Liturgy: Inhabiting the Story of God
Holy Communion
We have adored God for who he is, confessed our sin to him and received his forgiveness with thanks, approached him in prayer, listened to him speak to us, and declared our faith in response. Now he welcomes us to a meal: Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
[1] We hear the invitation, spoken by a leader but from God, to “Draw near with faith” and “Receive”.[2] God is our host as we gather around the table. He has us over for dinner. He provides the spiritual food (his own Son on whom we feed by faith), and we, kneeling before him, bring nothing. You would think God is so holy, and we are so sinful, that we would not be welcome at his table. But Jesus’ body and blood has made this meal possible—we rely on his sacrifice. And his body and blood provide the food—as we “feed on him in [our] hearts by faith and with thanksgiving”.[2]
Throughout our worship gathering we have been hearing, saying, and singing the word of God. Holy Communion is where we experience God’s word more physically. This is why Holy Communion, along with Baptism, is called a ‘sacrament’. Archbishop Cranmer, who wrote the Book of Common Prayer, said:
Christ... has ordained [this] visible sacrament of spiritual nourishment in bread and wine to the intent, that as much as is possible for man, we may see Christ with our eyes, smell him at our nose, taste him with our mouths, touch him with our hands, and perceive him with all our senses.[3]
God reveals himself to us through the physical bread and wine of his creation.
Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.
[4] We don’t go to this meal on our own. The whole family is invited. As we approach the table we join with our brothers and sisters. A united and diverse community, from different backgrounds, different neighbourhoods, different ages, stages and jobs, all joining together in one meal. All who know and trust Jesus are included. We are given our food by a member of our own family, looking us in the eyes—everyone eating from the same loaf as the bread is distributed, and drinking from the same cup of wine. The Lord’s Supper like so many other aspects of gathered worship is a leveller and a display of unity. In ancient society you had to be on good terms with people in order to eat a meal with them. Often in our city meals together are rare, and even more so meals which cross social divides. Here we put aside differences, forgive one another where we have been sinned against, and unite around the table.
This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.
[5] Just as the Passover celebration was a meal to remember that the Lord had redeemed his people from Egypt, so ever since the night before Jesus died, Christians have shared this meal to remember his sacrifice. As the bread is broken before our eyes and the wine is deep red in the cup, we see Jesus’ body broken on the cross and his blood shed for us. His death and resurrection has changed everything. It is central to our faith, the great turning point of history, and so we will want to remember him, be thankful for him, and celebrate all he has done.
To the extent that Jesus’ dying and rising to new life is deep and multi-layered, so through this visual sign of Christ’s work God can speak to us in many different ways. It might be a solemn and reflective time as we remember the pain, suffering and sacrifice that was necessary for us to have restoration with God. It might be joyful as we celebrate his bursting from the tomb and defeating death. We might be filled with awe at God’s love and beauty.
For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
[6] We look to God and one another in the present, we look back in remembrance and finally we look forward to the future with anticipation. The meal we share now is merely a foretaste of the meal we will share together with God and one another in the future; the wedding supper of the Lamb. On that day we won’t see Jesus by faith, in the bread and wine—we will see him face to face. God will welcome us around his table, along with all God’s people from every time and every place. We will be with him forever in the great heavenly banquet of the New Creation. And now as we share a meal, we proclaim that future meal.
There are so many distractions and discouragements we experience that could draw us away from that living hope. Turn on the TV or the internet and it’s so often bad news. Colleagues at work don’t understand us, or worse poke fun at us for following Jesus. Suffering and sickness make us doubt that our future is really secure. Yet as we eat there is hope for the future. It is going to happen. Christ will come again. We can be sure of it.