Our Covenant Commitment Matthew 26:27-28

You may have heard about the chicken and the pig who were out for a morning stroll. Soon they came upon a small diner and out in front was a sign with big bold letters: "HAM AND EGGS -- 99 CENTS." "Oh boy," said Chicken, I could go for that right now. Let's go in." "Well," said Pig thoughtfully, "I don't think I want to do that. For you its just a contribution ... but for me it's total commitment." A lot of people, also, would like to get by with just a contribution. Making a commitment is difficult. It is not always easy because commitments can cost something and may even require a sacrifice.

In the upper room when Jesus gave directions for remembering him with the Lord's Supper he used a term and called for an action that called for total commitment. He held the cup before his disciples and said, "This is my blood of the covenant," and he asked them all to drink of it. Covenants always require commitments, often costly commitments. In this case it cost Jesus his life.

He was committed, but more than that, he was asking for their commitment. When he asked them to drink from the cup of the covenant he was asking for their commitment. He was asking them to form a covenant community that would be committed to him and to each other.

Did the twelve become that committed covenant community? One went out to betray him and was lost. Another went out to deny him, but was redeemed by the resurrected Christ. Others who had been with Jesus earlier joined them. Then, on the day of Pentecost, 50 days after the resurrection, 3,000 more joined them and Luke says of them in Acts 2:42, "They continued steadfastly in the apostles teaching, the fellowship, the breaking of bread and the prayers." Luke goes on to say that the people in that fellowship took care of each other, "as anyone had need." Here is the covenant community, committed to Jesus Christ and to one another, faithfully breaking bread and joining in fellowship.

Each Sunday we renew our commitment as we share in worship and once again hear Jesus' words, "this is my body," and "this is my blood of the covenant," and as we hear him say again, "drink from it, all of you."