Reservation For Two [*]

“I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed 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 also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.” [1]

Think back to your first day of school. Or think about your first hockey game. Perhaps remembering what happened at those times is not possible because so much time has passed. However, you should have no difficult thinking about your wedding day, or thinking about the day you put your faith in the Risen Saviour. When you think about these events, what do you feel? Isn’t it amazing how vivid the past can be? Isn’t it amazing how feelings that have been long dormant can be aroused?

Because memories can be so powerful, it shouldn’t require much to convince you that shared memories are more powerful still. Whenever we begin to share memories with long-time friends or family members there is always a lot of laughter; or if the memories shared are sad, our cheeks are suddenly and unexpectedly damp. When I think back to the years of service among the churches, I may grin. But when Lynda talks about the first church fishing trip we organized we can’t stop laughing—guffawing, actually!

At other times, as I recall stalwarts of the Faith who have fallen in the battle against evil, my heart is immersed into deep pain. As my wife and I talk of those whom we loved and who died far too soon or who turned away from the Faith, it is impossible not to experience great sorrow. Memories are super-charged when they are shared.

The Lord’s Supper is a communal meal—it is always observed in community. Gathered with fellow believers, we unite to share a powerful memory. Though each of us will have a story of our own to tell, each of us who participate in this Communion Meal declare a powerful testimony that was first voiced by the Son of God when He testified, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” [LUKE 19:10]. The testimony Jesus gave is echoed by the Apostle to the Gentiles who wrote in a letter to a young pastor, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” [1 TIMOTHY 1:15b].

ALONE WITH THE SAVIOUR — It is obvious that we eat the Communion Meal as individuals. This truth is tacitly acknowledged in Paul’s statement that points readers to Christ’s sacrifice as memorialised in the Communion Meal. As the Apostle is instructing the Corinthians, and consequently instructing us who worship the Saviour in this day, he hearkens back to the institution of the Meal. Paul wrote, “I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed 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 also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” [1 CORINTHIANS 11:23-26].

We do not feed one another, but we sit as individuals at the Lord’s Table, just as we sit as individuals at our own dining tables. Though you individually eat the bread and drink the cup, the Meal is nevertheless always eaten in the company of other believers. It is a communal meal. More importantly, in the Meal we meet the Risen Son of God. No, I’m not speaking of unbiblical concepts such as transubstantiation or consubstantiation; We do not ingest Christ’s Body or drink the Saviour’s blood. However, Christ is present, and we meet Him as we worship through participating in the Meal. So, let me ask a personal question. When you participate in the Lord’s Supper, do you meet the Saviour?