We Eat, We Remember, We Enjoy
Growing up, one of my favorite parts of church service was taking communion. I was always amazed that adults got snacks also! Communion is certainly more than an intermission with a tasty treat or a bathroom break. In a very simple, basic way, communion is about family eating together.
Christians are part of God’s family and he promises wonderful things for his family; this promise is what we call a covenant. God promises that you are part of his people and that he will be your God. He will be with you, he will care for you and he will love you like a father. Biblical covenants are often celebrated with a meal in God’s presence. Moses tells us in Exodus 24, that he and seventy elders of Israel went up on the mountain and saw God, “And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence! (v11)” This covenant meal was a reminder of the “old covenant” that God had made with his people.
Jesus also made a covenant with his people, the “new covenant”. In a similar way, this new covenant included a meal at the Last Supper before his crucifixion. “After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you” (Lk 22:20). We are told that it is a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins (Mt 26:28).
People who trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins are part of God’s covenant people; being part of God’s covenant people means that we have a place at his table. When we meet and celebrate communion, we are celebrating a covenant meal together in God’s presence. Communion is a special time for God’s people to remember and give thanks to Jesus for shedding his blood to forgive our sins. We celebrate together, we share stories of what he has done, and we trust that Jesus is with us at the table.
May you delight in the will of the Father. May you be filled with joy at what the Lord has done. May you celebrate his goodness and mercy and walk in his ways.
