Our Lord Jesus instituted this meal, so it is from God. But with these plain old plates and cups, and simple bread and juice, where do we see its divine nature?
That’s easier to see if we think of what this meal would be like if it had been devised by man.

Twenty years ago, a friend who had been on many cruises told me about the institution of the Captain’s Table at that time, where you had the honour of dining in the presence of the captain in charge of the ship.

You needed a special invitation.  Most people wouldn’t be invited until they had been on 20 cruises, so it’s at a great personal cost to you.  And it also relies on your social status, on who you know.  So, it’s very exclusive.  People at that table enjoy it because most people are not invited.

It involves some pretence. You’ll need the finest clothes, and be careful of what you reveal about yourself, you can’t mention your past mistakes.

In reality, the Captain has no personal involvement, and the next day he may not even remember you.  That meal and cruise is just a temporary escape from the basic problems and strivings of this life, and after the cruise nothing has changed.

It’s the opposite of our meal here in every way.

Here we face the cause of this world’s basic problems, the sin of mankind.  But here we celebrate how God has acted through Jesus’ victory on the cross to set things right, to restore us and all creation to His perfect righteousness.

Here you are the specially invited guest of the one who rules over this world and every cruise ship on it.  He has chosen you to dine with him now, and forever more. He not only remembers you, but he knows you completely, and loves you more than you can understand.  For your invitation came at a huge cost, which has been paid personally and in full by Jesus, in his death on the cross.

Your invitation doesn’t depend on who you know – but Jesus wants you to know him as your Saviour and Lord.  This table is only the beginning, as through his Spirit he comes to live in us, and we in him.

 He excludes no-one, Jesus died for all mankind.  It’s tragic if people exclude themselves by thinking they are good enough through what they have done.

 There is no pretense here.  We need to be honest to God in seeing our misdeeds and our need for his salvation.  Our best clothes won’t do, only the covering of Jesus’ sacrifice makes us acceptable to God.

 In Jesus, our fundamental strivings and hunger are satisfied, as He sustains us through this world and into eternity with him.  In John 6:35, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”