The Memorial

" Keep doing this in remembrance of me." (Luke 22:19)

The Memorial is a commemoration of Jesus Christ's death, celebrated by Jehovah's Witnesses between mid March and the beginning of April each year. It is the only event that the Bible commands Christians to celebrate. Worldwide attendance for 2010 was 18.7 million in 236 countries!  

The date of celebration varies from year to year because at the time of Jesus' death, the Jewish lunar calendar was used - not the Gregorian calendar in use today. The actual date of his death on the Jewish calendar was Nisan 14th which this year was 17th April (in 2012 it will be April 5th). The date is determined by the day in that month nearest the full moon.

A month prior to the Memorial, we begin a public invitation campaign to invite as many people as possible to attend (everybody is welcome to attend.)

The Memorial always begins after sundown, which coincides with the Jewish calendar (their day began at sundown). The venue is usually a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses (church), where each individual congregation gathers to celebrate the Memorial. (Congregations located relatively close together share Kingdom Halls, but for the Memorial celebration to accommodate the larger attendance, sometimes a community hall is hired.)

While it is a celebration with wine, the  Memorial isn't celebrated with partying like is so often seen in other celebrations. Rather, it is celebrated in a calm, respectful way, following the same pattern set by Jesus. First, a relevant song is sung and an opening prayer is offered. Second, a Bible-based talk is given about  when and why Jesus held the first Memorial with his disciples on the night before his death. (This is commonly known as the Lord's Supper.) Third, a prayer is given. Fourth, the bread representing Jesus' body is passed around the entire congregation. Similar to passover bread, this is no ordinary bread. It is made without any leaven or yeast because the  Bible often uses the term leaven as a symbol of sin or corruption - certainly not appropriate for a celebration of God's own son! Fifth, another prayer is given. Sixth, the wine symbolising Jesus' blood. But just not any wine will do. The  red wine must be pure and not fortified (Port or sherry, etc) wine representing Jesus' sinless blood. The wine is also passed around the entire congregation. Finally, a song is sung and a prayer is offered to conclude.

Lots do wonder though: Why are we celebrating a death? Because in doing so, Jesus paid with his life for what Adam had lost in the Garden of Eden. What this means for us is that it gives each and everyone of us the prospect of gaining everlasting life here on earth, as was God's original purpose for mankind.    

So if next April you get a knock on the door and someone hands you an invitation to the Memorial celebration in your area, why not come along and check it out?

A Memorial Celebration.