March 31, 2014

"Do this for the remembrance of me." - Eucharistic Prayer A, BCP page 362

My dad had the quickest wit of anyone I've met, and I often recount his jokes and comebacks with others. Telling those stories, I laugh and cry at the same time, delighted over his wit and longing for his presence. In trading stories about my dad, all of us who loved him remember him, finding ourselves in his presence again. Though physically gone, he is spiritually present in a powerful way. Our love for him means that he continues to live on in us - in the joy, words, and tenderness he invokes in us.

Our Eucharistic prayers reflect the same kind of remembering that invokes the presence of a loved one. They hold more power though, than the simple memory. Such remembering restores the body of Christ on earth, and every person who chooses to love becomes part of that body of believers.

In the Eucharistic prayer, we recall Jesus' instruction to "Do this for the remembrance of me." In those words, Jesus asks us to do much more than leaf through the memory album. He asks us to make him present to others by living as he lived.

Each time we love without thought of reward or condition, and each time we forgive others for having hurt us, we bring Christ's body to life again. When we hold the hand of a grieving or fearful friend, we become the hands of Christ, doing God's healing work in the world. When we speak words of forgiveness in response to those who have hurt us, we become the voice of Christ. When we invite others to lean on us, we become the shoulders of Christ, helping to bear the burdens of human existence. When we see the value in every human being, we become the eyes of Christ, looking with tenderness upon his beloved. In all physical gestures of human kindness, compassion, and care, we embody the presence of God on earth, 'remembering' the body of Christ in human flesh.

The words and actions we share at Holy Eucharist hold great power, not only in creating memories, but in reassembling the body of Jesus Christ. Because we love him and because we imitate him in our compassion, forgiveness, and self-sacrifice for others, Jesus lives on. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we don't simply remember him, we re-member him.

Lord Jesus, energize our words and worship with your presence.