DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME

we begin our journey at the table of the Lord’s Supper. At this table, Jesus entreated his beloved disciples to break bread and drink from the cup in remembrance of Him.

Yet after the supper, despite Jesus plea for Peter, John, and James to “stay here and keep watch with me… my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” his disciples let him down. They fell asleep, not once, not twice, but three times.

Jesus was all alone in his anguish. He knew the suffering, sorrow and separation that lay before him. He knew that God’s will for him was to drink from the cup of unimaginable pain and grief. We can almost hear Jesus pleading in prayer:

“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

As he prayed even more earnestly, we begin to see urgency of Jesus’ petition as sweat like drops of blood began flowing from his brow and falling to the ground.

The words “Do this in remembrance of me” may be very familiar to most of us. We hear them being recited every time we receive Holy Communion in church. Yet, dear friends, do we remember Jesus often? How often have we stopped, deliberately lay down everything, put our lives on hold, to contemplate Jesus’ love for us in the season of Lent thus far? Or have we too fallen asleep in our faith?

Pray: Dear Lord Jesus, I am reminded today of your call to remember you. As I look at my life, there are times when I have fallen asleep, times when I have relegated you to the outer fringes of my life. Lord, help me to turn my eyes upon you, to keep my focus on you in my journey of faith. Amen.

Act: Perhaps consider taking this time as an act of commitment to spending time with our Lord on a daily basis.