Category: We are Each Other’s Bread and Wine

What do we remember?

We are Each Other’s Bread and Wine
no. 4

Eichenberg's Lord's Supper (small)by Gareth Brandt
Emmanuel Mennonite Church
bbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, November 11, 2007

 

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

On Remembrance Day in Canada, our country asks us to remember the sacrifice of soldiers who died and are dying in battle.  “Armistice Day” was the original name given to this national holiday that began in 1919 to remember the First World War as the “war to end all wars.”  Armistice is about the laying down of weapons.

Sadly, World War 1 was not the war to end all wars but the war that began the bloodiest century in the history of humankind.  Guns have not been laid down; rather, more sophisticated weaponry has been invented.  We have a day of remembrance, but it seems we have amnesia.  We forget and repeat the vicious cycles of violence all over again.

Without memory we are bound to repeat the mistakes of history.  Memory is also one of the primary handles we have for understanding the roots of our faith.  Though we experience faith in the present, those experiences are built on the foundation of memory.  Memory keeps the significance of past events relevant and meaningful for the present.
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Communion as pledge to friends, neighbors, and enemies

We are Each Other’s Bread and Wine
no. 3

Eichenberg's Lord's Supper (small)by Mary Lehman Yoder
Assembly Mennonite Church
Goshen, Indiana, July 20, 2008

Ephesians 2:11 ff; John 13:34 ff

Back in 2002 when the propaganda war regarding Al Q’eda and Iraq was running at full steam, I heard that Rich Meyer, who has frequently served with Christian Peacemaker Teams in the West Bank, was floating a proposal around:

Our nation is gearing up for war. The Pledge of Allegiance is starting to be used as a measuring stick at best or a club at worst. How shall we respond? We should celebrate communion every Sunday!

Continue reading “Communion as pledge to friends, neighbors, and enemies” →

Palm Sunday homily: The messiah of peace

We are Each Other’s Bread and Wine
no. 2

Eichenberg's Lord's Supper (small)by Abbot John Klassen
Saint John’s Abbey
Collegeville, Minnesota, April 27, 2008

 

For a long time I have puzzled about the detailed instructions Jesus gives to his disciples regarding the colt he is to ride into Jerusalem.  In the Gospels, Jesus is not an arranger; he is always moving and speaking on the fly. But in this instance, he has set this all up. He’s taking pains to stage this event, to send a particular message.

Unlike the rest of his passion, Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem is his own initiative. It is a symbolic action at Passover time, when Jerusalem is filled with pilgrims, that manifests the meaning of his life and mission. This symbolic action is also a final plea to the religious authorities who have already decided to condemn him to death after the raising of Lazarus. Continue reading “Palm Sunday homily: The messiah of peace” →

The table of countercultural mission

We are Each Other’s Bread and Wine
no. 1

Eichenberg's Lord's Supper (small)by Daniel P. Schrock
Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship
Goshen, Indiana, April 27, 2008

Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!” Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this. (Luke 22:19-23, NRSV)

If you want to learn countercultural mission, then eat bread and drink wine at the table of God.

When Jesus sat down at a table with his disciples on that Passover night long ago, he knew what was going on in the mind of Judas Iscariot. Somehow Jesus knew that Judas was plotting to hand him over to the temple leaders. Indeed, a few days before this last supper with the twelve, Judas had quietly visited the chief priests and officers of the temple police in Jerusalem to offer them a deal. In exchange for a fee, Judas offered to help them find Jesus after dusk, when most people in the city were tucked away in their houses for the night. Reward me, said Judas, and I’ll tell you where Jesus is, so you can arrest him under the cover of darkness (Luke 22:3-6).

Jesus knew that Judas was in the process of betraying him (see 22:21). Ponder that for a moment. Continue reading “The table of countercultural mission” →