Has Jesus so rocked your world, you find yourself overwhelmed with the needs all around you?  Or do you tend to pass that need right by?  Are you ready to remember the body of Jesus offered for you every time you eat bread, or would that idea just seem like it is too much for you right now.  But your salvation is there every single day.  Why not remember it.  Why not embrace it.  Why not let it over run you like a semi-truck going 90mph?  And watch what Jesus can do with the life you offer Him.  He may just change the world … through you.  That is the kind of promise He makes in the symbols He offers.