Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Friday, 3 October 2014 "A non-exclusive Lord's Supper"

Leawood, Kansas, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Friday, 3 October 2014 "A non-exclusive Lord's Supper"
Daily Scripture:  Luke 22:14-16 When it was time, he sat down, all the apostles with him, and said, “You’ve no idea how much I have looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you before I enter my time of suffering. It’s the last one I’ll eat until we all eat it together in the kingdom of God.”
17-18 Taking the cup, he blessed it, then said, “Take this and pass it among you. As for me, I’ll not drink wine again until the kingdom of God arrives.”
19 Taking bread, he blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, given for you. Eat it in my memory.”
20 He did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant written in my blood, blood poured out for you.
21-22 “Do you realize that the hand of the one who is betraying me is at this moment on this table? It’s true that the Son of Man is going down a path already marked out—no surprises there. But for the one who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man, this is doomsday.”
Reflection Questions:
The Passover Supper was a memorial of God's great liberating act in setting Israel free from slavery in Egypt, central to their faith. The night before his crucifixion, Jesus gathered his disciples around the table. They shared the Passover, and Jesus redefined the meal into a way of remembering his giving of his body and blood to save them (and us). But even that meal wasn't limited to "good" people—Jesus noted that his betrayer was there.
Practical issues and centuries of Christian tradition may make it hard for you to think of the Lord's Supper as a "meal." But the next time you take part, imagine a great meal, with Jesus as the host offering you and all those around the table with you the bread and wine. How might a sense of the Supper's "meal-ness" create closer bonds between you and those who share the meal with you?
Yes—Judas was at the Last Supper, that awful man! Scholar William Barclay wrote poignantly, "Jesus Christ has at every communion table those who betray him, for if in his house we pledge ourselves to him and then by our lives go out to deny him, we too are traitors to him." What made the difference between Judas and the other 11 flawed, fallible disciples? How can you, even when you fail, avoid being a traitor to Christ?
Today's Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for inviting me, and welcoming me, at what the psalmist called the table you spread before me in the presence of my enemies. Keep me humble and grateful for the privilege of being your supper guest. Amen.
Insight from Chris Folmsbee
Chris Folmsbee is Resurrection’s Director of Discipleship Ministries.  He is the author of several books, with an extensive background in applying principles of spiritual growth to real life. He, his wife Gina and their family have been attending Resurrection since 2008.
The more I experience the Eucharist (or the Lord’s Supper, or, sometimes, Holy Communion) the more I realize that I am not merely consuming the bread and the drink in remembrance of the work of Jesus on the cross. In addition to that, I am remembering the work of Jesus on the cross by allowing the bread and the drink to consume me.
As my friend Pastor Tim Suttle said in his nifty book Public Jesus, “Most of us are willing to accept the benefits of the body and blood of Christ. But few of us, I think, are willing, really willing to go all the way in allowing that [the Eucharist] to make demands on us.”[1]
Jesus’ invitation to the table is an invitation for all people (even people like Judas) to fellowship with the Crucified one, the Risen one and in doing so not just remember what Jesus did—but who Jesus is and what Jesus called his disciples to do.
The invitation to commune with Jesus (as well as the community of disciples as a whole) is an invitation to choose to live a life defined by the entire life and ministry of Jesus. When we eat the meal Jesus gave us we recognize that Jesus “earnestly” waits for us to share in his work, which is the redemption of the world, the cause which ought to consume us as followers of Jesus.
Next time you eat of the bread and drink of the cup take time to remember that there are benefits and demands that come with this sacrament. The benefits are to remember that Jesus was torn and his blood shed for our salvation. The demands are that we might, in remembrance of Jesus, live out the mission of Jesus and become the bread and wine for the world to feast off of us in order that all may know Jesus and experience redemption.[[1] Suttle, Tim. Public Jesus: Exposing the Nature of God in Your Community. The House Studio, Kansas City, Mo, page 63.]
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