John 13:1-17; Mark 14:22-25-”When You’re Here, You’re Family”
A simple meal, water, bread and cup. These right here are more than mere elements. They are reminders of God’s grace. They are part of the holy chords that bind us together.
Before we get into the meat of this message, we have to begin with the most glorious and exciting truth of all…It is no on less than Jesus Himself who invites us into this supper when we partake of it. We should never view Lovefeast as something we have to do, but as a holy act that we get to do.
We should view it as a blessing of being a Christian, for each time we eat and drink, we are making God a promise. That promise is an answer to His promise that He has already made to us, to never leave us nor forsake us. We, in turn, promise Him, “Lord we will always strive to trust in You, and in your death on the cross as the only way in which we are saved and redeemed”.
Now let us begin, and I broke this into 3 parts.
Pt. I-The meal. Jesus and His disciples at a meal, they had fellowship with one another, just as Christ calls us here to have holy, encouraging fellowship with one another.
The meal reminds us both of God’s love, and also that we are a part of His family. We are brothers and sisters in the Lord. By His grace, we are made a family, adopted sons and daughters of the King! If you are ever feeling low about yourself, remember you are a child of the KING OF KINGS! That is a great privilege.
We are a holy nation, a family of priests. Remember we are all ministers, and as servants, it brings us to part II.
Pt. II Feetwashing. Jesus washes the disciples feet. This was no glamorous task, and it was reserved only for the lowliest servants. Jesus, God-in-the-flesh, loves us so much He is willing to act like a servant to show it, so we therefore do this to follow His example out of love for Him and one another.
Our God is not afraid to get his hands dirty, and He says to us, “You cannot be afraid to get your hands dirty either.” We focus on the physical act of washing feet, but I see something deeper here too. God is showing us we cannot be afraid of one another’s dirtiness. It is part of loving your neighbor, scars and all.
None of us are perfect, and yet God still loves us 🙂 We also ought to love one another.
We all have true friends, friends that are beyond just acquaintances. They are the special ones who have seen us at our best and worst, let us laugh and cry. They are the friends we are not afraid to show our scars and brokenness, because they have proven to us they will not leave us.
We have a friend like that in Jesus, and He calls us to be that kind of friend to one another in the church, to walk with each other through the good and bad of life.
Feetwashing also reminds us of our baptism. Every time we wash, we encourage one another to stay faithful, strong, and keep following Jesus.
See what Peter says here? “Lord are you going to wash my feet?” Basically Peter is saying “God I do not want you near the dirtiest part of my body”. We are like Peter. We give God some parts, but the dirtiest parts that are shameful, we hold back.
We say, “God you really don’t want to touch this stuff” And God answers, “Yes I do, I want all of you, your brokenness, mess, shame, all of it”, because if we do not trust Him to heal us, forgive our sins, restore our life. If we do not trust Him to handle our brokenness and dirtiness, then we do not have a place with Him.
Jesus says to Peter what He says to all of us, “I want your dirtiness so I can cleanse you because I love you”
Finally, Pt III-The Bread and Cup-People today want a faith they can experience, a faith they in which they can engage their senses.
God makes Himself known to us by the ear when we hear His Word preached. He makes himself known to us by the eye, when we ready the Bible ourselves.
Yet, here is a symbol of God’s presence in our lives. We touch it, we taste it. Preaching reveals the truth of God in speech. Bread and cup reveals the truth of God in symbol. Bread and cup are heavenly symbols. They present Christ to us, who’s body was broken and blood was shed for us.
Jesus gave His life so we could have freedom from sin’s icy cold grasp. And now He invites us to this same table as well. To Eat and Find Life! Jesus is extending the table to us as imperfect and broken humanity, and saying “Come friends, feed upon the bread of life”
When we eat the bread and drink the cup, that is our “yes” to God’s offer of grace. The bread and cup reminds us of new life, beginning now and lasting through eternity. Fellowship with the meal, rededication with the feetwashing, unity with God in the Bread and Cup.