THE MEMORIAL SUPPER.
HOW sacred the
memories which gather around the anniversary of our Lord’s death! It calls to
mind the Father’s love as exhibited in the entire plan of salvation, the center
of which was the gift of his son as our Redeemer. It calls specially to our
thoughts him who gave himself a ransom-a corresponding price-for all.
Then faith comes still nearer to him who “suffered, the just for the unjust,”
and with grateful, overflowing hearts and with tear-dimmed eyes we whisper, My
Savior! My Redeemer! My Lord and Master! “He loved me,
and gave himself for me.” Ah, yes!-
“Sweet the moments, rich in blessing,
Which before the cross I spend:
Life and joy and peace possessing
From my best and truest Friend.”
How blessed the thought that he cares to have us think of him and call him
ours;-he so great-“far above angels” and every title that is named, next
to the Father himself,-and we so insignificant, so imperfect, so unworthy of
such a friendship. And yet, to think that “he is not ashamed to call us
brethren;” and that he is pleased to have us memorialize his death; and that he
gave us the bread to emblemize his broken flesh, and the wine to emblemize his
shed blood,-the one to represent the human rights and privileges purchased for
all, and of which all may partake, the other to represent the life he gave
which secured everlasting life for all who will accept it!
How delightful, too, to count, as he and the Jews did, the days and the
hours, even until finally, “the hour being come,” he sat down with his
disciples to celebrate the death of the typical Paschal lamb, and to consider
the deliverance of Israel’s firstborn from the great destruction which came
upon Egypt, and the subsequent deliverance accomplished through those firstborn
ones for all the typical Israel of God.
How precious to look beyond the type which was commemorated, and to hear
the Master, as he took new emblems say, “This [celebrating of the
Passover] do [henceforth] in remembrance of me!” Ah yes! in the crucified One
we can now see “The Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.”
“Christ our passover [lamb] is sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the
feast;” for as oft as we do this we do show forth our Lord’s death until
he come again-until, his Kingdom having come, we shall be permitted to drink
with him the new wine (the new life and joy) in the Kingdom.-Matt. 26:29; 1
Cor. 5:7,8; 11:26.
But we are not only privileged to enjoy the favors of our Lord’s sacrifice
(by partaking of its merit and its consequent advantages; viz.,
justification and restitution rights and privileges by faith, as redeemed), but
more than this: we are invited to share with our Master in the sacrifice
and in its glorious reward. He says to us, Whoever is in sympathy with my work
and its results-whoever would share my Kingdom and join in its work of blessing
the world-let him also be broken with me, and let him join me in drinking the
cup of self-denial, unto death. To all such he says, “Drink ye all of it.”
The Apostle confirms this thought, saying: “The cup of blessing which we
bless, is it not the communion [fellowship] in the blood [death] of
Christ? The bread [loaf] which we break is it not the communion
[common-union] in the body of Christ? For we being many [members of Christ’s
body] are one loaf and one body; for we are all partakers of that
one loaf.”-1 Cor. 10:16,17.
Gladly, dear Lord, we eat (appropriate to our
necessities) the merit of thy pure human nature sacrificed for us-for our justification.
Gladly, too, we will partake of the cup of suffering with thee, realizing it to
be a blessed privilege to suffer with thee, that in due time we may also reign
with thee;-to be dead with thee, that in the everlasting future we may live with
thee and be like thee and share thy love and thy glory as thy bride. Oh! that
we may be faithful, not only in the performance of the symbol, but also of the
reality. Blessed Lord, we hear thy word saying, “Ye shall indeed drink of my
cup and be baptized with my baptism.” Lord, we are not of ourselves able thus
to sacrifice; but thy grace is sufficient for us, for we are wholly thine, now
and forever.
Oh! what a thought; that if faithful in the present privilege of
drinking of his cup and being broken with our Lord as his body, we with him
will soon be that “Church of the first-born ones whose names are written in
heaven,” and as such shall constitute the Royal Priesthood, which, under our
great High Priest, will lead out of the Egyptian bondage and slavery all those
slaves of Sin whose groanings and prayers for deliverance have entered the ears
of the Lord of Sabaoth.
These will be some of the thoughts which will constrain numbers of the
Lord’s people all over the world to meet in little groups (and sometimes quite
alone with Jesus) on the evening of March 26th, next, after six o’clock, to
celebrate on its anniversary the most notable event in the history of the
Universe of God. (We prefer to get the date of this anniversary memorial as
exact as possible; tho we do not understand that it would seriously matter if
we had not the exact day: it is the event and not the day that we
celebrate. Nevertheless, a uniform annual date is desirable.)
Eat and drink, O beloved, says the Bridegroom to his spouse. (Sol. Song
5:1.) Let us eat and drink reverently, devotedly, thoughtfully, prayerfully,
tearfully perhaps, as we each think of our Redeemer’s love and sacrifice, and
pledge ourselves afresh to be dead with him. Meet with any who recognize him
as their ransom, and who are pleased to do this in remembrance of him-or
else do it alone.
Let your heart be so full of the reality that forms and ceremonies will
generally be forgotten, except such as are needed for decency and order.
Prepare beforehand some sort of “fruit of the vine.” Our preference is for
stewed-raisin juice or unfermented grape juice: and for bread either Jewish
unleavened bread or plain water-crackers, which are about the same in
substance-flour, water and salt, without leaven. Leaven being a symbol of sin
or corruption, yeast-raised bread is not an appropriate symbol of our Lord, the
“undefiled and separate from sinners.”
The Church at Allegheny will meet at “Bible House” chapel, Arch street, at
7 P.M. of the day named. All who trust in the substitutionary sacrifice
finished at Calvary, and who are fully consecrated to the Redeemer’s service,
and who can make it convenient to meet with us, will be made very welcome.
Some who profess that their wills are fully immersed into the will of Christ, desire
to symbolize their baptism; and an opportunity will be afforded after the 3
P.M. services.
On the subject of Baptism see your TOWER for June 15, ‘93. For
further particulars concerning the Memorial Supper, see March 1st, ‘98 TOWER.