THE REMEMBRANCE SUPPER "DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME" April 6th 2017
THE REMEMBRANCE SUPPER
"DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME"
March 19, 2017
“When Jesus had thus established the supper of the remembrance, he said to the apostles: ‘And as often as you do this, do it in remembrance of me. ... This is the new Passover which I leave with you, even the memory of my bestowal life, the word of eternal truth; and of my love for you, the outpouring of my Spirit of Truth upon all flesh.’”
– UB 179:5.9
It was a solemn night, on April 6, 30 A.D., when Jesus arranged for a special supper with his twelve apostles. He knew he would be arrested later that evening and eventually be put to death, and so he wanted to prepare them and strengthen them for those events. He established the first Remembrance Supper as a means to remind them of the life he lived, his teachings of love, and the blessings he shared and would be sharing in the future. He wanted them to remember his life, not his upcoming death.
This Supper is the only ceremony or sacrament associated with his whole life mission and the only event he expressly asked that we memorialize. For this reason, the Remembrance Supper should be paramount in the minds of all those who love our Sovereign Christ Michael, who incarnated as Jesus of Nazareth.
On April 6, 2017, after sundown, faith sons around the world will meet together in private homes and elsewhere for the annual commemoration of the Remembrance Supper. We invite all, including all Urantia Book readers, to share in this night with us by commemorating the evening in small private groups with family and friends. This is a night for all mankind because all of us owe our existence and future life to Michael as the Creator of everything in our universe. As he explained, he is ‘the way, the truth and the life.’ If we expect to reach the Father on Paradise, we must first come through Jesus.
The Remembrance Supper is a very simple unpretentious supper as described in Paper 179, chapter 5 of The Urantia Book. It involves a sharing of bread and drink among men and women of faith as they remember Jesus Christ, the exemplary life he led, and his glorious message of freedom and salvation. The bread symbolizes ‘the bread of life’ – the life of the Father revealed in the Son, the living word of truth incarnated in mortal flesh. The cup of wine symbolizes the new dispensation ushered in by the outpouring of the Spirit of Truth.
Because the first Remembrance Supper occurred in connection with the Jewish Passover, the bread was unleavened bread and the drink was red wine. But these emblems are merely symbols. What is important is the meaning of the symbols, not the symbols themselves. So, if unleavened bread is not readily available, another sort of bread may be used. And if red wine is not available, another drink may be used, especially if those participating with you, including any children, would want to refrain from alcoholic beverages.
When planning your commemorations, we suggest you read Papers 179-181 to see how Jesus and the twelve apostles commemorated that night. You may find that many more things occurred on that night than you may realize. Some of Jesus’ most profound and enduring teachings were expressed that night. You might also enjoy watching the videos we prepared on those papers, The Remembrance Supper Special Edition Videos, in preparation for the Supper.
At a certain point in the evening, Jesus passed the bread and wine and commented on their significance. You can do the same at your Remembrance Supper. But rather than give you a formula for conducting your Supper, we encourage you to use your imaginations and let the spirit lead you in this regard. There are no formalities other than the sharing of the food and drink.
It was also an occasion to discuss spiritual things, including brotherly love and unity. In the first Remembrance Supper, Jesus washed the feet of his apostles as an object lesson in humility. It was the custom in those days for the servant of the host to wash the feet of the guests as they arrived. Pitchers of water, basins and towels were placed just inside the door for that purpose.
But on this occasion, there was no servant, so when the apostles arrived there was no one to wash their feet. Any of the apostles could have taken on that role, but not one of them did. Instead, they proceeded to the dinner table and took their seats, subtly vying for the honored positions next to where Jesus would sit. Jesus did not chastise them for their lack of humility. He simply demonstrated what real humility is by enacting ‘the parable of brotherly love’ – washing the feet of his apostles.
During our Remembrance Suppers, we should approach the evening with the same type of humility for our brothers and sisters in attendance. Not that we must wash each other’s feet, but we should be mindful of the needs of all those in attendance and look for ways to be of service to one another. And after we share in this intimate supper, perhaps we can carry that humility out of our homes and into our daily affairs. By faith we enter into the spiritual brotherhood, but we remain in it by the way we treat ‘the least ones’ of our brothers.
The Remembrance Supper is also an opportunity to publicly and openly confess our union with Jesus. Unfortunately, some UB readers have not reconciled in their minds the need to honor Jesus and carry on his ministry. In fact, a few shy away from any associations with the ‘Biblical Jesus’ for fear that they are subjecting themselves to outdated and authoritative religious ideas. Yet, they should realize that by including the life and teachings of Jesus in the Fifth Epochal Revelation, the revelators are emphasizing, not diminishing, the need to understand Jesus and to complete the ministry he began. Paper 195, chapters 9 and 10 expressly state as much.
And then, there is this:
“All of you who have had the courage to confess faith in my gospel before men I will presently acknowledge before the angels of heaven; but he who shall knowingly deny the truth of my teachings before men shall be denied by his guardian of destiny even before the angels of heaven.”
- UB 165:3.5
Thus, participating in a Remembrance Supper reveals our stand, not only to men, but to your Guardian Seraphim who joyfully represents you at your resurrection.
For these reasons, we encourage all to spend the evening in solemn contemplation. It is our wish that one day, our entire planet will give worshipful honor to the Christ and recognize our oneness as a spiritual family, children of God and brothers to each other. Imagine the rejoicing that will occur in heaven by the celestial family looking on at our faithfulness! And by so doing we can quicken the establishment of a worldwide brotherhood that will open the door to a divine visitation.
After the Remembrance Supper, please share with us your experience of commemorating this special occasion. We would like to know how you celebrated, what you talked about, how many attended and participated, where you are located on this beautiful planet, anything you are willing to share. We will set aside a section on our site where we will publish all such comments.
It is our prayer that more and more of mankind come to appreciate their wonderful Creator and Sovereign and the value of his teachings so that he will unquestionably know that his life and his death on earth, as well as his decision to provide a greater revelation, was not in vain. And as we ‘do this in remembrance of him,’ he will know that we heard him, that we believe him, that we honor him and look forward to supping with him in the heavenly kingdom.
Your Brothers in the Master's Ministry,
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THE REMEMBRANCE SUPPER
GREETINGS FROM OUR BROTHERS
2017
Each year, we reach out to all faith sons of God who make it a point to commemorate the Remembrance Supper Jesus instituted on the night before his execution. In the past, we asked that you write us and share your experience. This year we are asking that the faith sons that are able to send audio snippets of their evening!
Perhaps someone in the group can record a brief greeting on their cell phone to all the faith sons around the world who also participated in this year’s Remembrance Supper, letting us know where you are, how many attended and how the evening went. We will post your audio snippets on this page for the encouragement of all. Some have suggested that we send in photos of the groups. That is welcomed as well!
We look forward to a very spirit-filled Remembrance Supper on April 6, 2017, with full participation by all who love our Sovereign and long for the establishment of a worldwide spiritual brotherhood. This is a great first step, so please don’t forget to share your evening with us, in writing, in audio or in picture.
Your Brothers in the Master's Ministry,
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THE REMEMBRANCE SUPPER
THE CALL TO ADVENTURE
March 31, 2017
“The call to the adventure of building a new and transformed human society by means of the spiritual rebirth of Jesus’ brotherhood of the kingdom should thrill all who believe in him as men have not been stirred since the days when they walked about on earth as his companions in the flesh.”
(UB 195:10:6)
We agree with the Midwayer who wrote the above. We are thrilled at the prospect of building a new and transformed society – this generation’s call to adventure. And this call to adventure can be answered by anyone – rich or poor, learned or unlearned, male or female, old man or little child. All who choose to can have a share in building a spiritual brotherhood that will transform society.
A lot of activity has already begun. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world have had the opportunity to read about this call to adventure described in The Urantia Book. Hundreds of ministries and fellowships have formed intent on fostering a spiritual brotherhood. And in the past few years, UB readers are more willing than ever to discuss ways to unite as a community. Yet, at this time, a real unified spiritual brotherhood has evaded us. Why?
We believe the reason is because those efforts were not properly directed. The call to adventure is not merely to build a brotherhood loosely based around spiritual matters, but to build a spiritual brotherhood based on what Jesus taught about brotherhood – as quoted above, “the spiritual rebirth of Jesus’ brotherhood of the kingdom.” That has been the missing link.
We can ‘find’ that link in a united commemoration of The Remembrance Supper – the one and only sacrament Jesus ever asked his followers to commemorate, and the one and only sacrament that celebrates the Spirit of Truth of the Son fraternizing with the indwelling Divine Spirit Fragment of the Father. This divine communion is undoubtedly the best foundation for fostering a spiritual brotherhood based on the teaching of Jesus.
This year, we encourage all UB readers to join together in a united commemoration of The Remembrance Supper on April 6th after sundown, the anniversary of the first Remembrance Supper, without ecclesiastical sanction and in the private rooms of friends. We invite all UB readers, including those in the Teaching Mission, the scholars and academics, the UFO hunters, the interfaith participants, the Jesus respecters, and the Jesus lovers. We invite those who are isolated, and those who have become disillusioned, discouraged, and disgusted with the lack of a spiritual brotherhood to join with us in this new movement for a new day to prepare us all to answer ‘the call to adventure.’
No other movement can do this. No other religious crusade, no political campaign, no social experiment can ‘build a new and transformed society’ better or faster than those who answer the call to adventure described in The Urantia Book and who are united in the Jesus brotherhood. This is not the work of passive evolution. This call must be answered by spiritfilled sons of God who desire to create the change we need and who are courageous enough to follow the directions of the revelatory commission to quicken our path toward light and life.
“And then will these spirit-born souls quickly supply the leadership and inspiration requisite for the social, moral, economic, and political reorganization of the world.”
(UB 195:9:4)
We marvel at these words:
Urantia is now quivering on the very brink of one of its most amazing and enthralling epochs of social readjustment, moral quickening, and spiritual enlightenment.
(UB 195:9:2)
They indicate that our world is prepared for change, and it will not take much to push us over the brink and into an era of spiritual enlightenment. We are closer than we think to light and life. But it will take the united effort of a worldwide spiritual brotherhood – ‘ten men all pushing in the same direction at the same moment.’ (UB 81:6.37)
Join us, and your fellow UB readers in this year’s Remembrance Supper commemoration on April 6th, and prepare yourself to answer the call to adventure! And if you do, write us and share your experience and whether you think this annual tradition can unify our community.
Your Brothers in the Master's Ministry,
www.TheChristExperiment.org
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