“Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel…they saw God, and they ate and drank.” (Exodus 24:9–11)
What is the best way to get to know someone and become friends? Before our lives became so busy, that was easy to answer: sitting down together over a meal. In a few days’ time, we’ll celebrate one of those famous meals shared by the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians…we call it Thanksgiving.
God did something similar with Israel. When God made his covenant with Israel, Moses and the elders were invited up to Mt. Sinai. Moses tells us, “…they saw God, and they ate and drank.” (Exodus 24:11) It was a meal among friends.
Many years later, the peace established by that that first supper on Mt. Sinai had been broken by sinful humans again and again. So what did Jesus do? He had a last supper with his friends. A sign of peace. A renewal of peace. A new covenant to replace the one humans had broken.
On Thanksgiving we’ll sit down for a meal and remember all the things we’re grateful for. This Sunday, we will celebrate Communion. We’ll take a moment to remember how grateful we are for the peace we have with God because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross.
