In our journey to the Resurrection, we have established that we are mortal, alive only by the grace and breath of God. We have sinned, resulting in eternal separation from God and daily suffering in this life. The fact of sin in our lives and in our world should cause us to grieve deeply.
Yet God had a plan from the beginning to redeem us. Jesus came to pay the penalty for our sin so that we only have to believe in Him, surrendering our lives to Him, taking our punishment on Himself. God is calling us to repent, to acknowledge our sin, turn away from it and toward Him. He has promised to forgive us if we ask and is calling us to return to Him. He calls us to live lives of reconciliation, with Him and with others, and also to be agents of reconciliation between Him and the world, directing them to Him.
It is important to take this week of Passover as a time of preparation; preparing our hearts for the Resurrection. Preparation and examination are things we should do on a regular basis to keep our hearts and spiritual lives healthy. They are also important to do when taking communion, partaking in the Last Supper. It is an important ritual that carries deep symbolism. In taking the bread and cup, we are remembering the sacrifice Jesus made, how He broke His body and poured out His blood to pay for our sins. Taking communion while harboring sin, intentionally or unintentionally, is a serious affront to God and can cause significant damage to our spiritual lives. We need to look deeply into ourselves and invite God to reveal anything in us we do not see which needs to be dealt with.
Psalm 139:23-24 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Search me, God, and know my heart;
Put me to the test and know
my anxious thoughts;
And see if there is any hurtful
way in me,
And lead me in
the everlasting way.
1 Corinthians 11:23-32 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread; 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.” In the same way He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.
Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy way, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a person must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For the one who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not properly recognize the body. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number are asleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.
Passover and Easter are the times when we celebrate this happening. Every time we take communion looks forward to this week. Even if communion is not offered this Sunday, it is still important to come to the day with our hearts prepared. One of the best ways to prepare is to spend time in prayer and fasting. This opens our hearts to God and helps reveal things that are otherwise covered up by the callousness of the world. It makes us more open to hear from God and ready to receive what He says.
Use this week to prepare and draw closer to God, to humble your heart and open your ears so that you can appreciate what this Sunday means.
