Q. 96. What is the Lord’s Supper?
A. The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament, wherein by giving and receiving bread and wine, according to Christ’s appointment, his death is showed forth; and the worthy receivers are, not after a corporal and carnal manner, but by faith, made partakers of his body and blood, with all his benefits, to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace.
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Cor. 11:26)
"The fellowship of the table teaches Christians that here they still eat the perishable bread of the earthly pilgrimage. But if they share this bread with one another, they shall also one day receive the imperishable bread together in the Father's house." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1954), 66.
The simple act of sitting down around a table is something a lot of people don't find particularly important - but for Christians, the shared supper is a vital aspect of spiritual life. The Scriptures speak of three kinds of table fellowship that Jesus keeps with his own: daily fellowship at table, the table fellowship of the Lord's Supper, and the final table fellowship in the kingdom of God. But in all three, the one thing that counts is that “their eyes were opened, and they knew him.” (Luke 23:31)
This meal is provided, not because we have earned the right to eat and drink with Jesus, but simply as an act of divine love. For Presbyterians this divinely initiated meal is one of two sacraments of the church, instituted by God and commended by Christ. We are following in the tradition of the early church when we affirm three primal material elements of life - water, bread and wine - as the primary symbols of offering life to God. Being washed with the water of baptism, we receive new life in Christ. In eating the bread and drinking the cup offered by God, our memory of the promises are made present by the Holy Spirit.
“The Lord's Supper is a sacrament of continuous growth, nourishment and new life. In our Reformed tradition participation in this sacrament should follow the sacrament of baptism. Just as humans need food and drink for nurture and sustenance, Calvin wrote that the Holy Meal is God's way of providing for our maintenance during the whole course of our lives after we have been received into God's family. Both sacraments provide a visible, in fact a graphic, way of presenting God's promises.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “The Fellowship of the Table” Life Together, p. 66-69
The experience of early disciples, after Jesus’ resurrection, was that Jesus revealed himself in the breaking of the bread at a common meal. The travelers on the road to Emmaus found that when the stranger, who was the risen Christ, joined them at their meal, “he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him;” (Luke 23:30-31) In John’s Gospel, the risen Christ invites the disciples to “Come and have breakfast” and they knew that “it was the Lord” (John 21:12-13) Ever since Jesus Christ sat at table with his disciples, the table fellowship of his community has been blessed by his presence.
Throughout the Gospels, they describe Jesus’ ministry sitting at the tables of men and women eating and drinking with Jesus. During these meals, the presence of the Messiah is made know to them. Jesus shared meals with sinners and Pharisees, fed thousands of hungry people, celebrated at wedding feasts and banquets. When early Christians celebrated the Lord’s Supper they did so initially in the context of a Christian fellowship meal, where the elements of the Lord’s Supper, the bread and the cup were shared. The early church’s faith was nourished by the presence of Jesus Christ made real in the fellowship shared in the Lord’s Supper.
Every mealtime fills Christians with gratitude for the living, presence Lord and God, Jesus Christ. The words of Jesus remain a source of solid spiritual food for us, whether Jesus is describing himself as "the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25), or commanding us to "love one another" (John 13:34). Since Jesus is the word of God in human form, we can always be strengthened by what he says to us in the gospels. His words are trustworthy and true, and he remains for us "the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).
Jesus instructs us to eat and drink of the bread and the cup to remember him and make His life our life. Receiving communion is an important way of living in Christ, and allowing him to live in us. Finally, we can go out to be the body of Christ in the world. Christians who feast on the words of Jesus and nourish themselves with communion become nothing less than the flesh-and-blood presence of Jesus in the world today. We can be the hands and feet of Jesus, whether we are young or old, male or female, white or black, liberal or conservative. If they share this bread with one another, they shall also one day receive the imperishable bread together in the Father’s house. “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God” (Luke 14:15).
Today’s Lectionary Readings
Morning Psalm: 12, 88
Evening Psalm: 29, 126
Jeremiah 20:7-18
1 Corinthians 10:14-17; 11:27-32
John 17:1-26
No comments:
Post a Comment