Tell Me About Holy Communion

Just as our bodies are strengthened by food and water, so are our souls by the tokens of bread and wine which represent the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Holy Communion is food for our souls which gives us strength to perform our called duties and then leads us onward to Christian perfection. By our celebration of this feast we are bringing ourselves nearer to the revelation of the conviction of Christ in our lives. “When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” Can we think of any better reason to continually commune with our LORD and Savior?

Another concern of observing Holy Communion so often is that it becomes meaningless, just another ritual to observe on Sunday morning. This may be so, but so what if it is? No where in scripture does God tell us it is alright to disobey His commands if for some reason we feel we are losing reverence for them. If we accept this suggestion of irreverence to keep us from Holy Communion, then what might we consider a proper amount of celebration of it? There may be arguments that once a quarter is enough, or even once a year is sufficient. Then for sake of argument why not every ten years or maybe once before we die? These arguments either solidify our belief we should do it constantly or they prove nothing at all. The command to the disciples from our LORD on the night of His betrayal was fairly explicit, “This is My body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me…This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” As often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we are proclaiming the salvation from our LORD’s death until He returns for His Church.

One other common unease I hear is, “Who should come to the table?” The United Methodist Church believes in open Communion. Our Book of Discipline states, “The cup of the LORD is not to be denied to the lay people; for both parts of the LORD’s Supper, by Christ’s ordinance and commandment, ought to be administered to all Christians alike,” and also “The Sacrament of the LORD’s Supper was not by Christ’s ordinance reserved…”(Olson, Harriet J., etal. eds., The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, 2004, The United Methodist Printing House: Nashville, 2004, pg 64) Our only requirement to come to the table is the repentance of sins and a mind focused upon Christ as Savior. Paul tells us, “…you have stripped off the old self with practices and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its Creator. In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.” If “Christ is all and is in all,” then the Holy Table can not be denied to anyone who claims Jesus’ promise of salvation.

“One of the enduring values of this sacrament is its unalterable focus on Jesus Christ and Him crucified as a central [truth] of the Christian religion. Sermons may or may not do this. The music may or may not do this…But in this sacrament God’s action in Christ is the central reality. Therefore, let all who sincerely repent and are in love with their fellows, or who long to be, come to the Table of the LORD!”(Stokes, Mack B.)

IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT…AMEN