During the Passover meal that Jesus took with his disciples, Jesus took the cup and the bread and he gave thanks for them explaining, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Later he took the cup gave thanks and said,”This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” Though we are fully aware of where meat comes from, most of us do not think about the animal that we are eating when we eat meat for fear of being turned off by the sacrifice of a life being lost to create our meal. And many of us who are not bothered by thinking of the animal would possibly be bothered if we had to kill the animal ourselves. those of us who are bothered by killing animals would surely be bothered by killing and eating a human. But this killing of Jesus cannot be left out. His suffering sacrifice is a sobering reminder that the sin that the world tells us is normal, is anything but. In fact it is disgusting, shameful, and deadly. It separates us from God and is the exact opposite of what our Creator had in mind for our lives. Thus the communion meal is a sobering reminder of the true nature of the world that we live in.

The only thing that differentiates a Thanksgiving meal from the family meal on any other Thursday night throughout the year, aside from the types and amounts of food you may eat, is that fact that one meal is taken with intention. Likewise, the communion meal is not just a time to eat. It is a time to stop and celebrate God and his love, to practice the unity and intimacy that we will know perfectly in heaven, and to remember that this world is broken and is not meant to be our home.