Time for Communion?

Ahh, Communion.  It may be the one thing that Christians have disagreed over more so than anything else (except maybe the color of the carpet in the church building).  We can’t even agree on the name.  Communion?  Lord’s Supper?  Eucharist?  Breaking of the Bread?  Regardless of what we call it, we know it’s important.  But why is it so important and how should we celebrate it?

Jesus instituted Communion during His last Passover meal.  All four Gospels record the meal, but probably the oldest description of Communion is found in 1 Corinthians11:23-26.  There, Paul describes how Jesus, after the meal, shared the bread and the cup of wine with His disciples, explaining that the bread was His body and the cup was the new covenant of His blood.

So, why is Communion so important?  For several reasons, but I’ll hit on just a few. 

- First, after Paul described the Lord’s final supper, he said that whenever we eat the bread and drink the cup, we “proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.”  In some ways, this ties Communion with baptism: a public proclamation by Christians that we follow a resurrected Jesus. 

- Second, Christians partake in Communion as part of God’s covenant of grace; not that Communion saves anyone, but the bread and wine represent Jesus’ sacrifice for our salvation and forgiveness of sins (Matt 26:28). 

- Third, Jesus said that when we partake in Communion, we do so in remembrance of Him.  We “remember” Him not just as a memorial of His death, but also His life, His resurrection, and His reign. 

Okay, hopefully we can agree that Communion is important for Christians to celebrate.  But how?  Again, here’s a short list.

- Keep it simple.  Jesus didn’t create some elaborate ceremony.  He simply shared the bread and the cup of wine with His disciples.  The more we try to create some high ritual, the less biblical it becomes.

- Celebrate often.  There are extremes in the wider Church: some celebrate only once per year (at Passover) while others celebrate several times a week (sometimes daily).  We can glean from Scripture (1 Cor 11:26; Acts 2:42,46; Acts 20:7) that the early Church celebrated often, probably weekly.  Jesus did not prescribe a certain recurrence, but it’s better to celebrate more often rather than less often.  And don’t worry that celebrating often will diminish its meaning; if that’s true, then we need to cut down on sermons, prayers, and singing.

- Really celebrate!  Communion is not a funeral.  We are not memorializing a dead person.  Our Savior lives, He reigns, and He will return to make all things new.  How can we be so somber when we remember our Lord?  Yes, be respectful.  Yes, humble yourself before the Lord.  But be thankful (the meaning of “eucharist”), be joyful, and celebrate!

- Partake in the community.  When we take Communion, we are gathered together around the table of our king.  The church is also the embodiment of Christ on earth.  There is community between individuals in the congregation and between the congregation and Christ.  Every member should lovingly participate together (see 1 Cor 11:12-22).  (And while I believe wine is appropriate for Communion, remember your brothers and sisters who struggle with addiction or overindulgence, and offer unfermented juice as well.)

- Have a love feast.  Also called an Agape Feast, this is a real meal along with Communion.  That is how Jesus celebrated Communion (remember, it occurred after the Passover meal), and is likely how it was celebrated in the early church.  Time constraints prohibit this in most Sunday morning worship services, but it would be great to celebrate Communion along with a fellowship meal once in awhile.  Try it, you might just enjoy it!