According to the Holy Scripture, in Ezekiel 10, the people’s apathy and hardheartedness were so great, that the “glory of the Lord” departed from the Temple, over the Eastern Gate of Jerusalem.  However, in chapter 11, Ezekiel comforts the people and tells them of the return of the “glory of the Lord.”

¹⁹ And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: ²⁰ That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.(Ezekiel 11:19-20)

Here, in this commonly overlooked passage is a prophecy of the coming Christ. All of Jesus’ teaching and imparted wisdom, center on His goal to give us a new heart to walk in the light and wisdom of the Lord. As followers of Christ, these changes should be evident within us as well. This idea is Paul meant in Philippians when he admonished us to have the same mind of Christ—to have an undivided heart, a new spirit, a soft and repentant heart. We are called to commune with God by being careful to follow God’s instruction in a wisdom that leads to salvation. By our faith and obedience, we will be His people, and He will be our God.

However, consider further words from Jeremiah…

¹⁵ For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. ¹⁶ And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. ¹⁷ Then took I the cup at the Lord‘s hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me: ¹⁸ To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day;( Jeremiah 25:15-18)

 The “cup,” particularly the cup containing the fruit of the vine, is often used to portray relationship, communion, and what is to come—meaning what people are going to endure or experience.  Here, in Jeremiah, the relationship between the people and God is not very loving, but full of wrath and abandonment.  Here, Israel and the other nations are made to drink of a “cup” that is disaster and ruin, because of their rebellious and adulterous hearts. I do pray that none of us want to drink from that cup.

Today, God extends a different cup for us to drink.  In Christ, God extends a cup for us to drink that is peace, love, and fellowship with Him. Which “cup” do you want to drink?  To drink of the cup that is peace, love, and friendship, you must be attempting to live by God’s call to righteousness.  Blessed are all of us who hunger and thirst for what is right in God’s sight!

We hunger and thirst for the wrong things—self-assurance, self-reliance, and self-confidence. Like wayward Israel, living with these selfish ambitions do not lead to the Glory of the Lord, but a life destitute of divine wisdom and saving power. We have exchanged the bread of life for the Turkish Delight of selfish desire, and our hearts are turned to stone. We need new hearts, hands, and minds, and Jesus came to do just that; to give us a heart that is soft and supple, and a bent away from sin and towards the way of holiness.

With the passing of each opportunity to share in Holy Communion, we consider these simple emblems of an immeasurable grace that atones for all our sin and creates a right spirit in us. Communion calls us out of the mundane, to experience a connection beyond our understanding. When you take Holy Communion, broaden your mind to consider the millions around the world partaking of the same elements, at the same moment as you and your congregation. Consider how these elements connect you with an ancient past of incalculable people through time who have shared in your sacred act— indeed this is a great cloud of witnesses