Celebrating Communion
by Mikey Walter
Let’s do a quick fill in the blank exercise.
Category: Things you might hear said after a Sunday morning service
“The ___________ was so good this morning!”
“I just wept as I felt God’s presence through the ___________.”
“The ___________ was exactly what I needed!”
Really think about these. Got it? What made your list? I’d guess, probably “sermon” or “music”, and maybe “fellowship” or “prayer”. But what about “Lord’s Supper”? Go ahead and read “Lord’s Supper” into those blanks. Do those statements sound unusual?
I would suspect that for many of us, if we are honest, participation in Communion (aka. the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist) is not much more than an odd church ritual. We know it's in the Bible, so we do it. But it’s not really a thing we get excited about, and it’s not an act in which we often experience the presence of God. Some might think, why do we take a significant amount of time each Sunday morning observing this ordinance that doesn't seem to have much impact? If you resonate with this, keep reading. We’ll try to answer that very question.
Many of us grew up in communities that approached the Communion Table somberly, and primarily as an act of repentance or contrition. Though there is an aspect in which we need to take seriously the charge to not partake of the bread and the cup in “an unworthy manner” and we need to “examine ourselves” (1 Corinthians 11:27-28), Jesus never intended for Communion to be primarily focused on our failures and sin. It was and is a time to celebrate what he did to our sin! It’s a time to celebrate how he has set us free from the penalty of sin and how there will be a day when he will remove the presence of sin altogether!
To Commemorate
Do this in remembrance of me. - Luke 22:19
Through Communion, we remember what Jesus did. We eat the bread and we remember his body that was broken for us. We remember that we deserved to be crushed, but that it pleased the Father to crush him in our place (Isaiah 53:10). Though we need to remember this, we can’t stop here. Many of us take Communion as though it’s still Friday, as if Jesus is still dead, hanging on the cross. But we don’t take Communion on Friday, do we? We come together to the table on Sunday! We remember his body that was crushed, but we also remember his blood that washes away our sins. We remember that he rose from the dead and in doing so he proved that there is real power in his blood!
To Anticipate
I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. - Matthew 26:29
Communion is a sacrament that Jesus established for his church to continue “until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26). It is an anticipatory meal, pointing to that great meal we will have together with him when he returns. There is coming a day when there will be no more sorrow and no more pain. The old things will pass away, and the bride of Christ will sit together with her bridegroom, feasting at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-9). While Jesus continues his 2000+ year wine-fast with his heart fixed on his bride, we eat the bread and drink the cup “until he comes” also looking forward to that day when we will be with him seated at the table.
To Participate
Is the bread that we bless not a communion [koinonia] in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a communion [koinonia] in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. - 1 Corinthians 10:16-17
The Greek word for “communion” which Paul uses is koinonia. Koinonia refers to a collective group, a fellowship of many, and so when we partake of the Lord’s supper we do it together. 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 is all about the Lord’s Supper. In this small section of text, Paul uses the phrase “when you come together” five times! Communion is not only about our communing with Jesus, but our communing with him together. When we partake of Communion together we are proclaiming the truths of the gospel to one another through a physical act. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26) Communion is a unifying act. In Communion, we lay aside the secondary and tertiary issues of our faith and proclaim together the simple truths of the gospel and the hope that is to come. Are there ways you could be more together when taking Communion? As a family? As a missional community?
Jesus is Present at the Table, But Are We?
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh. - John 6:51
The Lord’s Supper has historically been regarded as a “means of grace” to his church. Means of grace, as Wayne Grudem describes, are “simply means of additional blessing within the Christian life, and do not add to our fitness to receive justification from God.” (Systematic Theology, Ch. 48) Partaking in the Lord’s Supper does not contribute to our salvation or add to the saving grace we receive at the moment of conversion, however it is a “means through which the Holy Spirit works to convey blessings into the life of the believer” (Grudem).
Our eating and drinking of the elements are a physical picture of a corresponding spiritual reality. When taken in obedience and faith, our souls experience spiritual nourishment.
If you don’t feel that you experience anything during Communion, does this mean you’ve been taking it in an unworthy manner? Probably not. A better question you might ask is, do you come to the table expectantly? Our faith and our heart posture when approaching the Lord always matters, in whatever act it may be. Do you approach the table realizing that Jesus is present with you, that you are spiritually seated with him? He is at the table, but like the men who walked with the resurrected Jesus on the road to Emmaus, who sat at the table with him, we often fail to recognize his presence.
When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. - Luke 24:30-31
Come to the Table
God delights to bless his people through Communion. It is not just a command but a gift to his body. It is a regular reminder of what he has done through Christ and what he has yet to do for those who believe. So, let us approach the table in remembrance and in anticipation. Let us approach the table together, proclaiming the truths of the gospel to one another until he comes. Let us approach the table expectantly, knowing that Jesus is there waiting and wanting to commune with us.