A little girl asked her mother one Sunday morning as she was preparing lunch, “Mommy, why do you cut off the ends of the ham before you cook it?” The girl’s mother turned and looked at her and said, “Oh, sweetie, I’m not really sure why, but I suppose you cut the ends off of the meat so that the meat can better absorb the juices and spices and make it more tender. Maybe you’d better ask Grandma since she was the one I learned it from. She always did it that way.” The little girl called her grandmother later that day on the phone and asked her the same question, “Grandma, why do you cut the ends off of the ham before you cook it?” The little girl’s grandmother responded, “Oh, sweetie, I’m not really sure. I think it is so that the juices will be absorbed better. Call your Nana. She is who I learned it from.” The little girl began to get a bit frustrated with the whole idea, but decided to call her great-grandmother anyway. “Nona, mom was preparing lunch the other day and she cut the ends off of the ham before she cooked it. I asked her why and she said that she did it because the juices would absorb better, making it more tender. She told me to ask Grandma to make sure since she learned it from her. Well, I called Grandma and she said the same thing about the juices and all, but that she learned it from you and I should ask you. Nona, why do you cut the ends off of the ham before you cook it?” There was a long pause in the conversation and then the little girl heard what sounded like muffled laughter coming from the other end of the line. “What’s so funny, Nona?” “Oh, sweetie, I cut the ends off of the ham before I cooked it because my pan was too small!”
One of the most dangerous things that we can do in the church is to do things only because that’s they way they’ve always been done, but nobody knows why. Many of you have come to Communion services hundreds of times, in fact you have probably memorized that part from the Bible where it says, “this do in remembrance of me.” I remember Communion ever since I was a boy growing up in church. I remember thinking what a great idea it would be for the crackers to come with some peanut butter or something. Needless to say I have done it many times, but each time I take it I must take the time to reflect on its purpose, lest we forget, which is what we are going to do this morning.
1. To Remember (vs. 23-25)
A. Paul is recalling Jesus’ Last Supper with His disciples.
Although Paul was not present, the Lord had revealed to Him what happened there. Paul’s life had been radically changed on the road to Damascus and so it was very important to him that the teachings of Christ, even Communion, be done according to how Jesus did it with His disciples. How and why must always be remembered lest we cheapen its significance.
B. Jesus was interpreting something OLD:
The Passover meal (Exodus 12) was something that the Jews were very familiar with and it had deep significance for this occasion.
1. This Passover feast included a lamb—Jesus is our Lamb who has been sacrificed for us (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:7)
2. This Passover feast included unleavened bread.
3. This Passover feast included wine—though not specifically mentioned as a part of the original Passover meal.
C. Jesus was instituting something NEW:
The Communion of believers as described in our text was something new. This quickly became a frequent celebration in the church—not just something done once per year. Jesus was starting something new because what had been instituted before (the Passover feast) would now cease; it was not the stopping but fulfillment of the Old Testament feast. The whole reason God instituted the Passover feast was so that (Exodus 12:17, 24-27) they would remember the day that He delivered them from the Angel of Death and the penalty of disobedience. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come…Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, “What does this ceremony mean to you?” then tell them, “It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.” Jesus instituted the Communion meal for this same reason; to remember (vs. 24-25)
2. To Rejoice (vs. 26)
Paul states that through Communion we are announcing the Lord’s death until He comes. To announce means to ‘make known publicly, to proclaim’. Another purpose of doing Communion is to take the opportunity to declare, make known publicly, announce the death and sacrifice of Jesus. Why do we proclaim His death? Why can we rejoice? Well we boldly announce it because of what His death did for us. It is one way of professing our attachment to the Redeemer; and its public observance often has a most impressive effect on those who witness its observance. Jesus took my sins away and He lives and we cherish His act of love!
3. To Repent (vs. 27-28)
When we come to Communion, we are given the opportunity to examine our lives before God and our brothers and sisters. We all know that we are sinners saved by grace and we continually need to be at His feet asking to be purified and made holy. During this time we should ask God to show us any unclean way in us (Psalm 134). We open the door to allow the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sinfulness as we seek to be restored on the basis of Christ’s death on the cross.
None of us are worthy to take part in what Jesus did for us. I know that I never earned the right to have Jesus die for me, but he made a way of escape for us if we will only come to him. Without repentance there can be no forgiveness of sins and if we partake at the table then we are making a mockery of the enormous sacrifice that Christ made for you and I. We need to be very mindful of what we are doing and take the occasion to ask the Holy Spirit to cleanse us of any sin with the blood of Jesus, this allows us to partake in a worthy manner.
4. To Reconcile (vs. 29)
As we come to the Lord in this time of remembrance we are given the opportunity to confess our sinfulness and need of reconciliation. This is a crucial part of the Communion meal as we look to put into practice in our own lives what Christ did on the cross. To reconcile means to ‘bring back to friendship after a separation’. Jesus died a terrible death on a cross so that there could friendship once more between God and man.
2 Corinthians 5:18-21 – All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
We have to now take that message into every part of our lives as we do what we can to reconcile between our brother or sister so that they might see Christ in you. Reconciliation is a gift which should be given freely because it was offered freely to you and I. This is not just a time between God and us. We must remember one purpose of Communion is to allow us time to reconcile broken relationships.
(ask ushers forward and begin to distribute)
Conclusion
You and I have been invited to sit at a table that we are unworthy to sit at. The King has asked for our presence and we want to do what is necessary to honor Him. We cannot become so familiar with His table that we forget what made it possible for us to be there. We cannot miss the chance to be openly grateful for the gracious gift that He gave us. We must not be so complacent that we forget to prepare ourselves to be fit to sit in His presence and we have to do our best to show the King that we appreciate what He did for us by living out the mercy shown. Anything less then our best will result in judgment which should be taken very seriously. Communion is not something we do religiously, it is not mechanical; it is an opportunity for us to take the time to remember, rejoice, repent, reconcile and be reconciled.
Today, as we partake of the Communion together:
1. Remember what Jesus went through for you.
2. Rejoice that He died for you and will return because He didn’t stay dead.
3. Repent of any sin you may have willingly committed this past week.
4. Reconcile yourself back to God and to any brother or sister with whom you’re broken a relationship.
Lead me to Calvary
Lest I forget Gethsemane,
Lest I forget Thine agony,
Lest I forget Thy love for me,
Lead me to Calvary
