“The Man Carrying a Jar of Water”

          This Sunday (August 3rd), my community of faith will celebrate “The Lord’s Supper” (or “Eucharist”) as we do on the first weekend of every month, as well as during other special worship services throughout the year. 

But, why do we celebrate this "ritual" every month?

            The Lord’s Supper is described in all three of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew 26: 26-29, Mark 14: 22-25, and Luke 22: 13-20) as well as in Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians (11: 23-26).  In my message this Sunday, I will use Mark’s account to explore why we celebrate the Eucharist each month.

            All of these scriptural passages describe Jesus as instituting The Lord’s Supper (or Eucharist) as part of his celebration of the Jewish Festival of Passover with the disciples.  Mark begins his story with the disciples asking Jesus, “‘Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?’” (Mark 16: 12).

            Jesus responds by sending two (unidentified) disciples into Jerusalem and telling them to look for a man “carrying a jar of water.”  Now, in the Jerusalem of Jesus’ time, the sight of a man carrying a jar of water would have been very startling because carrying water was usually a task fulfilled by a woman within each household.  At any rate, the disciples are to follow this man back to his house. 

 

              At the house, they are to ask the head of the household, “‘The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’”  Jesus reassures the two disciples that the house owner will then show them an Upper Room, which will be ready for them to make the Passover meal preparations. 

            In order to fully understand The Lord’s Supper, it is important to remember that the Jewish Passover celebrates the Israelites escape from bondage and slavery in Egypt.  The Passover celebration was a very important and meaningful religious observance for Jesus and all of his followers, who were all devout Jews.  The Passover consists of special foods and a liturgy which is followed during the meal.  According to historians, the celebration of the Passover in Jesus’ time would have taken a form similar to this:

A.    Preliminary Course  A word of declaration, with a preliminary dish (an appetizer) consisting of greens, bitter herbs, and a sauce of fruit puree.  The first cup of wine is shared.

B.     Passover Liturgy.  Here the story of the first Passover and the Israelites escape from slavery and bondage in Egypt is shared, beginning with these words:  “A wandering Aramean was my father…”  The second cup of wine is shared.

C.     Main Meal.  Grace is spoken over unleavened bread, and then a meal is shared.  The meal consists of the Passover lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs, with fruit puree.  The third cup of wine is shared.

D.    Conclusion:  A fourth cup of wine is shared.

In Mark, when the two disciples go into Jerusalem, sure enough, they find a man walking through the street, carrying a jar of water.  They follow the man and find this Upper Room, just as Jesus had predicted.  There, they prepare the Passover meal.  At the time for the meal, Jesus and his disciples gather together in the Upper Room.

During the Passover meal, Jesus takes a loaf of bread, blesses it and gives it to his disciples, saying:  “‘Take; this is my body.’”  Then, he takes a cup of wine; after blessing the wine, he offers it to his disciples, telling them:  “‘This is my blood of the [new] covenant, which is poured out for many.’” 

In The United Methodist Church we recognize The Lord’s Supper and Baptism as sacraments.  Both sacraments are established in the Bible and we are encouraged to practice them as part of our spiritual lives.  A sacrament is an outward, visible, and physical sign of an inward and spiritual gift or assistance from God. 

When we celebrate The Lord’s Supper, I frequently feel especially close to Jesus.  Usually, a warm glow fills my heart and soul, as though Jesus is embracing me in his loving arms.  I become strongly reassured that I am not alone in this dark, mysterious universe. Instead, I am always warmly embraced by the love of Jesus for me personally and I am convinced of Paul’s claim in Romans that nothing, not even death itself, can ever “separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (see Romans 8)  I sometimes feel Jesus’ presence as though he is right there beside me as we celebrate The Lord’s Supper. 

This is why we celebrate The Lord’s Supper:  it allows us to be healed from all that separates us from the love of God and to re-connect with the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives.  The Lord’s Supper should not be a ritual that we periodically go through.  Instead, it is a spiritual—sometimes mystical—connection with the love and presence of Jesus which is already present in our lives, even if we sometimes turn away from it and disavow this source of flourishing and of life, itself. 

But, there is more.

The Lord’s Supper is also that spiritual moment which points us to the future and reminds us of our ultimate destiny; that moment when Jesus will keep his promise to the original disciples as well as all of his followers.  As recorded in Mark, Jesus says:  “‘Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’” (Mark 14: 25) 

 

The Lord’s Supper never ends.  Instead, it always points the way forward to the “eschaton,” the time when Jesus will come again; when God will transform us and everything else into a New Creation; and when God’s Reign will be fully established.  At that time, Jesus will join us and all of his disciples at a heavenly banquet and celebration.

 

Come, join us this Sunday, as we explore and celebrate The Lord’s Supper.  Our church is located at the corner of Main and Dawson Streets in Meriden, Kansas.  Our classic worship service starts at 10 am on Sunday mornings. 

Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.