A hot day – and heavily-armoured troops march past

It’s a hot day. Troop after troop of heavily armoured soldiers march past carrying pikes, swords and the colours of their lords.

You pass tents selling bespoke weaponry, mead, and every kind of medieval clothing. A lady swishes past in long skirts with what looks like a miniature dragon on her shoulder until you realise it’s a very cleverly designed puppet and you hear the sound of the PA system announcing that the re-enactment is about to begin.

Historical re-enactments are big business. Close to where I live, you can experience, in July, the medieval Battle of Tewkesbury described above or, if the English Civil War is more your style, you can hang on for the Gloucester History Festival which takes place in September. If you get a taste for it, I can also thoroughly recommend the annual re-run of the Battle of Hastings in October.

There is a wonderful buzz surrounding these festivals. Alongside the actual re-enactment of famous battles, you can find a whole host of craftspeople demonstrating historical skills from spinning to stone carving. It is a great hands-on way to learn some history from real enthusiasts, and the battle re-enactments themselves always have a really helpful running commentary over a PA system to explain the intricacies of historical warfare and exactly who is doing what at any given moment.

Re-enactment has always been part of the experience of God’s people too. You see it in the various festivals kept by the Israelites, most notably the Passover. There’s something about physically retracing steps and repeating actions which grounds theology in tangible reality and embeds things in our collective memories. You might have an excellent memory, or you might be struggling with new parent blurriness, long Covid memory fog, or simply having the odd ‘senior moment’. Our spiritual memories, however, are terrible!

When I was training to be a teacher, we were given this piece of information: if you tell a child something, they will remember 30% of it, if they see it they will remember 60%, but if they participate and do something, they will remember 90% of it.

God graciously gives us the Lord’s Supper as a very physical way of teaching and reminding us of His truth. As we hear the words which remind us of Christ’s sacrifice, we see the bread and wine and we taste, touch and smell as we take and eat. Jesus even gave His disciples a running commentary on the significance of what was happening, teaching them as they took part in this special meal – and the apostle Paul reiterates this in 1 Corinthians 11:23-25. We are to do this in remembrance of Jesus.

However much historical re-enactors might love their hobby and secretly wish that they had been born in another time, they can only look back. Christians, in sharing the Lord’s Supper together, are also looking forward. As 1 Corinthians 11:26 tells us: ‘We proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.’ At the Last Supper, Jesus tells His disciples that He won’t drink the fruit of the vine with them again until he drinks it with them in His Father’s kingdom. As we look back and remember what Jesus’ death accomplished, we also need to remember why. We weren’t just saved from God’s anger but saved for an eternal relationship with Him.

I read about a small country church in America that has a special tradition at the close of their Lord’s Supper, adapted from an ancient Jewish closing of the Passover meal where they raise the cup and say: ‘Next year, in Jerusalem!’ As the members of this church anticipate Jesus’ return and a place at His heavenly banquet, they raise their cups in anticipation and say, ‘Next time, with Christ!’

One day re-enactment will become reality.