Communion is a sacrament, and sacraments are important. But what does that all mean?
Depending on where you go to church, you might know this as
Communion, the Lord’s Supper, or the Eucharist.
Some churches recognize two sacraments, others as many as 7. But what exactly is a sacrament? And why is it important? Or is it?
For most of my Christian life, I have to admit that the
whole thing didn’t mean much to me.
I grew up in a Lutheran church. I always found taking Communion there meaningful
and powerful, though I didn’t fully understand what it all actually meant. We had catechism classes which explained that
to some extent, but knowing what they said and knowing what it means are not
the same.
In high school, I met my future wife, who was a
Baptist. In those days, most churches
had Sunday evening services, and we started going to as many different churches
as possible, trying to understand the differences between them and why they
were different.
I left the Lutheran Church I was going to when I was a
teenager, when they didn’t show the same enthusiasm for the Bible as I had when
I started taking my Christian faith more seriously. Then for pretty much the rest of my life, Communion
had little meaning for me. Other
churches had a different view of Communion, and I just didn’t find it
meaningful.
In the last few years, a few things caused me to think more
about it.
I started attending a Catholic Church for a while. I won’t go into all the reasons why here, but
I could go every day before work, and it was quiet, meditative, and it felt
like church. I like churches that look
like a church. High vaulted ceilings,
arched painted windows. Some of those
old European cathedrals took over a hundred years to build.
Protestant churches often just seem like auditoriums or
meeting halls. And there’s a theological
explanation for all of that. I stopped
going to the Catholic church services, because some guy started saying I guess
it was the rosary, out loud, over and over, and it ruined the mood. He wasn’t there every service, but enough
that I didn’t want to go anymore.
I also had been reading a pastor I admire who spoke of the
power of taking communion. He often
talks about people who have been physically healed while taking Communion,
though I can’t say I’ve seen that in my own life. Yet.
Now there are basically three views of communion. And I can simplify it down to two.
I’m not going to tell you here which view I think is
right. Or maybe I should say, I’m not
going to try to convince you which view is right. I’m not sure you can make a convincing case
one way or another. I have a lot of
books on it, which someday I hope to read.
But let me put it like this:
One view says that Communion is simply a reminder of what
Jesus has done for us, like taking out old photographs and saying, remember
when He did that? We are supposed to
think long and hard about our lives when we do this. We can do this in an unworthy manner, which we
don’t want to do. It has serious
consequences.
Obviously we are all unworthy in ourselves, but taking it in
an unworthy manner would be doing it casually, not taking the death of Jesus
with the awe and reverence it deserves.
The other view says that taking communion actually does
something in or to us. Like eating
food. Everything you see here at one
time was something you ate. Your body
took it apart and used what it could and made bone, tissue, and muscle out of
it. Some churches call this grace that is imparted to us, whatever that means. But the act of doing this changes us. Like eating meals, one meal doesn’t make a
big difference, but a lifetime of eating good or bad shows and makes a
difference.
Many churches have services throughout the week and
communion at each service.
After years of thinking about this but without the intense
reading and research I wanted to do at some point, I have come to believe that
communion is important in that the act itself is beneficial. It actually contributes to our
wellbeing.
There is a verse in I Corinthians 14 where it says that a
person who speaks in tongues edifies himself.
A person speaking in tongues is not using rational thought, but his
activity is actually building himself up.
I would see Communion doing the same thing.
Again, I am not saying this is what you should believe. I do think that this is something you should
think about, talk about, pray about, and reach your own conclusion about.
And, as I said, like eating food, exercising, taking
vitamins, just doing these things once in a while won’t make any difference,
but doing them regularly over a lifetime will make it a significant difference. Or so I have come to believe, but I’m not
saying you need to or should.
So I have started taking communion at home every
morning. Do we need to have a clergy
person do it for us? The Bible says that
we are a kingdom of priests. (Exodus
19:6, I Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6) So,
no, I don’t think so. Your pastor may
disagree.
I used Matzah, unleavened Jewish bread. The first Communion was a Passover
dinner. And grape juice, but you can use
wine if you prefer.
I will conclude by giving here the communion service that I
wrote and use;
Communion
Service
23 For I received from the Lord
that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which
He was betrayed took bread; 24 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.” (1
Corinthians 11:23,24) 35 “I am the
bread of life; he who comes to Me will never hunger, and he who believes in Me
will never thirst.” (John
6:35) 51 “I am the living bread that
came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever;
and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My
flesh.” 53 “Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no
life in yourselves. 54 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal
life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 “For My flesh is true food,
and My blood is true drink. 56 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides
in Me, and I in him. 57 “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of
the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. (John 6:51,53-57)
Offer thanksgiving for the bread, the life of Jesus, and
invite Jesus to fill your life with His presence. Eat the bread. [I usually pray something like
this: Lord, I am in You and You are in me.
Fill me with Your life. Live Your
life through me, and let others see You in me.]
25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. (1 Corinthians 11:25,26)
Hear the Word of the Lord:
11 ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have
given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the
blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’ (Leviticus 17:11) 12 Through
His own blood, the Lord Jesus entered the holy place once for all, having
obtained eternal redemption. 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your
conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:12,14)
19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the
holy place by the blood of Jesus, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in
full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19,22)
Thank God for Jesus and the blood of Christ whereby we can
approach God boldly. Drink the cup. and
finish with the Lord’s Prayer.
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