"Why Is This Meal Different"

      Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present. Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover."

      "Where do you want us to prepare for it?" they asked.

      He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there."

      They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

      When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."

      After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

      And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

      In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table."

      Imagine yourself a guest in a modest home. The family is gathered in the dining room, the table set with the very best linens, china, and glassware. Each person is wearing what we would call their "Sunday best." The children squirm in their seats, eager for this special meal to begin. These questions and answers are heard during the meal:

      "Why is this night different from all other nights? On all other nights, we may eat chametz and matzah. On this night, only matzah. On all other nights, we eat many vegetables. On this night, maror (bitter herbs). On all other nights, we do not dip even once. On this night, twice. On all other nights, we eat either sitting or reclining. On this night, we all recline. "

      "Why is this night different?" This is the question asked by the youngest child around the family table, the table at which the Jewish family celebrates the Pesach Seder, or the ritual Passover meal. The Passover meal signals the beginning of a seven day celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.¹

      Pesach recalls the Hebrew escape from slavery in Egypt. It recalls the haste with which the Hebrews left their homes, homes in which their doorposts had been marked by lamb's blood. They left in such haste the bread they took with them did not rise.

      The command to honor this day comes directly from the book of Exodus: And this day shall become a memorial for you, and you shall observe it as a festival for the LORD, for your generations, as an eternal decree shall you observe it. For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, but on the first day you shall remove the leaven from your homes ... you shall guard the unleavened bread, because on this very day I will take you out of the land of Egypt; you shall observe this day for your generations as an eternal decree. - Exodus 12:14-17

      In an orthodox Jewish home, Pesach preparations are long, involved, and include an enormous amount of detailed housecleaning. Among other things, the entire home has been cleaned and cleared of all grain products made with leavening. Utensils which have touched leavening are removed, and even pets which have been fed with leavened grains are treated differently.

      One description of what must be done said the stove must be cleaned with toothpicks and Q tips! There are probably some of us who have been known to do such things and we are not even Jewish. This is pretty intensive spring cleaning.

      The Pesach Sedar meal is formal and ritualized. The Seder is a Jewish meal. It includes fifteen different parts, from the multiple blessings of wine and matzoh (unleavened bread), to ritual washing, to consuming vegetables, salt water, and bitter herbs ² dipped in an apple mixture ³.

      Jesus is doing what Exodus commands when he shares what we Christians have come to know as the "Last Supper." Jesus and the disciples honor their Jewish heritage. They remember the deliverance of the Jews from Israel, and the covenant made by God to bring the Hebrews to the promised land.

      In this way, the Lord's Supper connects us with our Jewish brothers and sisters. It is a meal which Jesus, as Jewish rabbi, celebrated with his family, and it is a meal that Jesus, as Messiah, transformed. Matthew, Mark, and Luke each describe how this Passover meal was altered by Christ's words, commands, and actions. We must never forget the context of this sacred meal, which was just before Jesus was betrayed and crucified.

      The Passover meal shared by Jesus with his friends was a meal of remembering: giving thanks to God for God's deliverance. In Jesus' hands, it is transformed into something more. The "Old Exodus," the Jews leaving Egypt and moving toward freedom--- is transformed into the "New Exodus," the freedom offered by Christ. What had once been only an historical event---the deliverance of God's chosen people----is transformed into a mystery that transcends all time.

      In Christ, all humanity is delivered, this time not from the oppression of a human pharaoh, but from the chains of sin and death. The old covenant in which God promised the land of milk and honey is changed to the new covenant of life in and through Christ. The binding of the Jewish community in the Passover meal is enlarged to include the possibility of all human communities, as people are physically and spiritually drawn to Christ. What has been an earthly meal becomes a meal of cosmic proportions! Prophecies in the Hebrew Bible find fulfillment in Christ, the broken Lamb of God, and the resurrected one.

      That's a lot of theology for a Sunday morning!

      Last week I met with four of our children and their parents to help them learn more about Communion and the Lord's Supper. I gave them a simple mnemonic of some things to know about the Lord's Supper----STAR.

      "S" stands for supper. The sacrament of communion is a supper in which we share a symbolic meal. It is a table to which we come hungry, to be filled with Christ, to be filled by Christ, and to recognize the presence of the One broken for us. This is a supper where everyone is welcome, sinners especially. In the gospel of Luke, Jesus breaks social supper rules all the time. Social barriers are crossed, as He dines with tax collectors and the outcast. At this last supper, even Judas (the betrayer) is not turned away from the table. "S" stands for supper, a supper for sinners. Sacred, status-free, sacramental, sacrificial, and symbolic.

      "T" stands for thanksgiving. As Jesus gave thanks at this meal, so do we. As we remember the old and new covenants with God, we are grateful. As we recognize the real presence of the One crucified and risen, in the mystery of the bread and cup, we fall on our knees with gratitude, filled with grace. We have much to be thankful for. Eucharist means giving thanks.

      "A" stands for anticipation. Jesus' actions that Passover night signaled a sea change in the understanding of this sacred supper. No longer was it just a time to remember God's great actions in the past, but it becomes a time to anticipate God's future. No more is it a time only to know what has been done by God, but a time to know what will be done to make God's kingdom come into the world. We anticipate that time.

      "R" stands for remembering. Remember the story, the Passover and the Last Supper. Remember covenants, old and new. Remember the promise and the fulfillment. This remembering hits us where we live, as we remember who we are and who we belong to. Remember that Jesus who is present in the broken bread is the same Jesus we meet in our own broken lives, the same Jesus we encounter in the brokenness of our world, and the very same Christ who calls us first to be broken of our past, to be healed and made whole by our future in him. Remember who He is and who we are.

      Why is this meal different? It is different because Christ, the lamb who was slain, the one whose blood was spilled, the bread of life broken for us, has made it so.

      We come to a transformed table. No longer a Pesach Seder, but a Lord's table in which we welcome all baptized believers, and today we welcome three of our own children who come, asking, "Why is this meal different?"