Communion

I said that I'd come back and give this a little further explanation. First, let's view the communion as it happened.

Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-26, Luke 22:7-23

Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover."

"Where do you want us to prepare for it?" they asked.

He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there."

They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."

After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him." They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.


It would behoove you to imagine, as you take communion, that you are sitting at the table with Jesus, just as his disciples did. It's closer to what's actually happening than you might think. After all, in Galations 2:20 Paul tells us,"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." So, to imagine that he's right there with us is not only sobering, but is also true.

Communion has, at its essence, the crucifixion. Every time you undertake to practice communion you are acting out the crucifixion. I just recently read a short story called The Martyr's Song, by Ted Dekker. It tells the story of a woman who reads a story about martyred Christians regularly so that the memory of what happened doesn't fade. It really sunk in that recounting that story and taking communion are similar acts. You can admit it, we are a people that have incredibly short memories. In time, even the holocaust will fade from memory. Knowing that, many have undertaken to provide constant reminders of that atrocity as a means to preserve the memory. Those that work to keep it alive in our psyche do it so it lasts as a standing warning of what can happen.

However hard we try, though, memory becomes a 2 dimensional piece of trivia with the passage of time. For instance, Alexander the Great, who, it is said, came to think himself deity, was guilty of slaughtering entire peoples and carrying out mass brutality, but he's now remembered as "The Great". His claim was that he conquered for his own glory. By contrast, Hitler conquered for the glory of the Fatherland--a much more selfless approach by comparison.

Like I said, as time passes, we forget. Memories that once caused the living pain to recount get lost in the shroud of history never to be anywhere near as poignant as it once was. It's almost on par with blasphemy to point out that the holocaust will probably eventually be remembered as a small blip on the radar screen rather than the life altering tragedy that it really was in its time. In the scope of history, what's another tyrant?

That is why we have to work so hard to preserve our memories. The Jews did it with Passover as a way to remember the angel that "passed over" the houses of the faithful while stopping and killing the Egyptian firstborns at every other house. It was a means to keep alive the memory of their God. Even those that actually experienced it began to grumble at God in the very beginnings of wandering through the desert. To us, that seems ridiculous, but look at the luxury (by comparison) that they came from and consider what you would do if everything you once clung to was now gone. We in the "first-world-countries" are oftentimes consumed with our lives and concerns and very much take for granted the luxuries we have. If any of us were thrust into a desert to wander, relying solely on God for provision, it might not be such a different story.

Ultimately, it was a tradition passed to us not by church fathers or the Catholic popes, but by Christ himself--God. He knew us better than any other and, as can be seen throughout the Bible with his treatment of his people, he knows that we forget. Jesus, in his Godly wisdom saw to it that we had something to remember him by. So, when practicing communion, do it in remembrance of Him.

On Communion in Reply to Cyndi

This is the beginning of my answer to your question. On the surface there is much I can say about the taking of communion, but I'm certain there's more to it than I can say now without having done any work to research it. That being said, I'll attempt to give a concise answer now and then revisit the subject later when I've discovered the finer points.

For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 1 Cor. 11:26

First, communion is definitely a tradition. It was taking place early in the church--as early as the first century. (1 Cor. 11:17-34) The tradition, as with all traditions, can turn into a mindless ritual if not done properly. It is supposed to serve not only as a reminder, however, but an opportunity as well.

Secondly, I daresay that if we were to take communion every day and were forced to give an accounting for our sins regularly that we would not only grow closer to God, but also that we would never run out of things to examine. A heart that no longer requires improvement is dead. Our goal in this life is to continually improve ourselves--to become more Christ-like.

The act of communion is a time for spiritual meditation. We take time to listen to the voice that guides us and tells us what we should work on. That time is seldom grasped outside of the church, so communion serves a purpose in that it gives us those moments to truly reflect.

Thirdly, the actual partaking should only be done with a clear conscience. This means that you're required to make yourself right with God before drinking and eating. I don't know if most people fully understand the weight of what they're doing when they take communion, but it should be well understood. (Read this to find out how serious it is.) Partaking in an unworthy manner is on par with heaping judgment on your shoulders.

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 1 Cor. 11:27-29

The price you'll pay is an unknown, but you can be sure that doing this hypocritically will not have a pleasant outcome.

So, now understanding the weight of the tradition you can begin to appreciate that the tradition is never to be taken lightly. It can become a monotonous ritual only if you become careless or don't understand it. If you've become careless, then you need to examine yourself and make it right before partaking.

Having said all that, a person who feigns examination and true repentance will likely suffer from it. It is a lesson that he or she will learn through the discipline of God. They may endure hardship that forces them to turn back to God--after all, he works that way.

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:7-11