About a month ago I was given the privilege of presiding over Holy Communion in our church, which involved a short address. Here is what I came up with. My aim was to try and take the focus of self and our doing business with God, and place the focus on what God has already done in Christ, with communion being an event of joyous proclamation. Read on to see how it all turned out...
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (1 Cor. 11:23-26)
What are we doing when we have communion? What’s it all about? I’ve often thought of it in individualistic terms. It’s my chance to confirm my status as a Christian, or my chance to sort out that sin problem between me and God, sort of like my own private confession time.
Now there is some truth to this, with Paul exhorting us to examine ourselves lest we approach the Lord’s Supper irreverently and disorderly. However, while such introspection might be an element of communion, or preparation for communion, it is not the substance of communion. It pales in comparison to what communion is truly about - it’s about a community of people proclaiming the death of Jesus.
This is why Paul says in verse 26 of 1 Corinthians 11 that as often as a church eats the bread and drinks the cup, this church is proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes. And so the upshot of communion is not navel-gazing; it’s proclamation; it’s making the death of Jesus known.
Now of course in usual circumstances, making the death of someone known is a negative thing, a somber thing. Death is seen as defeat. It’s as if Paul errs here, and what he really should have said was that we are proclaiming Christ’s resurrection until He returns. Talk of death doesn’t exactly leave us in a celebratory mood in the same way that, say, the resurrection does. But when it comes to the death of Jesus, it should.
Now there is some truth to this, with Paul exhorting us to examine ourselves lest we approach the Lord’s Supper irreverently and disorderly. However, while such introspection might be an element of communion, or preparation for communion, it is not the substance of communion. It pales in comparison to what communion is truly about - it’s about a community of people proclaiming the death of Jesus.
This is why Paul says in verse 26 of 1 Corinthians 11 that as often as a church eats the bread and drinks the cup, this church is proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes. And so the upshot of communion is not navel-gazing; it’s proclamation; it’s making the death of Jesus known.
Now of course in usual circumstances, making the death of someone known is a negative thing, a somber thing. Death is seen as defeat. It’s as if Paul errs here, and what he really should have said was that we are proclaiming Christ’s resurrection until He returns. Talk of death doesn’t exactly leave us in a celebratory mood in the same way that, say, the resurrection does. But when it comes to the death of Jesus, it should.
Why? Colossians 2 has the answers:
When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
What are we making known by proclaiming the death of Jesus? Well, what has God done through the cross? He has made us alive, He has forgiven us all our sins, He has broken the curse of the Law, He has disarmed the powers of this world, with the cross being an act of supreme triumph. It’s no wonder that Paul told the church in Corinth that he decided to know nothing among them except Christ and Him crucified. What message could be more liberating? What could be better news?
And so while we should approach communion reverently, we should also approach it joyfully, with thanksgiving in our hearts. We eat this bread and drink this cup as a community of people living under the shadow of the cross, where our proclamation is not one of defeat but of victory, and where we stand together not under law but under grace. The death of Jesus is good news, and we are here together to celebrate it. That should look a lot different to me sitting with my eyes closed hoping I haven’t exhausted God’s grace and therefore about to eat and drink judgment upon myself.
And so as we take this bread and drink this cup, we are corporately proclaiming the victory of God over evil and celebrating our being part of His new creation through the cross of Christ. What a wonderful, gracious, exciting reality to make known amongst ourselves through communion, and to the rest of the world through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
And so while we should approach communion reverently, we should also approach it joyfully, with thanksgiving in our hearts. We eat this bread and drink this cup as a community of people living under the shadow of the cross, where our proclamation is not one of defeat but of victory, and where we stand together not under law but under grace. The death of Jesus is good news, and we are here together to celebrate it. That should look a lot different to me sitting with my eyes closed hoping I haven’t exhausted God’s grace and therefore about to eat and drink judgment upon myself.
And so as we take this bread and drink this cup, we are corporately proclaiming the victory of God over evil and celebrating our being part of His new creation through the cross of Christ. What a wonderful, gracious, exciting reality to make known amongst ourselves through communion, and to the rest of the world through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
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