COMMUNION MEDITATION – A sandy synagogue …

On the Dutch Caribbean Island of Curaçao you can find the Mikve Israel-Emanuel synagogue, which its congregation proudly boasts is the oldest synagogue in continuous use in the Western hemisphere (dating back to 1732).

But there’s something very unique about this synagogue you’ll likely not find anywhere else … it’s sand floor (as shown in the photo to the right).

No, the sand isn’t there because of the synagogue’s tropical island locale, it’s there on purpose!

At first blush, the idea of having sand covering the floor seems to be both an odd and inconvenient choice of flooring; you can just imagine having to shake the sand out of your shoes after visiting the place.

But the sand is there to serve a practical purpose. Every day synagogue leaders sprinkle a little more sand on the floor as a reminder of the years their ancestors wandered in the Desert of Sinai on their way from bondage in Egypt to the freedom of the Promised Land. They thought a visible symbol would aid their memory.

How creative!

You can just imagine the crunching, grinding sound and sensation of sand under foot as you walk in the synagogue would be a powerful reminder of Israel wandering in the wilderness.

Such an effective memory aid!

Along those lines, but even better, is a “memory aid” Jesus instituted so that all who follow Him will always remember the sacrifice He made to provide us with freedom from sin and its consequence of death:

“For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant between God and his people — an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it,'” 1 Corinthians 11:23-25.

You might think no one would forget this greatest of all sacrifices ever made … but how often this past week did the fact that Jesus’ body was broken, and His blood shed, to save YOU come to mind? When was the last time you thought about what Jesus did to save YOU?

We forget. But we must not forget what Christ did for us on the cross.

And so let us partake and remember.

Scotty