The Holy Grail

Start off - the search for the Holy Grail.  You know the story, lots of big hairy men in tin cans, running round and round in circles after this mysterious cup, which was supposedly used by Jesus at the Last Supper. King Arthur decided it was more important that his kingdom. Lancelot failed to get it because he was to busy courting the queen. Only Gawain found it, because his heart was pure. Some people claim that the Freemasons are descended from the Knights Templar, who had the cup and kept it for themselves.  Well, it's a nice conspiracy theory. Problem is that most conspiracy theories are just that, theories: no basis in reality at all. So, did such a cup exist, and if so, who has it now? 

If you believe in Jesus (and yes, I do), and you believe in the events portrayed in the gospels as being grounded in reality (you can believe one and not the other, I personally believe them both), then you must accept that there was such a cup.  At the final meal together of Jesus and his disciples, he sat down with them, drank real wine, from a real cup, and tried to explain to them what was about to happen.  So the cup did, at one point, exist.

A quick aside. If, at this point, you don't accept what I am saying, or like any of it, then probably this portion of my web site is not for you. Please feel free to click to another site. Nice to have met you. Feel free to call again.

Right, so we have a real cup. Is it special? Can it work miracles?  Will it enable me to live forever? That seems to be the main claim of all the myths and legends. A cup, which if you drink from it, will heal all your infirmities, enable you to live for ever, and not cause cancer in rats: too good to be true you think.  Well, I'm not so sure.

As a Christian, (if you didn't know I was one by now, please go back to the start and read the bits where I state I am one), then there are occasions where I take Communion. I go to the front of the church, kneel down with the rest of the audience^W congregation, and get given a morsel of wafer/bread and a sip of a red drink, which occasionally is blackcurrant juice, occasionally non-alcoholic wine (just don't get me started) and occasionally real, genuine, get yourself plastered wine.  So, why have I pulled in communion in a blog re the Holy Grail?  Well, because there are some special things mentioned about communion.

Firstly, just after the last supper, Jesus went into the garden of Gethsemane, and started teaching about remaining in him. That it was important to be part of Jesus, and allow Jesus to be part of you.  This, I think, is the key to the Grail.  The miracles, the immortal life, are all part of being joined to Jesus. If we are part of his body, then his life will flow through us, and we will receive the exact same power which he used so many times to help so many different people. Think of your favourite one, walking on the water, raising Lazarus, converting the woman at the well: all of these are possible through the power of the Grail.

You still don't see the connection do you. Jesus promised power and authority to his disciples, along with eternal life in the presence of God. And in order to differentiate between his disciples and the rest of the people, he inaugurated the communion meal at Passover.

The original Passover was designed to separate the Jews (or more fully, those who trusted the words of God as spoken through Moses), from the rest of the Egyptians. It was designed to say these people are part of the covenant; everyone else is not. The word covenant just means agreement, or contract. You know, like those license agreements you accept by opening the shiny new packages from Microsoft all the time. So, it was the start of a licensing agreement between God and the Jews. If the Jews put the blood of a sheep above the doors to their houses, they were allowed to run the software of not having their first-born child killed. Quite a fair swap, I would say. Apologies to all you animal rights people out there at this point, but in my defence I would say it wasn't me who stated the terms of the license, it was God, so take it up with him.  (Btw, if you do get hold of his e-mail address, please send it on to me.)

So, what was this new Passover meal inaugurating. You know it's described in the New Testament. Guess what testament means. Yep, that's right, covenant.  It was a new licensing agreement. You get to have eternal life, miracles, freedom from illness, and a closer walk with God.  Aha, but what's in the small print, I hear you say. What do I have to do to get this? Actually, very little. The only command seems to be accept that Jesus was who he said he was, and that his words are true, and stay joined to him.

So I've gone through the joined to Jesus stage twice, so far, and not told you how to do this.  Well it's quite simple: you use the Grail.

But what is the Grail, I hear you crying.  Stop running round in circles and tell us. I want to get to the good stuff.  Ok, the Grail is, and are you ready for this, Communion. Whenever you go to communion and eat that wafer, and drink that wine, you are partaking in the new covenant. You are receiving the life and power of Jesus into yourself, and opening yourself up to be changed by him. (Please refer to the small print in the New Testament for full conditions of the license.) You are drinking from the Holy Grail each time you meet with other Christians, and join in a good meal, thanking Jesus for his life and works. Yep, that strange ritual which seems to have so little to do with everyday life, is actually the most important part of a Christian’s life. It is the Holy Grail, which so many have sought all their lives, and it's on offer, at least once a week, in a church near you.

  Maybe you should pop in, sometimes, and take part in your own quest for the Holy Grail. It's a life-changing experience.