Title: Remember Your Redeemer
Contents
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1. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come, before the year draws near when you will say that I have no pleasure in it.
2. Before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars darken, before the clouds rise again after the rain.
3. In such a day those who guard the house will tremble, and the strong will be crooked, and the millers will cease because there are few, and those looking out through the windows will be darkened
4. The gates of the streets will be shut, and the sound of the millstones shall be less;
5. Such will fear the heights, and be amazed on the road, the apricots will blossom, the locusts will be a burden, and lust will cease, for a man returns to his eternal home, and mourners go to and fro in the streets.
6. The silver cords are loosed, the golden vessels are broken, the jars are broken by the springs, the wheels are broken at the wells,
7. Remember before the dust returns to the earth, and the gods return to the God who gave it.
8. The evangelist said, Vanity, vanity. All things are vanity.
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14. When the time came, Jesus sat down with the apostles,
15. He said to them, "I have longed to eat this Passover with you before I suffer."
16. I tell you, I will not eat it again until this Passover is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
17. Then he took the cup and gave thanks, saying, Take this and share it amongst you.
18. I tell you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.
19. And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do it in remembrance of me.”
20. In the same way with the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
21. But behold, the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table.
22. The Son of Man goes as it has been decreed, but woe to him who betrays him.
23. They asked one another, "Who among us will do this?"
Content
Title: Remember Your Redeemer!
Text: Ecclesiastes 12:1-8, Luke 22:14-23
[‘What is man’s primary and supreme purpose?’ ‘Man’s primary and supreme purpose is to glorify God and fully enjoy him for eternity’]. In a way, it is a question and answer that sometimes feels like God is only for you. Except for the human place and human happiness. But could God the Creator really do that? He is the lord of all things, who created and blessed them to resemble His image (Genesis 1:26), and He is the God who even gave His only begotten Son for us (John 3:16). It gives us hope that our happiness will be contained in ‘a life that glorifies God and fully enjoys Him forever’. The Old Testament text (Ecclesiastes 12:1-8) and the New Testament text (Luke 22:14-23) prove this. Hallelujah! Amen.
The book of Ecclesiastes is the life experience of King Solomon (1 Kings 3:4-15), who received riches and glory along with unprecedented wisdom as an answer to prayers and sacrifices that moved God. . “Without God all things are vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:1-12:14). Without God, the “shackles of human impermanence and emptiness” cannot be released. It means that the path of life with struggles is only difficult uphill as well as downhill, but those feet are shackled. It is the fetters of human impermanence and emptiness. Just thinking about it makes our hearts heavy. I don't know the life, old and old, but it makes my heart heavy. The words of King Solomon, who had and enjoyed almost everything that anyone would envy. “Vanity and vanity, vanity, vanity, all things are vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2).
This is the realization of wisdom that Solomon received from God. ‘It is possible to overcome nihilities in all life when there is God.’ Overcoming nihilities is the realization of meaning, the realization of happiness. Birth and growth, learning and marriage, old age and death, all life's journeys shine through. “Remember your Creator!” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). Only then will we know who we are. So we find our self-esteem and identity. It is about regaining the ‘we who we are’ that our ancestors lost in their sins in Eden. It is about restoring the image of God the Creator. It is to restore the lost life of Eden. You will realize and keep the noble duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Realizing that all deeds and all secret things will be judged for good and evil (Ecclesiastes 12:14), you will live your best life (Ecclesiastes 11:9,10).
Today's New Testament text (Luke 22:14-23) contains the beginning of the service of the Lord's Supper. It records the beginning of the New Testament Holy Communion instead of the Old Testament Passover. It was ordained by our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, who is the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:8; 21:6; 22:13). The essence of the Lord's Supper is to 'commemorate Jesus' being the Christ' (Luke 22:19). It is the meaning of the bread and cup that reminds us of the flesh and blood of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is a ceremony that reminds us of and remembers the love of our Savior Jesus Christ for us. As such, it is a ceremony that confirms God's love in creation and redemption. It is the ritual of tasting with the body. It is a ritual in which our body and soul eat that heavenly love. When you receive that grace, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always!’ (Phil 4:4a) and ‘Give thanks in everything’ (1 Thessalonians 5:18a) become the gospel, not the law. Amen.