Remember the Almighty One Who Unifies Us, Not Dismayed by Ways We Are Divided

April 04, 2023•2 min read

When it was time, he sat down, all the apostles with him, and said, “You’ve no idea how much I have looked forward to eating this Passover meal with you before I enter my time of suffering. It’s the last one I’ll eat until we all eat it together in the kingdom of God.”

Taking the cup, he blessed it, then said, “Take this and pass it among you. As for me, I’ll not drink wine again until the kingdom of God arrives.”

Taking bread, he blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, given for you. Eat it in my memory.”

He did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant written in my blood, blood poured out for you.

Luke 22: 14-16 MSG

This moment has been remembered, celebrated, and shared for thousands of years. During this Holy Week perhaps we experience it a little differently or feel the significance of the Last Supper more deeply.

As Jesus gathered his disciples around him, one of the first things he shared was how he had been looking forward to eating this meal with them. At first glance, you get a sense of camaraderie and celebration of their time together. However, Jesus immediately follows that statement with the flip side of the coin stating he will soon enter into his time of suffering. This will be his last meal with his disciples. To really take any possibility of celebration out of the equation, Jesus also announces that one of His disciples will betray Him.

With all of this mixed news, why was it that Jesus was looking forward to eating that last meal with his disciples? This was the last (although significant) time Jesus’ instructed his disciples. He shared a new commandment with them to love one another as he had loved them. And, He offered the ordinance of communion and the New Covenant – his body broken for the forgiveness of our sins.

During this Holy Week may we take some time to reflect on this meal that Jesus looked forward to sharing with His disciples. In our world of divisiveness, conflict, and turmoil, it is important to remember how this simple yet momentous sharing of bread and cup unites us. This meaningful and beautiful ritual is a unifying act of our faith, our unifying ask for the forgiveness of our sins, our unifying remembrance of Jesus, our unifying commandment to love one another as Jesus has loved us, and our unifying aroundJesus’ sacrifice and the New Covenant.

We are indeed united in Christ. May we seek to live in unity so that as mature disciples of Christ, we might have a positive transformational impact on this world.

“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”

Psalm 133:1 NIV

Kay Kotan

Kay’s purpose is to Equip and Empower Leaders of Faith Communities How to Engage in More Effective Ministry. Kay Kotan is the founder of You Unlimited (coaching, consulting and training company) and The Greatest Expedition – a collaboration of more than twenty thought leaders providing resources and insights for a congregational journey to develop new MAPS (ministry action plans) to reach new people in your community. Kay also launched Multipliers’ Movement – a gathering of kingdom multipliers for sharing, equipping, and encouraging. She is a CoachU and Advanced CoachU Graduate, an accredited coach (PCC: Professional Certified Coach) with the ICF, International Coaching Federation, a Certified Path 1 Coach, and once served on the faculty at Coaching4Clergy. As a passionate lay person, she has a banking background and has been a business owner for more than 25 years. Kotan has served as a church developer for conferences and worked with churches, pastors, conferences, and judicatory leaders across the country for more than a decade. She is most proud to be the wife of Bob for over 30 years and the mother of their adult son, Cameron. Kay is the author of multiple books, workbooks, and resources including Gear Up: Nine Essential Processes for the Optimized Church, Cry From the Pew, Full Schedules, Barren Souls, Being the Church in the Post Pandemic World, and Journey Preparation: Surveying Your Church’s Landscape, as well as the co-author of the books titled: IMPACT!: Reclaiming the Call of Lay Ministry, Small Church Check-Up, Insights on Productivity, Renovate or Die – Ten Ways to Focus Your Church on Mission, Ministry 3.0 and Get Their Name , Ten Prescriptions for a Healthy Church, Necessary Nine – Nine Things Effective Pastors Do Differently, Launching Leaders: Taking Leadership Development to New Heights, Strategy Matters: Your Roadmap to Planning a Strategic Ministry Planning Retreat, Voices of Christmas: A Daily Devotional for Advent and Expanding the Expedition Reach Through Marketplace Multipliers. Mission Possible for the Small Church. Inside Out: Everting Ministry Models for the Postmodern Church, and more. Kotan and her co-author Bradford published their third version of the best-seller, Mission Possible: Simple Structure for Missional Effectiveness. Mrs. Kotan spends her time investing in pastors, laity leaders, congregations, and judicatory leaders through equipping, coaching, and creating resources to help them discover and live into their fullest missional potential of effectiveness and fruitfulness to reach people for Jesus Christ. Through her enthusiasm, truth-telling, and passion, she challenges those who encounter her in both their thinking and their doing.

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