Next Sunday in Jerusalem

"For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." 1 Corinthians 11. 26

"Next year in Jerusalem !" This formula traditionally closes the Passover meal among the Jews. It expresses the hope of returning to the holy city of those who, for centuries, have been scattered throughout the world.

For us Christians, the Jewish Passover points to Jesus and his sacrifice performed once, during the Easter week. Paul says : "Our Passover, Christ, was sacrificed" (1 Corinthians 5: 7). Every Sunday, the Lord's Supper, a simple meal of bread and wine, recalls the death of the Savior to whom we owe eternal life. This memory makes us look back, but we also take it in expectation of the coming return of Jesus Christ. From one moment to another, the Lord will come back and bring the story to an end in the heavenly Jerusalem. We could say at the end of this meal : "Next Sunday in the definitive Jerusalem !"

"Next Sunday in Jerusalem" : faith will be changed into sight. The Lord whom we love without having seen it will then be directly perceptible to the senses of our glorified bodies. We will see the wounds of the cross whose resurrection body still bears visible marks. We will hear his voice speak to us.

"Next Sunday in Jerusalem" : all traces of sin will have disappeared forever. Disappeared, all these faults which dot our weeks and which lead us to "examine ourselves" with confusion. Disappeared, all these distractions that make our thoughts wander during the worship. Communion will be perfect then.

"Next Sunday in Jerusalem" : The people of God, today dispersed and divided in so many denominations, will finally be united in a visible unity that nothing will ever break and which will be allied to the diversity of each of its members. "Next Sunday in Jerusalem" : the Lord's Supper will no longer be needed. This memory is for the earth, in the time of hope. The worship will be so immediate that it is said that God and the Lamb will be the temple, the central place of worship.

So on this Sunday (the last ?), Our hearts exclaim : "Amen ; come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22. 20).

Source (Pleasing the Lord)