Brothers and Sisters, that God is One means that we eat and drink together as One. We are united worshiping Father, Son, and Spirit. This is our creed. That God is three means we recognize differences in the body of Christ. He has given us many gifts and we exercise them for the sake of the body. Let us come to this table as one people with many gifts celebrating Father, Son, and Spirit. Amen.
Pentecostal Meal
Jesus is with His people at this table through the power of the Spirit. The Lord’s Table is a Pentecostal event. Even in Acts 2, we see that the disciples are breaking bread together. Food brings people together. This feast is a unifying feast. We come to eat and drink as one people united in mind and in mission. The Spirit of God says, “Come.”
Communion Meditation: Heavenly Invasion
Brothers and Sisters, the Church is God’s society among human societies. It is a heavenly city invading the earthly city. The world does not want this invasion, but Heaven wants this invasion. The incarnation makes this territorial conflict inevitable and Jesus’ Ascension makes this territorial conflict a heavenly victory. The world will combat this invasion. They will set up evil institutions to train an army of heaven haters. They will tell us false stories. They will teach you to embrace their symbols. They will establish their own unrighteous laws, and they will even have their own rituals. They will do everything to un-do the heavenly influence upon earth. They will do everything to un-do our prayer, “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” But into this world of un-heavenly stories, God will introduce His story. Into a world of books, God comes with His own library; into a world of symbols and rituals and sacrificial meals, God builds a Church organized by a ritual bath and a feast of bread and wine…in a world where communities are formed on the basis of un-heavenly assumptions, God will gather a community to produce the aroma of Christ in their life together.”[1] This morning we feast once more in this new formed community. Let us come to the Feast!
[1] Some thoughts from Leithart’s “Against Christianity.”
Communion Meditation: Strengthened at the Table
Brothers and Sisters, we know that following the great shepherd is our greatest joy. It is not burdensome, but it is light. Our desire to follow after our great shepherd would be useless, unless the Great Shepherd provide food and drink for us. Unless He provides a means of grace; a meal in which we would be strengthened to live holy lives. This is the meal God provides for us at this table; a table for us in the presence of our enemies. Come and be strengthened now!
Communion Meditation: Eating Around the Right Fire
Brothers and Sisters, Jesus asked the disciples if they had any fish? Any food? Yet unsure of their vocations, they answered “No.” But after eating with Jesus, they knew that they would never answer “No” again. This morning we have food and we have drink. We are eating with Jesus in the community of the righteous, warmed by His Pentecostal fire, and served, so we may lead our vocations knowing that our labors in the Lord are not in vain.
Communion Meditation: The Good Shepherd
Brothers and Sisters, Jesus says that my sheep hear my voice and he calls us by name. The good shepherd cares for His sheep. The good shepherd always comforts His sheep with His presence. In the presence of turmoil, doubt, and weeping, Jesus calls you by Name. When Mary did not know what her future would look like after the death of her Lord, Jesus calls her by name, and only then does she know that her Shepherd is there and He will provide and care for her.
Christian, this morning you come to this Table, because Christ called you by name. He called you individually and corporately. He called you to come to this Table, so you may know that all is right. The Shepherd is in perfect control of the future. Be comforted, He is risen!
Communion Meditation: Resurrection Reality
Brothers and Sisters, embracing the reality of the resurrection means embracing the new world. There are times when we become skeptical, like the women in Luke, about what God is working in the world. As we read in Ecclesiastes, we are not in control of our lives. God is the one who determines and Who directs our steps. But at this table, we do not come with skepticism; we come with assurance that God has directed us to His House to eat of His food. This is the meal of the resurrection. Come and eat.
Communion Meditation: The Strangeness of the Eucharist
Brothers and sisters, what we are about to do is strange, different, other-wordly to the unbeliever, but for us it is common, simple, and edifying. It is the very heart of our faith; it is communion in the body; it is a part of our worship. Just as we know when we awake each morning that we must eat, we know that when we meet as a body we must eat also. In fact, we know that without this meal worship would appear strange and incomplete to us. But thanks be to God He has provided for us a meal in the presence of our enemies. And as they watch from the outside, and perhaps at times from the inside, they will continue to wonder why do those baptized people eat and drink each week? By God’s grace one day they will no longer wonder, and they will join us at this great feast. Let us partake of the meal God provides for us.
Communion Meditation: Sacramental Prophecy
Brothers and sisters, God is among us as we eat and drink with His beloved Son. The gospel heard and now the gospel eaten. Herein in is prophecy and truth, that Christ has provided eternal food and drink for his people so they may never hunger or thirst. We, who have already fallen on our faces before God and worship Him now feast with Him. We who have died with Christ have also been raised with Him. So this meal is for the church, but it is a prophetic meal to the world. When we eat we say to the unbelieving world that only here can you find the Christ who satisfies your hunger and when we drink we say that only here can you find the Christ who satisfies your thirst. Amen.
Communion Meditation: Ambassadors of the Completed Word
Brothers and sisters, bread and wine is here for us. Now that the Word of God, the perfect has come, we have the fullness of truth. But the same Word calls us to celebrate this meal. The Gospel has been heard and now at this table, the Gospel is eaten and drunk, so that we become what we eat and drink; food for the world and shalom for the world. We become gospel to the world around us, and so fulfilling the purpose of the written Word. So come and eat, and become ambassadors of this completed Word.