One of the things I miss the most with the alternative gatherings we’ve had with my church is the weekly communion. It helps me to look back on the work of Christ, to look inward at my sins and failings, to look upward at the provision God has made for my redemption, and to look forward to Jesus’ return in glory. This is a meditation I wrote many years ago as I was preparing for a communion service.

It’s another Friday night, and three young girls from the office pool are excited about hopping in the car and heading to the club for a few drinks and dancing. It’s a chance to forget about the boss and the headaches of their jobs. As the night goes on, their minds jaded by the effects of the drink and the loud music, they almost forget who they are, and who they are with.

It’s another early Monday morning, and an old man in a tattered coat slumps into a public park bench to try to get a little sleep. Years of the bottle have dulled his senses to where he can only vaguely recollect who he was so long ago, a lifetime ago.

It’s another Wednesday afternoon, and a lonely housewife pours herself a drink, her fourth already today. She tries to remember the days when life with her husband was exciting and romantic, but 14-hour days at the office have left her a widow in effect if not in fact. Her heart dimmed by the whiskey, she lies down on the couch to forget her own life and live through the ones she see on the TV screen…but only sleeps.

It’s another Saturday night, and a bunch of good ol’ boys, anxious for a good time and a chance to forget about their jobs head to the local tavern to shoot pool and swap fish stories. Later, their senses slowed by the smoke and the beers, they forget who they are, get a little rowdy and later regret the damage left on their trucks.

The world drinks to forget…

It’s another Passover in ancient Israel, and in the midst of the long-established religious tradition, a Teacher lifts the bread and the cup and gives them new meaning. “Eat this…drink this…to remember me.”

The world drinks to forget; we take the bread and the cup…to remember. Because we tend to forget and need the reminder. “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”

Psalm 103 lists the many benefits of the Lord…forgiveness, healing, redemption, love and mercy, satisfaction with good things, renewed youth, righteousness and justice, revelation, steadfast love.

The world drinks to forget; we drink to remember.

“Do this in remembrance of me” – Jesus