Danny's Sermon

When everyone was finished, Davy and Danny returned the trays to their place and stepped to the front of the altar. Davy placed his hands together and asked if there were any questions. A lady raised her hand and stood. With tears running down her cheeks, she said in Spanish, “I have been taking communion every Sunday since I was eight years old, yet I have never really known what it meant. Yes, I knew ‘this is my body, this is my blood’ but they were only words. You have made it come to life. You have made our Lord’s love real, Gracias, Gracias.”
The lady’s words were translated and the room came alive with voices in both Spanish and English. One woman came to the front and kissed Danny and Davy’s hands. People were nodding and speaking to each other. Some were smiling, others cried. Another man stood and said, “We’ve had the Lord’s Supper in our church since I was a kid, you know with the cracker and the grape juice, but I thought it was something like singing a hymn. It was just a nice thing to do, sort of a Jesus thing. I didn’t know all that stuff you said. I heard it but it didn’t register. I know this is out of order, but if you don’t mind, I want to shake your hand. Before the man could get from where he was sitting, Davy ran to where the man was with an ear to ear grin on his face and shook the man’s hand. On his way back to the front, Davy glanced at Danny. Danny was wiping tears from his eyes.
It took several more minutes for everyone to regain their composure. As the crowd settled, Danny stepped behind the pulpit. He was silent as he looked at the people, then began. “And Jesus said, ‘Do this in remembrance of me’. Simple words, simple words. As I look at you wonderful people I see many sitting close together.” Danny smiled. “I would assume it’s because you are sitting with the ones you love.”
A moment of silence.
“That night at the Last Supper, Jesus was sitting with people he loved, people he had been with since the beginning of his ministry, people he had been with night and day for years. They had been with each other in the good times. They had been with each other in times that, maybe weren’t so good. These were people Jesus loved. For them, it was pretty much a night like other nights. They were together. They were sharing a meal. For them, it was a night like most nights. But for Jesus, this night was far from business as usual.”
Danny leaned forward on the pulpit.
“Right now, for you, and the ones beside you, it’s pretty much Sunday morning business as usual. You are in church.” Danny smiled and continued. “Soon the man talking in the pulpit will finish. You will leave this place and gather at your home for your Sunday meal. But, I would pose a question. What if you knew the Sunday meal you were about to share would be your last meal with the people you love? What if you knew this time, and the next few hours would be the last time you would spend on this earth with these people? Would it be the same? Would it be ‘business as usual’? I think not.”
Danny’s voice got a bit louder.
“But Jesus knew these things. He knew all too well what was to come. He also knew that the terrible things to follow would have to be completed for the sake of the ones with him at the table, and those not at the table, ones he loved every bit as much as Peter, John, and the other apostles seated with him. Ones who were yet to be born, ones who would not know this world for centuries to come.” Slowly Danny said, “Ones like you and like me.”
Danny looked around the room.
“What would you do if such an awesome burden fell upon your shoulders? What would you do if you knew the people you were with, the people you loved, were depending on you suffering and going through inhuman agonies, and yes, dying? What would you do? What would you do if you knew all humanity depended on you and your actions in the next few hours?”
Total silence.
“Jesus knew these things. How do we know? Let’s look at his words. Words he said just before he shared bread and wine with the ones he loved just as you, a few minutes ago, shared bread and wine with the ones you love. The accounts of the gospels differ in many ways, but the message is the same. Jesus took the bread and said, ‘This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ He took the wine and said ‘This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many’. Were these the words of someone who knew nothing of what was to come? He knew his body would soon be broken. He knew his blood would soon be spilled. He also knew who he was doing it for. He would be doing it for the ones sitting with him at the table. He would be doing it for those yet to come. He would be doing it for you and for me.”
Danny looked at Davy. Davy smiled and though his hands were placed in his lap, he raised his thumb slightly giving Danny a ‘thumbs up’. Danny had done good.