1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Luke 22:7-23
“The
Supper of The Lord is not only a sign of the love Christians ought to have
among themselves one to another, but rather is a sacrament [a
sign] of our redemption by Christ’s death
…” ¶104, Article XVIII, pg 68, Book
of Discipline 2012
Like baptism, The Lord’s Supper (or Holy Communion) is
a sacrament of the Church. Understanding a sacrament as an “outward sign
of an inward grace”, we can then “see” the abiding principle of sacrament unfolding before our eyes when
we gather “together” for Holy Communion.
And I must say there is no more precious sight than when married couples
receive Communion while holding hands. I
wish we would all be so willing to hold one another’s hands while partaking of
this extraordinary Gift!
Still, the question must be asked: do we really
understand all Communion signifies, or is it just a thing we do? For that matter, can Holy Communion be so
narrowly defined as to mean only one thing in only one single moment of
participation?
The answer, of course, is no; but this does not
necessarily mean Communion can mean different things to different persons as if
we can make something up independent of what is written in the Scripture and
expressed in doctrine and still remain true to the Spirit of the Gift. Like all doctrines of the Church – and this
can never be overstated – if there is no outward, visible expression (sign) of
what is taking place within (and we can mean within the heart AND within
the building in which we worship), the doctrine is incomplete, empty, or
downright false – utterly useless to the Kingdom and the mission of the Church.
And we are nothing if not “Kingdom people”. So if the doctrine of Holy Communion can be
reduced only to what it means
to “me” personally, then it also might be said the doctrine is not biblically thought
out or spiritually understood – and the gift is received “unworthily” (1 Corinthians 11:29).
In the matter of Holy Communion, which is a practice
largely done “in house”, expressing its meaning outwardly as a “sign”, a true sacrament – beyond the walls of the
Church – becomes even more important lest we reduce it to only a “thing” we do
once in a while. That reduces The Lord’s
Supper to little more than a memorial.
By the very sacramental nature of all it means, however, Holy Communion has to be much more than this –
or there is no point in doing it at all since we “remember” The Lord every
Sunday when the Scripture is read.
We are already at an awkward place within the
Christian faith in which the very means of grace (i.e., the sacraments,
worship, fasting, prayer, Scripture study, fellowship; all done alone AND
together) have become largely “optional” even for many who otherwise call
themselves “saved”. That is, we don’t
really believe these things to be necessary or even useful to spiritual growth.
We don’t believe we can be made more “perfect” than in
that moment when we were “pardoned” (justified). We don’t really believe the Bible to be the
Word of the Most High God. We are much
more comfortable with man-made “talking points” born of the Enlightenment
period of the 18th century in which all authority was questioned and
community life became “every man for himself”.
Such a narrow mindset and vision misses the entire
point of the sacraments of the Church and, consequently, misses or ignores
altogether the overarching doctrine and mission of the United Methodist Church:
that all baptized Christians are “called” to a ministry within the overall
mission of the Church – it’s what makes it the “Body of Christ”. We all have a place, in some capacity,
specifically to “make disciples who are
equipped to make disciples”.
Can religion be so practiced and faith taken so
personally if we truly understand that it is not now, nor was it ever, nor will
it ever, be strictly about “me”? I think
about it in terms of being a member of a human family. There are certainly those special moments our
parents (and we as parents) have devoted to one person or another, as on
birthdays; but every other day (including the birthday) is about the well-being
of the family as a whole – not a single person, certainly not a “favored” child
just as our God “shows no partiality” (Acts
10:34) as St. Peter came to know.
Of course there will always be moments when a single
person may require a little extra care or attention from time to time –
especially when our babies are sick and our children enter those awkward and
often traumatic teen years - but even then the other members of the family are
not pushed aside nor are their particular needs ignored.
This is the reality of the human family we willfully
embrace. So how have we come to
understand the Christian religion and Christian faith as strictly about
“me”? The fallacy of such a notion is if
it is only about “me”, then faith itself and its expressive religion become
“optional”. Not really necessary but
kinda nice to have from time to time … as it suits “me” and as it fits “my” own
personal agenda. However, we are
justified and baptized and called into a whole “family” when we become brothers
and sisters to one another AND of Messiah Himself – as we also become children
of the Most High God whom Jesus taught us to address and come to know as
“Father”.
The concept of “personal” (and very often private) faith to the exclusion of all
others is so far off the spiritual grid that it may be considered unimportant
and inconsequential – except that the Church as a whole has become this
mish-mash of “individuals” who refuse the idea of “mission” and who deny (or
defy) the commandment of our
Lord who spoke to all His
disciples: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. As I have loved you, so you must also love
one another. By this all will know you
are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35 NKJV).
In the context of the kind of “love” to which Jesus is
referring, it is not insignificant that before Jesus spoke these words to His
disciples, He had washed their feet, “For I have given you an example, that you
should do as I have done to you” (John
13:15).
Holy Communion is not exclusively a “private” moment only between ourselves and The
Lord. That notion prevents the word
“communion” from having any
meaning altogether as the sacrament,
the “sign” it must necessarily be. As we
are indeed receiving “real food and real drink” (John 6:55) for the soul and for the journey, it is
important to the life and mission of the Church that we are assured we are not
undertaking this Journey alone and only
for our own salvation’s sake. Think of
Uriah whom King David ordered to be sent out in battle away from the army. Without the safety and support of the whole
army, Uriah was killed (2 Samuel 11:1-27.
This is the Ministry of All Christians, so profoundly
expressed when we are bound together in
the Body of Christ by the very
Body of Christ in Holy Communion; for the doctrine of the United Methodist
Church holds that we are truly in “communion” not only with the Savior of the
world in and with one another – but also with the world itself, and for this
reason: so that “none would perish” (2
Peter 3:9).
In the Spirit of the Body of Christ in the union of
Communion, let the Body of Christ say together: Amen!
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