How Marvelous

The Lord's Supper is a powerful sign act of worship. It was initiated by Christ just before his crucifixion, and it is practiced regularly in Christian churches worldwide to this day. I would argue that it is the most spiritually formational thing we can do to remember who we are in Christ. It tells the story of God better than any single moment in the worship service. Consider all that the Lord's Supper communicates...

It remembers how God delivered the Israelites from Egypt. Jesus first broke the bread and raised the cup as part of the Passover meal (see Luke 22:7-14). The Passover was celebrated annually by Jews, including Jesus. It's no coincidence that Jesus used this moment to initiate communion. It represents how God saves, whether from the oppressive Egyptians, or from the bondage of sin.

It represents grace. When Jesus said the cup is the new covenant in his blood (Matthew 26:28), he replaced all the covenants made before. In God's covenants with Noah, Abraham, and Moses, mankind was charged with fulfilling their end of the covenant agreement. But in Jesus, we are freed from sin entirely by the obedience of Jesus. In Jesus, we are covered by God's grace.

It shows forth Jesus' presence. In Luke 24, the disciples, who have walked the road with the resurrected Jesus and invited him to dinner with them, only realize it's actually Jesus when he breaks the bread (v. 31). The bread and the cup powerfully remind us that Jesus is with us.

It looks with hope to the end of God's story. Jesus says in Matthew 26:29 and Luke 22:16 that he won't eat the Passover again until it finds fulfillment in God's Kingdom. There will come a day when we will sit with Jesus, face to face, and enjoy a celebration feast—a wedding feast—because Jesus has returned, the Kingdom has come in its fullness, and death and sin will be things of the past. What joy! What peace! What freedom to live eternally in perfect communion with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!

In addition to these, the Lord's Supper represents the crucifixion, the sacrificial system of Israelite worship, the priesthood of Christ, the subversive act of following Jesus, the unity of believers, and on and on and on...

The Lord's Supper is the ultimate telling of God's story. No matter how often we celebrate it, the Lord's Supper can be a fresh reminder of all that Jesus has done and continues to do in us and in our midst.

Essential Elements of Corporate Worship

The earliest picture we have of worship in the New Testament church is found in Acts 2:42-47. Looking particularly at verse 42, we read that the believers "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Four activities of gathered worship are mentioned here: the apostles' teaching on the word of God, fellowship with one another, breaking bread together, and prayer. Of these four activities, and based on other New Testament passages, the church centralized God's word and the communion table as essential elements of corporate worship over the next six centuries.

The word used in the Greek for the apostles' "teaching" was didachē. It means doctrine and instruction. And before you suggest that these teachings had little to do with Scripture, look at the story that precedes this passage in Acts 2:14-41. The apostles—those who had walked with, ate with, and learned from Jesus—would teach the rest of the disciples what it meant to follow Him. Can you imagine the stories they had to share? The apostles taught that Jesus was the Savior promised throughout the Old Testament.

The word for "bread" in Acts 2:42 is artos. It might mean bread, or it might mean food of any kind. As Tim mentioned (and as we see in Acts 2:46), the early church met regularly for shared meals, sometimes called Love Feasts. The writer of Acts, Luke, used the language "breaking bread" in eight instances: the last supper (Luke 22), the appearance of Jesus to the disciples following the resurrection (Luke 24) and six times in Acts when the disciples gathered together. It was a strong representation of the presence of Christ.

Why were these two elements given such importance in the early church? Both especially represent the presence of Jesus. The teaching/word helps us follow in the footsteps of Jesus. The table/communion reminds us that Jesus is here. And isn't that what worship is all about? We gather to hear from each other, and to remind each other that Jesus is with us.

Communion is the Reminder

Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church has said, many times, "I truly believe that the Church is the hope of the world." That thought used to stop me short. "Wait a minute," I'd reason, "isn't Jesus the hope of the world? Where does Billy get off putting that mantle on the Church?" I still think I'm right, but I also think Hybels is right. Christ is the hope of the world, and the Church is the hope of the world. The problem is, we tend to forget the relationship between the two. Communion is a reminder of that relationship.

In John 14:20 Jesus tells his disciples that they are, essentially, one with Christ, one with the Father. By the power of the Holy Spirit, those of us who have put our trust in Jesus Christ are invited into fellowship and union with God. This is reinforced in 1 Corinthians 10, where Paul writes, "Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf." We are one with Christ, we are one with each other.

And that is important. We are now active agents in bringing Jesus to the world. We have been empowered to proclaim the good news until Jesus comes again. Communion should remind us that because we have found Jesus to be the hope of the world, we can offer hope to the world.

This is especially important today, as we cast our votes for our next president. Politics can prompt heated discussions, strong feelings, accusations, even divisions. But wait! We are one body. We are different branches grafted into the same vine: Christ. No matter our differences, the roots of who we are is the same: Christ living in us. More important to our identity than Republicans, Democrats, or Independents is our identity as the Church. Today as we await the count of the ballots, we are the Church. Tomorrow, when some are ecstatic and some are despondent, we will still be the Church. Make sure to treat one other accordingly. Again, remember the words of Jesus: "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you" (John 15:12).

On Sunday we sang one of my favorite hymns, featuring the following verses. Meditate on these words this week, and especially today. Remember that we are one in Christ, one with each other:

Though with a scornful wonder
Men see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed:
Yet saints their watch are keeping,
Their cry goes up, "How long?"
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song.

Yet she on earth hath union
With God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion
With those whose rest is won.
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we
Like them, the meek and lowly,
On high may dwell with Thee.