Prelude

Welcome

Call to Worship

—Psalm 149, adapted

*Opening Hymn

“O Lord, Grace Our Communion” HS 1
OR “In God’s Most Holy Presence” HS 5

*Invocation

*Response

Litany

Leader: We prepare for this sacrament service by confessing our sins and knowing we are forgiven.

Congregation: We are uplifted before you, our God. We seek the unity and love that flows through this house of worship as we come to share together.

Leader: Thus, we remember that great sacrifice of your Son and take this bread and wine as his dying legacy.

Congregation: Your presence makes the feast; now let our spirits feel the glory not to be expressed; the joy unspeakable.

Leader: Now let our souls be fed with manna from above.

Congregation: And over us your banner spread of everlasting love.

—Worship Resources for the Sacraments, Judy Judd, ed. (Herald Publishing House, 1989), 77.

Hymn of Preparation

“Give Thanks” NS 11
OR “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart” HS 345

Blessing and Serving of the Bread and Wine

Hymn

“Let Your Heart Be Broken” HS 377
OR “Brothers and Sisters of Mine” HS 388

Communion Challenge: Exodus 12:1–4 and Romans 13:8–14

Disciples’ Generous Response

Jesus was a scholar of the Hebrew scriptures. He knew that the Law and the prophets expressed God’s concern for the poor. The Law stated every seventh year the land was to rest so the yield could be shared with all who needed it. In the Jubilee year (every fiftieth year), the slaves were to be set free and all debts forgiven. Jesus understood God’s special concern for the poor.

Jesus demonstrated the spirit of the Law in his life and his ministry. To become a true disciple of Jesus is to share your all with others. “And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’”

*Closing Prayer: Doctrine and Covenants 38:4c–f, adapted

*Hymn of Sending Forth

“Christ for the World We Sing” HS 478
OR “Make Us, O God, a Church That Shares” HS 484

*Sending Forth: Exodus 12:14, adapted

*Postlude

Scriptures: Exodus 12:1–14; Psalm 149; Romans 13:8–14; Matthew 18:15–20; II Nephi 15:10–12; Doctrine and Covenants 38:4c–f

The Exodus scripture describes the institution of the Jewish Passover. The Passover was during the time when the people were living in captivity in Egypt. Instructions for the sacrifice of the lamb or goat were clear and specific. Of particular importance was the smearing of blood from the sacrificed animal onto the doorposts of the house, so that each obedient Israelite home would be so marked. God would pass through the land and kill every firstborn, but would pass over the homes that bore the sign of the blood on the doorposts. This killing of the Egyptian children may seem like revenge for what Pharaoh did to the Israelite boys in Exodus 1.

Yet the emphasis here was not on death or killing, but on God’s saving acts in the life of the nation Israel. In verse 14, the people were commanded to observe the day of Passover as a day of remembrance—a festival—forever. They were to repeat the ritual acts given to them that day.

In Romans 13 Paul reminds the Christians of the foundations of Jewish law by asserting that “the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (v. 8). Further, he restates Leviticus 19:18: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 9), the commandment referred to by Jesus in his reply to the scribe’s question in Mark 12:28–31. This is of course the call to live as Jesus did—for the sake of others.

The Christian practice of celebrating the Lord’s Supper draws on these two scripture texts. First we share in Communion in remembrance of Jesus Christ who was and is God incarnate. Just as the Passover was and is for Jews a festival of remembering the mighty acts of God, so is the Lord’s Supper for those who follow Jesus. The Lucan account of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples describes it as a Passover meal (22:15) and has Jesus telling them to “Do this in remembrance of me”(v. 19).

In the Romans text, Paul admonishes us to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 14). This is what we do as we receive the bread and wine in Communion. We literally take into ourselves the emblems of Christ’s body and blood, committing ourselves to be his presence, bodily, in our relationships with others. The instruction to eat and drink in remembrance goes further than consuming bread and wine. We truly remember (re-“member”) our Lord as we are found reaching out in love and compassion to those of our societies that are marginalized and rejected. In this way we help build Zion—communities where God reigns.