Sunday, March 20, 2016 – Palm Sunday “A Truly Open Table” Santina Poor Luke 22:14-23

There are times in our lives when someone seems to know the perfect thing to say just when you need to hear it the most. Maybe they share words of wisdom with you following a confusing experience. Maybe they offer words of hope and love when you are feeling sad. Maybe what they are offering are words of forgiveness after you’ve made a mistake. Or maybe they offer words of welcome, inviting you into their space and into their lives, at a time when you feel most vulnerable and alone. Throughout Luke’s gospel we are witness to many stories of Jesus offering words of wisdom, love, forgiveness, and welcome. In our text this evening, we are witness to Jesus’s invitation to his friends to join him at the table for a meal that will change their lives. It is an invitation that continues to be extended to us today to be part of this life-changing meal that takes place at a table that has room for everyone. Today I’m reading Luke’s gospel, chapter 22, verses 14-23 – Hear what the Spirit is saying to the church: When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 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.

Throughout his short ministry, Jesus has been on a journey. It began with Jesus’s baptism by John, which was accompanied by God’s affirmation of Jesus as God’s beloved son. The journey moved forward when Jesus was in Nazareth and read the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Not only did he read the words, he informed the crowd, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” As he gathered his disciples and they traveled throughout the land, Jesus taught about God’s love and forgiveness as he shared stories and offered healing to those who would believe in the power of God. The stories Jesus shared, the lessons he imparted, the words he carefully chose, his healing miracles and acts of kindness all demonstrate the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation. From the very start of his ministry he did not shy away from answering the question, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” His answer? “I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” This theme is carried out in the stories he tells and the people he supports– the prodigal son, the good Samaritan, the woman with the alabaster jar, and Zacchaeus, to name a few. Now his journey has taken him to Jerusalem, where he knows he will meet his end. He knows this because, as Luke explains, when Moses and Elijah appeared to Jesus on the mountain they spoke to him about his departure which would happen in Jerusalem. In spite of what he knows is waiting for him in Jerusalem, he sets his face to go to there. He arrived in Jerusalem to great fanfare – his followers singing and covering the road in their 2 cloaks to honor him. But things are beginning to change. Tension is building and trouble is on the horizon.

Jesus and the disciples have remained in the city teaching and preaching and now it is Passover. This is where we meet Jesus and his disciples – as they are preparing for their Passover dinner. Being observant Jews, it is not a surprise that Jesus and the disciples would celebrate Passover. This meal is the annual commemoration of the Israelites’ release from slavery. The celebration of thanksgiving for that freedom God promised Israel is carried out annually through ritual and story. Luke is very careful in his description of Jesus’s Passover experience. Things are changing for Jesus and his followers, because Jesus knows his time on earth is drawing short. One of the keys in this text is the way that the disciples are identified. No longer are they called disciples – the learners or apprentices. In this text they are now identified as apostles – the messengers or delegates. Their roles are changing as Jesus approaches his death. They will be the ones who continue to teach the good news. They must step into this vocation since their teacher will no longer be with them. Traditionally the Passover meal is shared with family. Jesus welcomes the apostles to share the table with him for this meal. This family is gathered around the table for their meal together. The Passover meal has become “The Lord’s Supper.”

The Passover meal is a celebration of a promise kept, of a covenant created between God and God’s chosen people, the Israelites. The many rites that are part of the meal each have significance. First, a lamb must be sacrificed in a specific way; however, it is important to remember that this sacrificial lamb is not an offering to atone for sins. This sacrifice is a seal of the covenant the Israelites had with God – the covenantal promise of release from the slavery and oppression of Egypt. In vv. 19- 20, Jesus offers an invitation to his apostles to be part of a new covenant. “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.” The old covenant was a promise between God and the Israelites. The new covenant, sealed with the sacrifice of Jesus, is a promise between God and all people. This promise of a life free from oppression is not limited to the people of Israel. Jesus has brought a wider scope of God’s love and mercy to the world through his sacrifice and everyone is welcome at this table to participate.

I mentioned earlier that in Luke’s gospel Jesus has a strong focus on the themes of forgiveness and reconciliation. Jesus finds another opportunity to demonstrate this during the Lord’s Supper. Jesus shares the meal and speaks to his apostles about the new covenant they are all part of and reminded that Jesus is willing to shed his blood, to die, to create this covenant . All of his apostles are included in this covenant – the table is open to all. However, Jesus knows that one of his apostles will betray him after dinner. He knows who it is although it is clear the other apostles do not know. In spite of knowing this information, Jesus was careful to include Judas in the meal and the promise. It wasn’t until after they had eaten the bread and drunk from the cup that Jesus made this announcement, “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!” Throughout this gospel Jesus has spent time with every type of person that his society rejected. It should not be a surprise that Jesus included his betrayer in this special meal and life-giving promise because Jesus lived his life in a mindful way in which he was careful to make sure his actions matched his words. When he expanded God’s covenant to include all people, it meant the invitation was open to “sinners” too. The Lord’s Supper offers us all an opportunity to share in God’s promise of mercy, love, and grace that we have done nothing to earn but are freely given to us by God. 3

The celebration of the Lord’s Supper has changed over time and each church and faith community seems to have their own specific set of guidelines for the sacrament. Its importance can be seen in the faces of the people who receive it in community. We are God’s people.

Tex Sample is a theologian and storyteller from Texas. He shared a story from many years ago when he was part of a civil rights march in Birmingham. Hundreds of folks were marching together. They were excited and scared but mostly scared because racial tensions were so high there. As they marched, a woman from one of the houses they marched by came out with peanut butter sandwiches and a thermos of lemonade. She passed out the sandwiches and cups of lemonade to the marchers. As Tex passed the sandwiches down the line he looked at the people marching with him and said, “This is the Body of Christ.” As he passed out the lemonade, he said, “This is the blood of Christ.”

Sometimes the open table where Jesus invites us into this new covenant is not a table at all. Sometimes it is a group of folks marching together for the cause of justice. Sometimes it is at the bedside of a dying patient in a hospital ICU. Sometimes it is with a community in the church sanctuary where everyone is invited to share the Lord’s Supper – from the preschoolers who cannot help but stick their whole hand into the chalice full of grape juice to the person sitting in the pew who just happened to walk into church that morning on a whim because he was feeling guilty about leaving his spouse. No matter the setting, as we take and eat that tiny bit of bread and drink from the cup of juice it is our food for the journey. It sustains us and reminds us that we are not alone – that through Jesus we know that God is active in our lives. Through Jesus we are part of the new covenant.

Jesus chose his words carefully. When he offered the bread to his friends it was with the invitation to take it and “do this in remembrance of me.” It was actually more than an invitation, it was a command – the author used the imperative form of the verb in addressing the audience. Each time we receive the Lord’s Supper, we are summoned to recall the sacrifice Jesus made that was a seal of the new covenant of promise to all of us from a God who loves us and sets us free.

Jesus knew the words his disciples needed to hear then, and Jesus knew the words we need to hear now. His words of invitation into a life-giving promise meant that although Jesus would not be sitting at the table with his apostles after this night, he would still be present every time they, and we, break bread and share the cup and remember his promise and his sacrifice. You’re going to hear the Passion story read following this sermon. As we listen, I invite you to close your eyes and picture what is happening as well as what Jesus had said to his apostles as they shared the bread and the cup: “This is my body which is given for you.” We will meet again next Sunday is joyful celebration of our risen savior, but this week, consider his love. Consider his sacrifice. Consider his invitation to join him at the table.