In Jesus’ day, when a young man and woman wanted to get married, both dads and the couple got together to talk about it. The groom-to-be and his dad would go to the house of the bride-to-be and the four of them would sit at a table and negotiate the bride-price. You can bet it would rival the cost of a small house. But there would need to be some physical payment for the girl to get married.
Once the price was settled upon, the groom’s dad would pour a cup of wine and give it to his son. The son would then offer it to the girl he wanted to marry. She then had two options. She could refuse the cup of wine, indicating while was was flattered by the proposal, she didn’t want to accept the gift of his life. Or she could take the cup of wine and drink. In doing so, she was saying, “I accept the gift of your life. I give you my life as well.” After which, preparations would be underway for a celebration and wedding.
At the Last Supper with Jesus and the disciples, they are celebrating the Passover with the traditional meal. This meal was hosted by Jesus meaning he retold the Exodus story and how God had saved Israel from Egypt. During the meal, which lasts hours, certain things are eaten at certain times and four cups of wine are drunk at different moments in the story.
The first cup of wine is the cup of sanctification. God chose us to be His holy people. He promised to unburden us from the entanglement of our enemy. The second cup of wine is the cup of deliverance. God reminds us that we cannot affect our own release but in fact must depend on him for deliverance. The third and fourth cups of wine are redemption and salvation. God’s work requires both divine power and payment.
Suddenly, out of the norm, Jesus turns to his disciples at the Last Supper and changes the final cup. He tells them the cup represents a new covenant in His blood. Like our Jewish groom-to-be, Jesus offers the cup to his disciples and says, “I love you. Will you marry me? Will you be my spiritual bride?”
Every Sunday in our tribe, we gather around the table where Jesus presides. Jesus then says to you, “I love you. I died for you. Will you marry me?” How personal a moment…God looking down on us and says, “I love you.”
So each of us, when we take the cup during communion, we accept the life Jesus gives us and we give our life back to him. We say, “God I accept your gift and give you my life in return.” What an intimate and wonderful time we experience every time we share in the Communion! It’s a beautiful moment when we are reminded two lives have become one and in doing so, we celebrate a very bright future. Blessings on the journey.