This New Life

At the heart of the church’s worship life is a meal. Not a song. Not a hymn. Not a shout. Not a dance. Not even a sermon, but a meal. At the command of Christ, believers gather around a table, give thanks, eat a piece of bread, and take a sip of wine. In doing so, we remember what is central to the Jesus Story and our place in that story. Specifically, we remember what Jesus did in the past (i.e., his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension), and we remember what he will do in the future (i.e., his return in power and great glory and restoration of all things). We also experience in the present moment his Real Presence in a unique way (i.e., the bread, which is his body, and the wine, which is his blood.) Indeed, Holy Communion is Jesus sharing himself with us.

The practice is rooted in the ancient custom of covenant making, where representative heads would exchange bread and wine at the end of their public ceremony. (The bride-and-groom cake exchange and interlinking-arms toast at contemporary wedding receptions go all the way back to the ancient covenant ceremony.) In this final message of the series, we consider some reasons Jesus asked us to remember him in this way. First, the God of the Bible is the God who feeds his people. (Like Father, like Son!) Second, eating is the universal language of fellowship and companionship. Third, bread and wine are the universal symbols of a covenant established. And fourth, the symbols given to us by God are windows into eternity. They reveal his gracious heart to all who commune by faith.

In the days when the British Red Coats were warring with the Scots, no one was allowed to go outside early in the morning. The Brits knew that underground churches were meeting illegally, and those who were out walking at dawn probably were making their way to a daily service of Holy Communion. One day a Scottish teenage girl was stopped by a Red Coat. “Where are you going?” he demanded. As a Christ follower, she didn’t want to lie, but she also didn’t want to expose her church. So, she staked everything on the theological ignorance of the soldiers. She replied, “My elder brother has died, and I’m going to the reading of his last will and testament. While there, I’ll be collecting my share in the inheritance.” Her elder brother, of course, was Jesus Christ. What she failed to mention was that her elder brother was now risen from the dead and serving as the “attorney” who would ensure she gets everything she has coming to her. Clearly, the young girl understood the covenant. We can, too, especially as revealed in the table of the Lord.