Communion March 2020 / St. Pats Day
Text: 1 Corinthians 11:23-30
As you can tell by this table that’s been set here, we are taking communion this morning, but I want, if I’m able, to try and tie it in with St. Patrick’s Day… Because I think that sometimes there can be some confusion about both of those things. So let me just start by saying that Communion is all about Jesus. It’s about looking back at what He has done. It’s about looking forward to His Second Coming, and it’s about looking at what Christ is presently doing in our lives today, and in His Church.
And you guys know; I’m kind of a history nerd. Looking back at history is kind of my thing, and those of you who come to the evening services know I’m a big proponent of looking back at Christian history. We’ve had evening lessons on the heroes of the Reformation, and heroes of the faith, and we’ve done three lessons in our evening services on Patrick of Ireland over the last 8 years or so… And I tend to do that I guess. I tend to look at those men and women of Christian history, who took uncompromising stands on the truth of God’s Word, or who boldly went out to share the Gospel through danger, and hardship, and persecution. And Saint Patrick is one of those guys.
Now when it comes to the story of Patrick, the truth is even more exciting than the myth. You’ve maybe heard, that he’s known for driving all the snakes out of Ireland… but the thing is, there were no snakes native to Ireland. Some people want to make the upcoming holiday all about green beer, and leprechauns and pots of gold, and shamrocks… and the color green. But the reality is, the holiday isn’t about ANY of those things. Here’s the truth about Patrick. He was born in 385 A.D. in what is now modern day Scotland. Here’s how he opened his autobiography Confessions: “My name is Patrick, I am a sinner, a simple country person, and the least of all believers. I am looked down upon by many. My father was Calpornius. He was a deacon; his father was Potitus, a priest, who lived at Bannavem Taburniae. His home was near there, and that is where I was taken prisoner. I was almost sixteen at the time.” So that’s how his story began, at almost the age of 16 he was kidnapped by Irish pirates, they took him to Ireland and sold him as a slave to a Celtic tribal leader. He was held in slavery for 6 years, until he finally escaped. But it was during that time of slavery that he was called to faith by Christ, and born again. So after he returned to Scotland, he went back to school, went to seminary, and became a missionary and returned to Ireland, and brought the Gospel to that country. He planted over 200 churches in Ireland, and was in constant danger, faced constant persecution, but ultimately God rewarded his faithfulness, and brought a “Great Awakening” to Ireland. Patrick remained in Ireland, preaching and planting churches for the next 54 years until he died around 461 A.D.
There’s a lot more we could say about Patrick the missionary to Ireland, but ultimately, what made him the man of God that he was, and what made him able to do and accomplish all that he did, was God Himself. It was Jesus… Jesus was his source, his strength, his motivation. So St. Patrick’s isn’t about wearing green and pinching people. It’s not about singing “O Danny Boy” and saying “Top o’ the mornin’ to ya’”. It’s not about green beer. It’s about God using a simple sinner to bring salvation to an entire culture of people.
So it’s good to look back at these kinds of examples, and pray that God would use us in a similar way. And like I said a little while ago, Communion is also about looking back.
Go ahead and take your Bibles and open them up to 1 Corinthians 11:23-30 (READ).
Those first 3 verses from our text (vss. 23, 24, & 25) are telling us to look back. To remember. And specifically to remember Jesus, and what He has done. And so this is a great thing that God has given us to remind us of the cost of our salvation. It cost you and me nothing, but that didn’t mean it didn’t cost anything at all. Jesus was beaten beyond recognition, He was whipped, and scourged. He was spit upon and mocked. He was hung upon the cross.
He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities, and that’s what this bread represents. The pain and suffering and torture, that He endured on our behalf.
And just as it’s important for us to not forget the heroes of the faith who have gone on before us, it’s even more important that we don’t forget the Author and Finisher of our faith – Jesus Christ, and what He endured for us on the Cross. We should never forget that He took our place and bore the wrath of God for us. And just like this bread represents His body that was broken for us, the fruit of the vine represents the blood He shed. The Bible tells us that without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sin.
As Christians we should be growing in knowledge, and coming to maturity in our faith. We should be learning deeper and deeper theological truths, and getting to the point where we’re no longer just drinking milk when it comes to our understanding and our doctrine, and the Bible, but at the same time, we never are told to never forget or get too far from the message of the Cross. In-fact; some of the deepest, fullest, richest theology you will find is right there at the Cross of Christ, and His death, burial, and resurrection.
Now Communion is not only looking back though… it’s also about looking forward. Look with me again at our text (READ 1 Corinthians 11:26).
It’s because of the Cross that we have a hope and a future. It seems like there are so many people today who have no hope. They are hopeless, and depressed, and in despair. But if you have Jesus, that should never be the case. With Christ, you have hope. You have a future to look forward to, a future to anticipate. An eternity to enjoy. And Jesus says here in our text, that as we do this, as we faithfully partake of Communion, and as we faithfully and consistently do this in remembrance of Him, we are to also continually be reminding ourselves that He is coming again. In-fact; the Bible teaches that as we do that as Christians… as we continually remind ourselves that Jesus is coming again, it will help us in this life as well. It will help us keep our priorities right. It will help us stay focused on Jesus. It will help us in our fight against sin, and help us move towards holiness and sanctification.
Now don’t misunderstand; the Christian life and following Jesus does have an impact, and implications for the here and now, but ultimately it’s about being with Him in eternity.
It’s about the “Blessed Hope”. But what’s interesting is that as we focus more and more on that Day, and that time, when Jesus comes again, it’s going to impact us a whole lot more in the here and now, than if we prioritized the here and now. This is what the Apostle Paul meant when he says, “I press towards the mark of the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus.” It’s what the author of Hebrews meant when he said, “Let us lay aside ever weight, and the sin that so easily besets us and let us run the race with patience, looking to Jesus, the Author and FINISHER of our faith.” It’s what John the Beloved means when he writes, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in him, purifies himself, just as He is pure.” And so we look forward to that day, when Jesus comes again. But until then, we proclaim His death for our sin, through this act of worship, that we call Communion. And finally Communion is about looking at what Christ is presently doing in the life of His Church. That’s you, me, and every other person who has been saved by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus, and who has been washed by His precious blood.
Look again at verses 27 – 30 (READ).
Paul tells us here to examine ourselves. To take a good, honest look at our hearts. How many times have we taken Communion while in unrepentant sin? We have anger, bitterness, lust, greed, hatred, covetousness, and pride in our hearts. We have to remind ourselves that these sins and all kinds of others, are what sent Jesus to the cross in the first place. And as people who have been born again, and washed clean by His blood, we are called to repent. That doesn’t mean you feel sorry for them during a moment of quiet reflection before taking Communion, it means you turn away from them. You repent.
It means we stop playing around with those notions and ideas, and desires, and you turn away from them as you follow Christ. It means we come to Christ, and we say, “Lord have mercy upon me, a sinner. And Lord, help me to repent. Give me different desires, give me the power and strength to turn from sin and follow You as I should.”
To examine yourself means to look within your own heart, and to ask God to show you the depths of your own sin, and then, by the power of the Holy Spirit, through the sanctifying power of the Word of God, you put that sin to death.
But there’s a second teaching here as well… it’s in verse 29 where Paul says, “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the Body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.” That’s concerning the Church. Our brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s not just about my sin, and my issues, and the things that jam me up. It’s about my brothers and sisters in Christ. Do I love them? Do I back bite or slander, or have anything against them? Do they have anything against me? Have I done them wrong? Have I sinned against the Body of Christ, which is the Church? Are we sowing seeds of disunity?
Ultimately it’s ALL ABOUT JESUS!
It’s about what He has done for us on the cross. It’s about His soon return, and it’s about His people, the Church – the BODY OF CHRIST.
Which is why I wanted to tie Saint Patrick into this message. I’m not sure why we call him Saint Patrick… he was never canonized by the Catholic Church, so he’s not a “saint” in that way, but he is a saint in the sense that all Christians are saints; having been washed clean by the blood of Jesus. But Patrick… this dude, he was all about Jesus. He loved Jesus. He served Jesus. And his goal was that Christ would be seen in all he did.
So I’m going to close out with Patrick’s prayer (His Lorica), and we’ll take Communion.
(EXPLAIN WHAT A LORICA IS TO THE CONGREGATION),
“Christ with me. Christ before me. Christ behind me. Christ in me. Christ beneath me. Christ above me. Christ on my right, Christ on my left. Christ when I lie down. Christ when I sit down. Christ when I arise. Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me. Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me. Christ in every eye that sees me. Christ in every ear that hears me.”
CLOSING
