Eucharistic meditation, second advent

Deuteronomy 12:18: you shall you shall eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all your undertakings.

Deuteronomy 12 is one of the central liturgical passages in the Bible. In it Yahweh promises to plant Israel in the land, clear away their enemies, and then choose a place for His name. The place where Yahweh sets His name will be the place where Israel is to eat, drink, and rejoice before Him, sharing their food with servants and Levites.

Scripture sometimes describes Yahweh’s name as a “memorial name,” and the place of His name is place where Israel was to remember Yahweh, His name, His character, and His acts. As Toby pointed out, in remembering Israel is stirred to thankfulness and rejoicing. The place of Yahweh’s name is the place for rejoicing because it is the place of remembrance.

In the new covenant too God has placed His memorial name in a single location, and there only are we to offer our sacrifices of praise. That location is the new temple, where the Word tabernacles, in which the fullness of deity dwells bodily. This is the only legitimate place of worship, the chosen location where God sets His memorial name, the name above every name, the memorial name Jesus.

And He has placed that memorial name on us. As we gather in the Spirit, we are the temple of the living God, the chosen place where His name dwells. This table is a memorial meal, where we commemorate the great acts of our God for us.

Historically, the church has often misunderstood the fact that this table is a memorial, just as she has often had an unbalanced church calendar. The Christian calendar has often been dominated by penitence and sorrow, and this table has been a place for mourning.

But this is the chosen place of His name, where the Lord has set His memorial name. This is a place for remembrance, and that means it is a place for rejoicing. You are the place where the Lord our God has chosen to set His name; therefore, eat, drink, and rejoice.