Did you know that a lot of what we do in our Sunday worship service is designed to remind us of things God has done?
One of the most central matters of worship is the Lord’s Supper and even our table has the words “This do in rememberance of me” engraved on the front.
David Bible sent me a cute email about feeling old that illustrates my point well.
COLLEGE CLASS OF 2005
Each year the staff at Beloit College in Wisconsin puts
together a list to try to give the Faculty a sense of the mindset of this
year’s incoming freshman. The people who are starting college this fall
all across the nation were born in 1983. Here is this year’s list:
They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan Era and probably did
not know he had ever been shot. They were preadolescent when the
Persian Gulf War was waged. There has been only one Pope in their lifetime.
They were 10 when the Soviet Union broke apart and do not remember the
Cold War. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up.
Tianamen Square means nothing to them. Bottle caps have always been
screw off and plastic.
Atari predates them, as do vinyl albums.
The expression "You sound like a broken record" means nothing to them.
They have never owned a record player.
They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong.
They may have never heard of an 8 track. The Compact Disc was introduced
when they were 1 year old.
They have always had an answering machine.
Most have never a black and white TV.
They have always had cable.
There have always been VCRs, but they have no idea what BETA was.
They cannot fathom not having a remote control.
They don’t know what a cloth baby diaper is.
Feeling old Yet? There’s more:
They were born the year that Walkmen were introduced by Sony.
Roller skating has always meant inline for them.
Jay Leno has always been on the Tonight Show.
They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.
Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.
They have never seen Larry Bird play.
The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI,
WWII and the Civil War.
They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.
They never heard: "Where’s the beef?", "I’d walk a mile for a Camel,"
or "De plane, de plane!"
They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. was.
Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America, and Alabama are places, not bands...
There has always been MTV.
They don’t have a clue how to use a typewriter.
One of the dangers that we face as Christians is that we forget so easily. Our faith is built on the works of God in the past and the hope of heaven in the future. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:3-9, then in 2 Peter 1:12-15.
We are wearing the same shoes that those Christians wore that Peter speaks to here. We are people who need to be reminded. We were not there when Jesus died for us and rose again, we are following the witnesses who recorded these events. Yet we are not alone. Jesus has not left us as orphans. He is present with us and especially whenever 2 or more gather in his name. And when we come together on this the Lord’s day, we are reminded of the things that keep us faithful and hopeful and filled with the love of God. We are reminded of our Savior’s death for our salvation and his life for our assurance.
Brother Spencer taught our adult class this morning on the Lord’s Supper. We looked at the institution of the supper and the death of Christ for our sins and how God’s word connects these.
God chose a meal to remind us of the sacrifice of Jesus. And how fitting it is. We eat and drink every day. It is part of what keeps us alive. And while our Lord’s Supper is taken in small portions of bread and cup today, it is the meaning and not the amount that we focus on. Jesus never specified the volume of bread and drink to take in this meal. It is very likely that the early disciples took more than just a pinch of bread and a teaspoon of the grape juice when they partook of this. Please don’t misunderstand me here. I’m not trying to change the way we do this, I am trying to enrich our understanding and appreciation of it.
Jesus body is the bread of heaven, and his blood the spiritual drink that brings life. We understand that without eating and drinking we would soon die. We must have nourishment to survive physically. The same is true in Christ spiritually. We must have spiritual nourishment to survive. Is your daily spiritual nourishment just a pinch of Bible and a teaspoon of prayer? A pinch of fellowship and a teaspoon of service… How much do you really need to spiritually survive? Do you just want the bare minimum? Don’t you want the full meal?
We are such eaters in America. Dave Berry said he went to France and noticed how everyone seems so skinny. He said that the entire population of France would weigh less than the average American women’s soft ball team.
God chose a meal to remind us of Jesus’ death because food and drink are so central to our lives. Bread represents Christ’s body, fruit of the vine, his blood. Death and forgiveness, sin’s payment and salvation, our lostness and God’s love… all these are wrapped up in what the Lord’s Supper is about. And lest we forget, Jesus has commanded us to do this in his memory.
In this supper we look back, we look around, we look ahead, we look upward and we look inward.
The setting of the original supper was the Passover meal. John 13 describes details that Matt, Mk and Lk do not. John never mentions the Lord’s supper, instead he centers on the Lord’s service.
We look back to a King who washed his subjects feet. A God who stooped low to the ground and took a towel and basin and served. Jesus washed those feet because they were dirty and because the men attached to them were too busy discussing who was the greatest to take time to do it. Jesus knew that these feet would bring the good news to the world. But right then they needed to be washed. Jesus washed those feet because those men needed an example of love. Isn’t that also part of what the bread and cup mean to us today? We need an example of love too, don’t we? We look back to Jesus, who died in our place and who washes not just his disciple’s feet, but also their souls. The feet he washed with water and a towel. Our souls took a lot more. To wash away our sins required his body and blood. So when we take this bread and cup, we look back.
We look around to see our brothers and sisters. A communion requires more than one. The very word says coming into union, or with union. We come together to do this. Jesus is the host and the centerpiece and the subject of the meal. But we come to him and meet with each other. Paul says that whoever does not discern the body when they eat this Supper of the Lord, eats and drinks condemnation on himself. The context there includes how they treat one another. 1 Cor 11:18, 21, 33,34.
In communion we should look around. I heard someone say that when you go to a restaurant you can tell if a couple eating there is married or not. The couple who is not married will be talking with each other, the married couple will just be eating. When we take the communion, talking with each other may seem irreverent. But that depends on what we are talking about. Talking about the Lord’s death and its meaning may actually be more appropriate than the usual silence. Perhaps the problem is that we are not used to talking about Jesus death and its meaning for us as worship. We are used to silently reflecting on the meaning of the bread and the cup, with all the talking done by the one who says the prayers over it. Nothing is wrong with that either. But just to expand your mind a bit, neither would there be anything wrong if while we ate the bread and drank from the cup there were a devotional message being spoken to us. Please don’t miss my point. When the Lord gave the supper the first time there was discussion at the table. They might have been better off if they’d kept quiet because the discussion was about who was the greatest. What was in their minds came out of their mouths. So maybe it is best that we keep quiet as we eat and drink today. But while we eat and drink the Lord’s Supper, we need to consider the family we are with. Here we are, brothers and sisters in Christ, because of his death for us. We proclaim his death till he comes. We look around.
We look forward to glory. This Supper is also a reminder of where the death of Christ is leading us. We are children of victory! Heirs of promise! Headed for heaven! This bread and cup reminds us that we are not home yet. This is not a feast, it is a sustaining meal for the trip.
