The cup we share we share in memory of Jesus, the one who gave us this cup in the first place and asked us to do this in his memory. Yet it is much more than the memory of what Jesus did at one gathering of his disciples at table on one particular day. It is a cup of memory that reminds us of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, of all that he did and all that he taught. It is a memory of all that led up to his coming and all that has transpired since his coming. It is a memory of the creative power of God, the choosing of particular people to whom God chose to reveal Godself. It is a memory of all those sent to proclaim God’s message, whether that be a message of hope or a challenge to reform the way the people of God lived out their faith. It is a memory of patriarchs and matriarchs, of prophets and rules of the people. It is a memory of those who witnessed their faith throughout history. It is a memory of all that was done to spread the faith from Jerusalem on Pentecost to this very day throughout the world. The cup of memory is a blessing cup, because it reminds us how blessed we have been throughout history.

The cup of memory is also the cup of our own personal memories, of the good times and the bad, of all the times when God has been active in our lives. Sometimes the only way we can understand how God has been active in our lives is by looking back. Sometimes it is hard to see the hand of God in the present moment. Sometimes the only way we can see clearly is by looking back in order to look forward more clearly as well. Sometimes we need to remember anew – to remember in a new way. The cup of memory challenges us to remember the past in a new way sees the hand of God at work even in those events where the absence of God at first glance seems more obvious.