Remembering Our Lord’s Death – kenbarnes.us
In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes again. 1 Corinthians 11:25-26 ESV
There is a cemetery in Boalsburg, a small town in central Pennsylvania. In 1864, during the Civil War, three ladies started picking flowers in late Spring and placing them on the graves of fallen soldiers from their community. They established the tradition on May 30, 1868, as a federal observance in Waterloo, NY, called Decoration Day. Thus, this is the origin of our Memorial Day celebration.
World War 1 was said to be a war to end all wars. How did that work out? There is a simple reason that the world has never experienced perpetual peace: the Prince of Peace has not returned. Until Christ’s return, we are told in the Holy Scriptures to proclaim his death and to remember how our salvation through Christ’s broken body and shed blood. Communion is public, where we commune with God and each other. It is a demonstration of the unity of the Body of Christ. It establishes that we are all brought into the family of God in the same manner through Christ’s work on the Cross.
We should be grateful and remember all who gave their lives this Memorial Day so we can enjoy our freedom in this nation. Yet, as believers in Christ, we also have a memorial observance that we participate in regularly, Holy Communion. We honor a death that will end all death. We remember a God who cared so much that he would die for us, even when we cared very little about him. Praise be to the Lamb that was slain.
As the songwriter wrote, “Amazing grace how sweet the sound. That saved a wretch like me.”
Image used by permission from Microsoft.
Ken Barnes, the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places” YWAM Publishing and Broken Vessels through Kindle Direct Publishing.
Ken’s Website— https://kenbarnes.us/
Ken blogs at https://kenbarnes.us/blog/
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