Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary

By Sara L. Isbell (Trustee, '03 Alum MDiv) Pastor, Chatham United Methodist Church, Chatham Illinois

“The Last Supper.” Chapel of the Unnamed Faithful. Photo by Al Caldwell.

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (I Corinthians 11:23-26)

Do this in remembrance of me. Remember your baptism. Remember... What does it mean to remember, to eat and drink, to live, in remembrance of Jesus Christ? I, like many of you, was baptized as an infant and so I do not "remember" my baptism. I was not present at the Last Supper to hear Jesus speak those words, and so I cannot "remember" him saying anything at all.

But faith that is lived, not out of memorization or reconstruction, but out of relationship, knows what it means to remember. Living in remembrance of Christ means living with him, for him, because of him, every day. Living into my baptism means living into, and up to, the promises that were made on my behalf. It is like the way I "remember" my marriage and motherhood. I may have forgotten details of my wedding, but I live each day like I know I am married. I may have blocked out the pain of childbirth, but every day I call my children by name, and I claim them as my own. These are not just events I remember happening: these are relationships that have forever changed my life and my identity.

“Jesus’ Baptism by John.” Chapel of the Unnamed Faithful. photo by Al Caldwell.

It is said that Martin Luther found hope in difficult circumstances when he stood at the basin to wash his face each morning, and looking at himself in the mirror, said aloud, "I am baptized!" Not, "I was one time baptized," or "I have been baptized," but "I am baptized!" Now, and forever. Remembering who he was, and to whom he still belonged, gave him hope and purpose.

I've been trying that recently, whenever I wash my hands. I try to imagine that the water from the tap is washing away not only dirt from my hands, but my regrets, faults and failings, as well, and I say to myself, "I am baptized! I am part of the Body of Christ!" And when I break bread, I try hearing again Jesus' words, "Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." My daily routines become moments of re-membering and re-claiming him, until he comes again.

Holy Thursday is, as they say, "a day to remember" - a day to remember him, and to remember that we are part of him. Many of us will wash one another's feet, or hands, this evening, and offer one another the bread and cup. These are acts not simply of recollection, but of relationship. May they remind us that we are part of each other - part of the Body of Christ.