THIS IS OUR BLESSED COMMUNION.
In
the name + of Jesus.
On the eve of Passover, families around
Israel would gather in Jerusalem for a communal meal. There was a course of unleavened bread and
bitter herbs, followed by a lamb which had been roasted over a spit. Each course was interspersed by a cup of
wine. The master of the house would say
a blessing over the cup and then pass it around to everyone. The Passover meal was an expression of
fellowship within the family. But
mainly, it was a commemoration of God’s deliverance of his people.
Part of the evening included catechetical
instruction. This festival meal was
never intended to dissolve into a family buffet. To keep the significance of the meal forefront,
family members had a role to play. The
youngest at the table would ask a question to be answered by the head of the house. This is in accord with the instruction given
through Moses. “When your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by
this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of
the Lord's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in
Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses’” (Exodus
12:26-27).
This annual celebration of God’s deliverance was a commemoration. It was not an annual deliverance. They did not mark their door posts with the
blood of the lamb, and no angel passed over their homes. The deliverance happened once, and the people
rejoiced over it. The meal was a reenactment
to remember that first Passover.
When Jesus met with his disciples on the night he was betrayed, he
repurposed the Passover meal. The meal
of the new covenant was not to be a reenactment of a one-time deliverance. This meal had a promise attached to it. Those who ate and drank the meal of the new
covenant would receive blessings through it.
This is our blessed communion.
At the Passover meal with Jesus, his disciples feasted on the body of the
lamb. But Jesus repurposed the
eating. Rather than feasting on a lamb
roasted over fire, we feast on the Lamb of God who was roasted in God’s
righteous judgment. His body is in
communion with the bread which we consecrate for this sacred purpose. In the days of Moses, the blood of the lamb
marked the doors of the Israelites and delivered them from death. Jesus repurposed the blood. Rather than brushing the blood of a lamb on
door posts, the blood of the Lamb is given to Jesus’ disciples to drink. It is in communion with the wine we consecrate
for this purpose. This is our blessed
communion.
This blessed communion, however, is no mere reenactment. Listen to Jesus’ words: “‘Take; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and … said to
them, ‘This
is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many’” (Mark
14:22-24). Jesus tells us exactly what we are receiving in this sacrament. “This is my body.” “This is my blood.” And he tells us why we eat and drink it. “For the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew
26:28). There is no reason to doubt
Jesus’ words. This was a solemn occasion in which Jesus was leaving a gift to
his Church. Solemn occasions are no time
for puzzles to be solved or vague declarations.
Jesus meant what he said and said what he meant. This is our blessed communion.
Nevertheless, most Protestant denominations regard the Lord’s Supper as
a reenactment. They know the words of
Jesus. It is not a matter of translation. The grammar is simple, and the words are
clear. “This is my body.” “This
is my blood.” But when human reason enters the room, it
declares, “This does not make sense! How can Jesus, who is in heaven, be on every
altar on earth? How can this sliver of
bread and sip of wine contain the infinite God?
When we consecrate the elements, it still looks, smells, and tastes like
bread and wine. How can it be Jesus’
body and blood?” If we force God to
submit our human understanding, we will conclude that Jesus could not mean what
he said. “Jesus must have meant that
these represent his body and blood.
That I understand!”
But if that is the case, then you are not receiving anything from Jesus. Then the benefits are only as lofty as your
own meditation. Worst of all, the reason
we would celebrate this sacrament is because Jesus said, “Do this.” That makes this sacrament a law, something we
are doing for God, not what he is doing for us.
If it is a law, it carries a threat rather than a blessing.
But what did Jesus say? Jesus
said, “This is my
body” and “This is my blood”, and
we are in no position to correct him. Jesus
does not give us his words to critique them, but to believe them. Therefore, the sacrament is what he says it
is. And it is what he says is for: “For
the forgiveness of sins.” If that is
what it is for, then that is what it delivers.
It comes with a promise, not with a threat. The sacrament is what the Lord Jesus does for us, not what
we are doing for him. This is our
blessed communion.
St. Paul wrote, “The
cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of
Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of
Christ” (1 Corinthians
10:16)? When St. Paul asks these
questions, the grammar tells us that he expects the answer, “Yes.” Yes, we do participate in the blood of Christ
when we drink from the cup. Yes, we do
participate in the body of Christ when we eat the bread. These are in communion with each other, and
then they are given to be in communion with us.
The body which bore our sins and was given into death to pay for them is
given to us. So, we don’t just think of
the forgiveness of sins won by Jesus, we are in communion with his atoning
sacrifice. The blood which was shed to
redeem us is given to us for our redemption.
We don’t just think about God’s blessed deliverance, we are in communion
with it. The blood of the Lamb hits the
roof of our mouth and death passes over us.
We are the beneficiaries of the atoning work of Jesus. This is our blessed communion.
There are some Christian churches which summon
the members of their congregations to the altar with the declaration, “The holy
things for the holy ones.” Of course,
what holier things are there in the church than the body and blood of our Lord? If the Lord Jesus is present, this is the
most holy thing we handle. These most holy
things are intended only for the holy ones.
St. Paul tells us why: “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the
Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27). If
our church is accused of being loveless for our practice of closed communion,
let the just-quoted verse be the reason why.
To deliver the body and blood of the Lord to anyone who is unworthy is
to feed them with God’s judgment. Love
first seeks to honor God and his word. Then love seeks to do good to our
neighbor. Therefore, we handle the most
holy things with utmost care—both for God’s honor and for the good of others.
Even God’s people can
be disturbed by this verse. We have heard
how God has dealt with people who have treated his word with contempt. The earth swallowed Korah alive. Fire from heaven consumed the soldiers who
tried to arrest the prophet Elijah. The
Flood destroyed the entire population of the word, save Noah and his family. And the Lord killed the firstborn male of the
Egyptians at the Passover. We know that
we do not deserve the title, “the holy ones.”
We are acutely aware of our sins.
If you are not bothered by your sins, then you have not taken the word
of the Lord very seriously. If you are
bothered by your sins, repent. If you
are not bothered by your sins, pinch yourself to see if you are still alive and
repent. For, “if the
righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the
sinner” (1 Peter 4:18)?
Who, then, is worthy to participate in the body and blood of the
Lord? Consider the Israelites at the
first Passover. The Lord had declared
that his judgment was going to fall upon all of Egypt. The firstborn in every house was to be put to
death. However, the Lord provided a
refuge for the people of Israel. Every
Israelite was told to slaughter the lamb and to smear its blood on the doorposts
of their homes. God did not select a few
who were worthy. God extended the
promise of deliverance to all—whether they were noble and upright or shifty and
sleazy. God’s deliverance depended upon
his promise, not on the honor of the people.
Whoever believed God’s word put the blood of the lamb on his doorpost and
was delivered. It was faith in God’s
promise that saved them. There is no
other way to salvation.
So, perhaps you have had a bad week.
Perhaps there were some words that came out of your mouth that made you
sound like a heathen rather than a Christian.
Maybe the shows you watched would force Jesus to leave the room. Maybe you looked on other people with contempt
because they are captive to sin and live like it. And so, you are not holy, and you proved it.
But just as God’s promises at the first Passover did not depend on the righteousness
of the people of Israel, so also God’s promises of forgiveness do not depend on
how righteous you have been. The Lord
has cleansed you in the blood of the Lamb through your baptism. Your status as a saint is based on God’s
decree, not on your performance.
Therefore, if you believe his words—that this is the body and blood of
Jesus, that it is given and shed for you, and that it is for the forgiveness of
your sins—then come to the feast. The most
holy things are for you, God’s holy ones who have been purified by Jesus
Christ. This is our blessed communion.
The body and blood of Jesus are in communion with the bread and the wine,
just as the word of God says. The Lord
Jesus Christ is in communion with us. He
makes us participants in his atoning sacrifice so that we receive its benefits,
just as the word of God says. We are in
communion with one another, fellow saints who share the same need of God’s
mercy, forgiveness, and salvation. “Because
there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of
the one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:17). We share a common faith and rejoice in a
united confession. We all have the same
need, the same Savior, and the same hope.
The holy things for the holy ones. This is our blessed communion. Come to the feast.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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