Communion 5

Acts 2:46-47

A few years back we knew that we would be unable to visit with our families over the Easter weekend. It was just not part of our busy schedule that year and we decided we would simply have a nice Easter Sunday meal at home as a family. We prepared a nice ham and all the side dishes – salad, mashed potatoes, corn and so on. It was a lot of food but we went ahead with our plans.

Then, unexpectedly, my sister and mother showed up at our house. We were excited at that point to have prepared such a large meal of abundance. And we were pleased that someone had come to share it with us.

After the resurrection of Jesus and after he was taken up into heaven the faithful believers continued to meet together as the beginnings of the church we know today. What did they do? What was their attitude?

The love and grace of Jesus Christ did not stop with his death. It continued on among the faithful and still flows today. The early believers would gather together in informal bands of worshipers. As part of their worship there was the sharing of food.

The believers would break bread together – eat – and they did it with glad hearts. They were pleased to be with one another and they were gladdened by the fact that each of them had a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Such should be our attitude as we celebrate Communion in our places of worship. Communion may be a time when we examine ourselves, where we realize that we are not worthy to receive such grace from God. But it should also be a time of celebration and gladness. We should take part in Communion with glad hearts, realizing that although we are unworthy, still Jesus loves us so much that he continues to open himself up to us so that we might be in his loving presence.

Let us rejoice as we take part in Communion. Let us be glad that Jesus loves us. And let us also take the opportunity of Communion to once more invite the Spirit of God to live in our hearts.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you be certain to have a glad heart when you take part in Communion?

Communion 4

John 6:48-51

If you are a parent you have likely encountered problems with getting your child to eat the proper foods. Many children, perhaps most children, would rather eat sweets and candies rather than healthy vegetables no matter how they are cooked and presented.

As adults we know what is best for our children. We know what foods will give them healthier, stronger bodies. But it isn’t always something the child will accept.

When addressing the crowds that followed him Jesus offered a comment on just who he was. What does Jesus say that he is? What is the difference between his bread and the manna the Jews ate in the wilderness? What is special about the “bread” of Christ?

This was a difficult message for people to hear and understand. First, Jesus claimed that he was living bread. He told them that they should eat his flesh (verse 51) and that would provide eternal life.

Additionally, he made a comment about the miracle that the Jews had experienced during the Exodus, a miracle revered by the faithful. He pointed out that even though these people had eaten a gift from God they were still mortal and did eventually die.

The confusion came when people took Jesus literally. During the institution of Communion at the Last Supper Jesus explained that the bread the disciples would eat was his flesh. What he meant was that, like the bread, his body would be broken. Like the bread, the presence of Jesus would give eternal life.

We cannot take these words too literally. We must learn to understand that we must take part in the presence, grace and teaching of Jesus to gain everlasting life. By taking part in Jesus, the way we might take part in a daily meal, we are given a new life, a new way of living and loving and being children of God.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you take part in the flesh of Christ?

Communion 1

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

As our oldest child learns to drive I have ridden with him on several occasions, offering instructions on how to watch traffic, when to accelerate, when to begin breaking, and so on. I received most of this instruction from my own father. I imagine he received his instructions from his father, my grandfather. I imagine my son will pass on this training to any children he will have.

The knowledge, the training, the instruction, the tradition, is passed on from one generation to the next.

Paul is writing to the church at Corinth and offering his own instructions on what we have come to call Holy Communion. Where did Paul get this information? What did Jesus do and say? What is the bread? What is the cup? When we take communion what are we doing?

The practice of Eucharist, Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper is a very holy and sacred moment for many people. This is a time of quiet reflection, a time of soft music, a time of handing over oneself to the mystery of God. It is a time of recalling the sacrificial love of Jesus, and also of taking this Spirit of Christ into ourselves to be a part of who we are.

Holy Communion is that time when we can physically go through the actions of that Seder meal which took place in the upper room. We are remembering by doing, recalling the actions by imitating them. This is a way of teaching, a way of passing on instruction from generation to generation. And I think this ritual is so treasured and so holy because we are doing precisely what Jesus himself did – almost literally going through the same actions as Jesus.

As we go through the breaking of the bread, the drinking from the cup, we are enacting what happened with Christ and the disciples. We become a living witness to all who participate with us, especially the younger generations in attendance with us. We are also a living witness to others around us and even to ourselves.

By participating in the act of Holy Communion we are keeping the tradition alive, re-enacting the holy events of that last week of Christ. And in so doing we are teaching others and we are proclaiming the death of Christ – telling others about the sacrifice that he made. And we will continue to practice this tradition and ritual from generation to generation, until the day Christ returns.

DAILY CHALLENGE: What does Holy Communion mean to you?