The Court Burst Open

“Then Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy.” (Ex. 29:32-33)

One of the common phrases used in the history of the church to refer to this sacrament is “Holy food for holy people.” And this can be a helpful phrase in several respects. First, it reinforces the idea of vocation. You are called here to eat this meal for a particular purpose, toward a particular end. To be holy is to be separated, distinguished, called out for a particular task. To have a vocation is to have a calling. Some of you have been called to be students right now, some of you have been called to be teachers, some of you are called to be accountants, some of you are mothers and fathers, some of you are children, some of you run businesses, and others of you work skillfully with your hands. These are not just things you do to make money. These are not menial tasks in the sight of God. In fact, when you were baptized, and every time you come to this table, you are set apart and sanctified and called again to those tasks. You have been anointed and ordained to be a father, to be a mother, to be a brick layer, to be a barista, to be a carpenter, to be a supervisor, to be a student, to be a teacher. These are holy callings, and this meal is part of your calling. The court of the tabernacle has been burst open; wherever you work and whatever God has called you to do, it is done in the court of the house of God. Here you eat at the house of God or better as the house of God, as the tabernacle of God. But you are all priests in this house. You are all servants and members of the holy family of the new priesthood. You and your sons, you and your daughters are all the royal priesthood of the Lord Jesus. You have an anointing from the Holy One of God; you have been given the Holy Spirit who calls you to your tasks, to your labors as holy tasks, holy callings, holy vocations in the court of the King. Therefore eat, drink, and rejoice, for He who calls you to these holy tasks gives you the strength to perform them in holiness in order to display the glory of the Lord.