“Until He Comes”
1 Cor. 11:17-34
The mother sternly scolds her child, “You wait until your father gets home!” Until he comes the child frets and fears. A major company announces a new CEO is scheduled to arrive on the job at the end of the year. Employees, meanwhile, are told that, until he comes, everything will remain the same. The washer breaks down; the repairman can’t come until next week. Until he comes, the Laundromat will be a way of life. Jesus Christ is coming again; UNTIL HE COMES, WE PROCLAIM HIS DEATH THROUGH THE LORD’S SUPPER. While Scripture is filled with admonitions about how to live during these last days between Christ’s ascension and return, Paul alone gives us this admonition. How is it of value to observe the Lord’s Supper, even as we do today?
First, it is of value because it connects us with REALITY. This act is rooted in history. My wife and I were in Washington DC again. There’s something special about DC. It’s overwhelming to absorb all the history there. We always come away realizing that we’re part of something bigger, grander than just the present moment, and it empowers and frees us. So Paul writes, in verse 23, “The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread...” The action has a specific historical context. So we look back to Jesus’ last night with his disciples, and what was He doing? Observing the Passover - another act rooted in history! It was the celebration of the redeeming act of God passing over the homes of the Israelites when He cast the plague of death upon the Egyptians. What we do here today LINKS US WITH HISTORY, and puts us in touch with the God of redemption. It makes us part of part of something bigger, grander than just the present moment, and it empowers and frees us.
And even Paul recalls Jesus’ act in a specific context. He makes this reference while dealing with problems in the Corinthian church. Among other things, they were abusing the love feasts and destroying the observance of the Supper. So he points them to proper table etiquette as he recalls Jesus’ actions of sharing the bread and cup with his disciples. In the middle of his criticism of the Corinthian church, Paul appeals to the action of Christ. In the middle of the mud he points to a diamond! That’s the way Paul always operates. To cleanse the church of the incestuous man, Paul reminded them that Christ, their Paschal Lamb, had been sacrificed; to warn them against uniting themselves with prostitutes, he had to remind them that they were bought with a price; to emphasize their responsibility to their weaker brethren, he had to remind them that the weak man was the brother for whom Christ died. So in the same spirit he now reminds them that the table around which they gathered was the table of the crucified Lord. Paul always points to the death of Christ - a real act in history, the supreme revelation of God - to refocus the church. It’s what Paul meant when he said he would preach nothing but Christ crucified. Paul is encouraging them to see the reality of life in Christ.
Some years ago, Sally Field starred in a movie entitled “Places in the Heart.” It’s the story of a widow in the Great Depression who struggles to provide for her family against the odds of a power structure conspiring to keep her down. But the whole story is told within the parentheses of another reality. The opening scene depicts families throughout town praying before dinner. The final scene shows the characters in a communion service in a small church. The film makes a statement: THE WORLDS’ POWERS DON’T SPEAK THE LAST WORD - THE LAST WORD IS SPOKEN THROUGH THE REALITY OF THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST.
So today we point to that reality as well. We acknowledge that in the midst of the world’s evil there is the God who is good; in the midst of Satan’s wickedness, there is the God of holiness; in the midst of humanity’s sin, there is the God of grace. Whenever the world is at its worst, there stands the cross of Christ, the heart of God. And the value for us of gathering today is the same - no matter the difficulty, no matter the hardship, no matter the confusion, no matter the sin, no matter the question, no matter the temptation, no matter the need - there stands the cross of Christ, the broken body and the shed blood. This reality, and this reality alone, gives us strength and sanity as we live our lives in this often insane world.
The Supper points to reality, and also to REMEMBRANCE. Verse 23f. : “...he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’” Jesus forecast his impending death with thankfulness! HE WAS THANKING GOD FOR THE OPPORTUNITY AND PRIVILEGE OF SAVING GOD’S PEOPLE FROM SIN! He was announcing that He was the Lamb of God provided to Abraham to replace his son Isaac on the altar; He was Isaiah’s lamb led to the slaughter to bear the sin of God’s people. So Paul says we are to remember - to refocus, to recall, to reconsider the cross of Christ; for it reveals both the depth of sin and the depth of God’s love.
IT REVEALS THE DEPTH OF OUR SIN. Sin caused Christ’s body to be broken. Sin is serious enough that Christ had to die to save us from our sin. And let’s not be fooled - it was not just the sin of those alive at the time of Christ which killed him -it was our sin as well. We were there! We have betrayed him; we have been strangely silent; we have turned and run away; we have hastily denied him; we have spoken and acted self-righteously; we have quickly compromised. Our Liturgy states it so poignantly: “We are, therefore, to remember that our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the promises made in the Old Testament, was sent of the Father into the world; that he assumed our flesh and blood; that he bore for us the wrath of God, under which we should have perished everlastingly; that he fulfilled for us all obedience to the divine law; that he, although innocent, was condemned to death so that we might be acquitted at the judgment seat of God; that he took upon himself the curse due to us so that he might fill us with his blessings; that he humbled himself unto death, even the bitter and shameful death of the cross, when he cried out with a loud voice, ‘My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?...” We remember the depth of our sin.
But communion reveals not only the depth of sin but also THE DEPTH OF GOD’S LOVE. “This is my body broken FOR YOU...” Jesus’ death was not a suicide, not a normal execution, not a martyrdom; it was because “God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Gathering here reminds us we are whole! Again, from our Liturgy: Christ died “...so that we might be accepted of God and never be forsaken of him...we share in the infinite goodness of our Savior and are made partakers of all his blessings, of life eternal, righteousness, and glory.” We remember the pain we’ve caused our Lord so that we can remember the ecstasy of our Lord’s forgiveness.
He was a dear friend of mine - a solid, loving Christian. But he had not taken communion in years. His background led him to believe he was not worthy enough to do so. So we talked often - and he knew grace in his head, but his heart was still stuck remembering the depth of sin. Finally the morning came. I was leading the communion portion of our morning service when I looked up and saw him take the bread; his eyes welled up with tears which moistened his cheeks as the grace of Christ flooded his soul in a new way. My eyes welled up; my heart rejoiced. He had remembered! And he was whole! That’s the value of remembering this great reality of the cross.
So Paul concludes his thoughts by pointing to a third value of the Lord’s Supper: the REASSURANCE it provides (vs. 26): “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” We do it to PROCLAIM THE LORD’S DEATH UNTIL HE COMES. In just a few moments, we will preach the Gospel through visible signs. Pastor Kenneth Chafin writes: “One Sunday night I looked to the back of the sanctuary and saw a very large group of visitors who had come to the service from the International Seaman’s Center...Ships from all over the world docked there, and I realized that those who were visiting came from many different countries and in all probability were very limited in their understanding of English. To make matters even worse…we were observing the Lord’s Supper. Consequently I was surprised later when I received a letter from the chaplain who had brought them telling me how meaningful the service had been to them. ...he told how their limited English had made it hard for them to understand my sermon, but that they were able to grasp clearly the symbolism of the Lord’s Supper. As Christ had anticipated, they had followed the sermon with their eyes.” Today we preach the Gospel in plain sight for all to see.
And for whom are we proclaiming the Lord’s death? First, TO THE POWERS OF DARKNESS who hover around us. They do not like what they see. We are confronting them boldly with the reality of Christ and the power of his authority. Second, we preach TO THE LORD OF HEAVEN himself regarding our love for him. In this sacred act we are telling Christ what we think of him and what He means to us. And, third, we are preaching and proclaiming TO OURSELVES ABOUT OUR HOPE; until he comes. He will come again! The cross is empty; the tomb is empty; Jesus is alive. He is coming again! He will return! Communion keeps our hopes alive. In his book “Man’s Search for Meaning,” Victor Frankl, successor of Sigmund Freud at Vienna, argued that the “loss of hope and courage can have a deadly effect on man.” Communion keeps our hopes alive.
Listen to Hebrews 9:27-28: “Just as a man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Communion keeps our hopes alive! Again, our Liturgy: “But in this supper of remembrance and communion we must also lift up our hearts in hope. For we do this, as he commanded, till he come. As we eat this bread and drink this cup, he gives us a pledge and foretaste of that feast of love of which we shall partake when his kingdom has fully come. Under the veil of earthly things we now have communion with him. But with unveiled face we shall behold him, rejoicing in his glory, made like unto him in his glory. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
In a YMCA basketball league for junior high boys, two teams came together - the first and last place teams. The first place team took pride in the fact that they had great offense and defense; they played lie a well-oiled machine. And they were fast - they ran and ran and ran. They were undefeated. The last place team was just the opposite. They had not won a game. And whenever they had played this first place team they had been blown out of the gym. No miracles were expected on this day either.
Now in YMCA basketball there’s a rule that everyone must play. So at the start of the 4th quarter, when the game was out of reach, both coaches substituted freely. And the first place team’s subs ran and ran - there was really no difference. But there was one boy on the end of the losing team’s bench who had not yet played. Finally, with about four minutes to go, the coach put Jimmy in. Play resumed and everyone ran again. It was obvious immediately that Jimmy was not like the other boys. He was slower, both physically and mentally. While the teams headed one way, he was heading the other; he couldn’t keep up. By the time he’d turn around, they’d be heading the other way. Finally both Jimmy and the teams were headed in the same direction. By mistake, someone threw the ball to Jimmy. Everything stopped. The officials froze; the crowd hushed. All the players stood where they were. The first place team dropped their defensive posture and watched and waited. Jimmy turned the ball in his hands a couple of times, looked at the basket, took two or three steps without dribbling, and shot. He missed. But someone caught the ball and passed it back to him. Still no one else moved. And Jimmy turned the ball in his hands again, took two or three more steps without dribbling, and shot again. The ball hit the rim and bounced in. A roar went up, and Jimmy jumped up and down with glee. There wasn’t a dry eye in the gym. The clock was stopped, another player came in, and Jimmy went back to the bench for the conclusion of the game. Nobody remembers the final score, who fouled out, or who scored how many. But they all remember a simple encounter, significant to perhaps a hundred people because love made time stand still. And there was communion.
So we come today from the rush of life, perhaps frazzled and worn, or defeated and without hope. But for a brief moment, we will encounter Christ. Time will stand still because of His love. There will be communion. It’s that way whenever we stand beneath the cross of Jesus. That’s why until Christ comes, we proclaim his death through the Lord’s Supper.
So come, trembling because of the depth of your sin but rejoicing because of the depth of God’s love. Proper table etiquette requires that you come and trust him again; give yourself to him again. Renew you vows to him. Put your finger in his wounded side. Get near to him; hold him. If need be, like Jacob, wrestle with him until He blesses you. For He will. It’s what we do until He comes. Even so, come Lord Jesus.
