"Pass it on
Break the bread, lift the cup
Pass it on
The broken will be lifted up
Every gift grand and lowly
Every purpose great and small
At this feast they are made holy
By your name we have been called
By your name we have been called
From a raindrop to a river
From one word into a song
Source of all gifts, Friend and Forgiver
Bring us together, to pass it on"
Pass It On by Peter Mayer
It's so basic. A little bit of bread and a little bit of
wine coupled with the promise and invitation, "given and shed for you, for
the forgiveness of sins..do this in remembrance of me."
The meal of promise as Peter sings, "the broken will be
lifted up." This, my friends, is the real meal deal, given and shed
for you, for the forgiveness of sins.
Today Christians all over the world will follow the call,
"It's time to eat." And as we gather we bring all the things that are
us. We bring our gifts, and we bring our debts. We bring our fears, and we
bring our hopes. We bring our memories which can be full of blessings and joy
or which need to be healed, lifted up and left at the feet of Jesus. We bring
our futures, those roads and journeys yet to be taken, and ask for blessing. We
bring our present tenses and tensions (who we are right now) and what we
quietly wish for in our hearts and minds.
The Psalmist reminds us, "I will lift up the cup of
salvation and call on the name of the LORD," (Psalm 116).
It is the miracle of this meal that Jesus who we
invite to be our guest (in what we often call the common table prayer) turns
the tables on us (as he always does) and comes not only as guest, but becomes
the host, in fact the very feast of victory himself. He in turn calls us
by name and gives us the bread of life, the cup of salvation.
"From a raindrop to a river
From one word into a song
Source of all gifts, Friend and Forgiver
Bring us together, to pass it on"
On this day, Jesus said, " I give you a new commandment
that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one
another." (John 13:34) I've included the text in Latin so you can see the
words, "mandatum novum," a new commandment, a new mandate.
34 mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis
invicem sicut dilexi vos ut et vos diligatis invicem
This "commandment day" becomes "Maundy"
Thursday. It seems to me the "real meal deal" calls us to transform
the other days of the week as well--Maundy Friday, Maundy Saturday, Maundy
Sunday, Maundy Monday (hey, maybe that's what the Mommas and Papas were singing
about), Maundy Tuesday and Maundy Wednesday.
Pass it on,
rtg
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