Feast on the Mountain

^{GIven at Sydenstricker UMC on October 5th and 6th, 2019}

^NIV Matthew 26:26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." ²⁷ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."

^NIV Psalm 34:17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. ¹⁸ The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. ¹⁹ The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; ²⁰ he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.

^NIV Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine-- the best of meats and the finest of wines. ⁷ On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; ⁸ he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people's disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.

We come to this place and this hour preparing for communion. There is so much history and tradition within this service. So I thought I would start today with a little background. Jesus is in Jerusalem with the disciples and even though they are unaware of what is about to happen, Jesus, I believe, is fully aware. Jesus has come to this moment to set the world on a new path, to start a new church or should we say, resurrect the original intent of God. But on the night before all this will transpire, Jesus is doing something old, traditional and familiar. They are celebrating the Passover. Passover is the story of God’s unconditional love for the people we call “Hebrews” or “Jews”. It is the story of bondage and slavery, of being in the wrong place and under incredible oppression. They have come to Egypt 400 years before because of treachery and jealous emotions. They came because there was a great famine and they were hungry. They came because God wanted to reconcile a terrible act with a loving one, the reuniting of Joseph with his father and brothers.

Now they find themselves slaves for the Pharaoh, forced to labor in the heat of the day and to build the things that Pharaoh wants. There is a side story here too. Moses who supposed to be put to death as an infant has survived. Not only survived by was raised in the very court of those who wanted him dead. Moses, exiled now to the plains is called by God to come back and set the people free from bondage and slavery. God sends him back to Egypt and there he encounters some believe, the half-brother he grew up with. Pharaoh does not want to lose the workers so of course he says no. God sends plague and pestilence into Egypt that causes great disruption and harm but Pharaoh Stays the course and says no. God remembered that day when the Hebrew firstborn were killed. So God’s final answer is to tell the Hebrew people to take a perfect lamb or goat, to sacrifice it and place the blood of the animal on their doorways and lentils. That night, God sends the angel of death who goes throughout the land taking the lives of all the firstborn, except those who have the mark upon their doorways and lentils. This is the first Passover and the Jewish people celebrate this every year. Jesus sits with the disciples to celebrate this event and then changes it.

Jesus knows what is coming. So at the end of the Seder meal, Jesus takes the bread and passes it among them saying, “take eat, for this is my body given for you.” He also takes the cup of forgiveness and passes it among them saying, “Take drink of this, for this is the blood of my body shed for the sins of the world.” Sound vaguely familiar? It should, it resembles the Passover itself thousands of years before. What God did for the Hebrew people God is about to do for the world. Jesus sets up a meal for us to share with us what God’s unconditional love looks like that we might share it together until that day when we will share it with Him.

Communion is so sacred, so important that we have been celebrating this meal this way for over two thousand years. If you add in Passover, we may well have been celebrating this meal for twice that time. In the early days of Methodism, the circuit rider would appear every 90 days of so. Upon his arrival, he would share the news of towns far away or the village next door. He would baptize those who had been born since his last visit, share a sermon with the people and then they would celebrate communion together. It was and will always be a sacred event within our understanding. It is a mystery, we do not believe that the bread and juice is really the body and blood of Christ, but we do believe in the mystery that Jesus is present here with us in the moments when we partake of the bread and juice. We believe that this meal can be a converting experience for some and we invite all to God’s table, regardless of where we have been, what we have done and what iniquities, I love that word, we may have committed. God is offering us forgiveness, redemption and eternity in this meal.

I am a sacramental kind of person. I believe with all my heart that this meal is sacred and today we celebrate it across the world together in every nationality, every language, every culture and every understanding. Part of the sacrament is to understand that prophecy is important. God says it, and then makes it happen. God is right 100 % of the time. So in the Psalms God makes a point that the savior of the world, will be bruised, will be hurt, and ultimately killed for our transgressions. He will be suffer greatly that we might share in eternity free of the death from sin. Hear these words, The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all; ²⁰ he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken. HIS BODY WILL NOT HAVE A BROKEN BONE IN IT. When prisoners are crucified, their legs are broken to hasten death. But Jesus legs were never broken; He had already given up His life for you and me. So when you hear the communion message, we say that the bread is His body, given for us, because to say it was broken for us is to say He was not the Messiah at all.

I have shared this story before that some years ago a woman asked me a pointed question. She said she had been operated on some years back and had died on the table according to her doctors. She remembered that she was in a place where she could sense people she knew even though she could not see them. She was behind people who were clearly at a table but she was not allowed to come to the table. She was turned around and woke up in recovery. She wanted to know where she had been. Isaiah lived during a time when the people called Hebrew, had turned their backs on God. They had turned away and God sent them Isaiah to attempt to turn them back. It is an interesting read if you never have read it. In the prophetic voice of Isaiah, God lets us see that there is a path to redemption through one that God will send into the world. I love the words that Isaiah says about a feast on the mountain. Here them again: ^NIV Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine-- the best of meats and the finest of wines. ⁷ On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; ⁸ he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people's disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken.

With all my heart, I believe that this woman was at that table but because God still had work for her to do, she was not allowed the feast yet. Her story convicted me of the truth of this scripture and how God’s promises will be fulfilled in our eternal lives one day. This meal we are about to take is a foretaste, a teasing if you will, of the real meal that will come one day.

So here we are today, about to take of this wonderful meal that Jesus has set before us. But there is something important I want to share with you today. As you come prepared to take the bread and dip the bread into the juice and consume it, prepare your heart. What Jesus established two thousand years ago, what God put in place in Egypt is an opportunity to be free. It is an opportunity to experience God’s unconditional love in your life. It is more than just bread and juice; it is the gift of God that hung on a cross that we might spend eternity at a feast on a mountaintop. All you have to do is open your heart to God and be transformed by the power of love. Next month, why not invite a friend to come with you and share with them the story I have shared with you today. God’s meal is open to all. Come; be filled with bread and juice that you may never thirst again, that you may spend eternity without suffering or pain. Come, rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light, even though as He says these words, He hangs upon a cross that we might be free. Come!