A Memorial Service

Tomorrow is Memorial Day in the United States. It is a day that has been set aside by our government to remember. We remember those who answered the call of their country and willingly gave their lives for something bigger than themselves. To remember, millions go to military cemeteries to remember the fallen. To remember, a small American flag will be placed on the grave of every fallen soldier in Arlington National Cemetery and in cemeteries around the country. To remember, many will place beautiful flowers on the graves of fallen soldiers. To remember, we set aside our schedules and our day to day routines to honor sacrifice.

There are a lot of similarities between Memorial Day and our Communion Service. Everyone in church services today has someone who loved him or her enough to lay down his life on the cross for their sins. And so we take time out of our schedules and our routines and we gather to remember.

We remember he was “pierced for our transgressions” and “crushed for our iniquities.”
We remember “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
We remember that Jesus “himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

But the key to understanding communion is in the differences between it and any other memorial observance. There is no tomb for us to visit and lay flowers on. No, we serve a risen savior, who’s in the world today. Flags and flowers do not honor him. No, we gather at a table instead of a tomb and we lay our lives at the foot of the cross as a living sacrifice for Jesus.

Each Lord’s Day millions gather around the Lord’s table to remember the crucified and risen Lord. Let us eat the bread and drink the cup “in remembrance” of our wonderful Savior.