Then [Jesus] 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." - Luke 22:19

Jesus spoke these words during his last dinner with his disciples before his crucifixion. We recognize these words as part of the Words of Institution for the sacrament of Holy Communion. Yes, disciples then and now have been faithful in breaking bread, sharing wine in remembrance of Jesus' loving sacrifice. But, really, what do we mean when we say, "Do this in remembrance of me”?

Let us visit the Jewish roots that Jesus claimed. Jews celebrated God's saving action for Israel every year at the Passover Seder. This was the meal Jesus ate with his disciples, remembering that God delivered his fore bearers from slavery in Egypt and lead them to the land God promised them. God commanded them to do this each year to ... yes ... remember God's mighty saving actions. “To remember" was not just a mental exercise, cognitively recalling what had happened. Instead, it meant to re-experience it, to re- member it, to experience it with the whole self, to put arms and legs on it again.

Jesus commanded his disciples, then and now, to re-member him as we again break bread and remember his body given for us, drink the wine and remember his blood shed for us and for all people for the forgiveness of sins. This re-membering invites us to be wholly present with this re-experiencing.

This is a month of celebrations for us at Trinity - beginning with Confirmation, Mother’s Day, Graduate Recognition and Memorial Day.   These celebrations are days we gather with family and friends and share stories and remember.  We remember when our confirmand or graduate were babies, taking their first steps, entering school and all the things in between then and now.  We give thanks and remember those who women who have shaped our lives and our faith.  And on Memorial Day, we remember those, known and unknown, named and unnamed, who have paid an enormous price for the freedom we all enjoy, it seems particularly fitting to focus on the uniquely human capacity to remember.

This is such an important opportunity for us to practice gratitude and appreciation.  Use this as an opportunity to tell the stories of those who have made a difference in your life.  Share these stories with your children and grandchildren. Get out pictures of them. Help a generation who will not experience them face-to-face to know them, to understand that they, too, have been shaped by them, as you pass on the lessons you learned from them, the values they lived, the passions they practiced.  

But don't stop there:  Take a moment to reflect on what do you want to be re-membered by those whose lives you touch? What are the values you want them to have learned from you? What qualities do you want them to exhibit in everyday life, even when no one is looking? What are the stories you want them to tell and know and cherish?

How will you help that to happen?

So, what will you do, beginning now, to live, create, and build your legacy? This intentionality is, I believe, a vital element to what Jesus meant when he proclaimed, "I came that you might have life and have it abundantly." Begin living that abundance now and savor every moment.

Pastor Krista