Isaiah 53:4-6

“He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we considered him struck by God and afflicted. But he was wounded because of our transgressions and bruised because of our sins. The chastisement to bring us peace was laid on him, and by his stripes we are healed. We have all gone astray like sheep and turned to our own way. The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Often the things we do cause us to suffer. More than that, they often cause other people to suffer. And the worst part is that they often cause other people to suffer to bail us out.

That scenario shows up in this rite. The loaf and cup take that process and center it on the One who came to bail us out of the state we’ve brought on ourselves and other people along with us. It’s the one case where the fully righteous does what he does for the unrighteous. He’s the One that God appointed to enter our realm and establish his complete righteousness in our condition in our circumstance.

So our observance here reaffirms our identity with him and consequently with the righteousness he embodies, a righteousness that finds its culmination in his physical and spiritual self-giving. The emblems point beyond themselves to that finalizing act of righteousness.