Lection: 1 Corinthians 11

April 14, 2022

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

“Do This to Remember Me”

Heather Pockett took some photos last Sunday during the Palm Sunday Parade at First Church. They were absolutely adorable photos of her little son Lucas dragging his palm branch down the aisle – falling behind the crowd of older children, but participating enthusiastically in the celebration. Those photos will help Heather to remember what was a special moment in Lucas’ young life, and she’ll undoubtedly share them with family and friends, and eventually an older Lucas will get a glimpse of himself as a young boy.

We use photos a lot to capture and later remember special moments in our lives. And now that they are so easy to take and to share, many of us have thousands and thousands of them stored on our computers, or in the cloud, or posted on Facebook where they pop up on the anniversaries of their posting as “memories” of times past.

However, neither Jesus’ earliest disciples, nor disciples today, have any photos of that holy meal that they shared together on the night that Jesus’ was arrested. If it had been our Last Supper with someone important to us, I’m sure we would have been taking selfies or … Read more »

April 1, 2021

1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-17; 31b-35

“Serving at the Table & Beyond”

Thank you, Rodolfo and Gabe, for sharing that lovely Ministry of Music with a beautiful invitation from Jesus to us all to “come to the table.”

Even though we cannot literally sit around a table together tonight, the invitation from Jesus himself is nonetheless extended to us all to gather spiritually in the community of Jesus’ followers. You are welcome here, no matter what your history, what mistakes you’ve made, what questions or worries trouble you. Jesus welcomes you, and we will strive to do the same.

As the song said, “Come to the table. Come join the sinners who have been redeemed. Take your place beside the Saviour. Sit down and be set free.”

When I think about our Christian celebration of the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion, I don’t often think of it as something that sets us free. When we come to the table, I am thinking about thanksgiving – Eucharist – and showing gratitude to God for God’s goodness to us. I am thinking about being fed – receiving the assurance of Jesus’ presence with us at the table, and being spiritually nourished by the bread and wine that are … Read more »

April 9, 2020

Exodus 12:1-14
1 Corinthians 11:23-26

“Plagues, Family Meals, & Remembering”

I was out last Saturday, dropping off some faith formation resources and girl guide cookies at the homes of our church families with children. And while I was doing it, I enjoyed a few nice chats with some of the parents and kids from a safe physical distance, usually at the bottom of the front steps.

But I’ll remember the greeting I received from one of the teenagers when she looked out the front door and saw me standing there: “I haven’t seen you since before the plague!” That’s quite the dramatic way of putting what’s going on with this viral pandemic, but I guess it’s not too far off.

Now, I’ve been leading worship services on Maundy Thursday every year since I was ordained. But I realized as I began to prepare this year that although the services have varied a great deal in their format and liturgies, they have always included a celebration of the Lord’s Supper and they have almost always included a foot washing or a hand washing piece – either with a few people having their feet washed in a symbolic or dramatic presentation, or with everyone invited to participate … Read more »