Last autumn, my twenty-five year old nephew Harry visited
from the mid-West to attend to some business in New York City. As it
happened, he was with us over a Sunday, so I invited him to attend the CPC Worship
Service with us. Then I remembered that it would be the first Sunday of
the month, when CPC regularly offers Communion as part of the Worship
Service. I thought I had better mention that to Harry.
Harry confessed he did not attend church much, but he said
he did not remember "Communion." He wondered if it might be the same
thing as the Sacrament of The Lord's Supper, which was celebrated at his
parents' church. I told him they were essentially the same thing;
each with perhaps a slightly different emphasis.
At CPC, I told Harry, (not unlike his parents' church) we
observe Communion because Jesus told us to do so, and we always try to obey the
commands of Jesus. On the night he was betrayed, Jesus had met in the
Upper Room and ate with his disciples.
1 Corinthians
11:23-26 tells us:
"The Lord
Jesus, on the night 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, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new
covenant in my
blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me. For
whenever you eat
this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he
comes."
Then, in 1 Corinthians 11:28-29:
"Everyone
ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink of the
cup. For
those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ, eat and
drink
judgment on
themselves."
At CPC, I told Harry, we regard Communion (the Lord's
Supper) as a sacrament of the New Testament, and that by giving and receiving
bread and wine, those that are worthy communicate to Jesus Christ for
their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace. At the heart of
Communion is our communion or fellowship with Christ. Hence, our worship
exercise is called a "Communion Service." In attending this
Service, the believer intends to meet Christ and have fellowship with him at
his invitation. But, there is self-examination taking place, because it
would be hypocrisy for us to pretend that we are in communion with the Holy One
while actually cherishing known sin in our hearts.
Unlike Baptism, which is a one-time event, Communion is a
practice that is meant to be observed over and over throughout the life of a
Christian, I told Harry. It is a holy time of worship when we corporately
come together as one body to remember and celebrate what Christ did for us in
his life, death and resurrection. Indeed, "Communion" testifies
to our primary identification with Christ, without which one is not a Christian
at all.
Harry asked whether during observance of the sacrament, the
bread and wine really became the body and blood of Jesus? He wondered, as
one is seeking to be in communication with Jesus, how could Jesus
participate? I told him that there are three main Christian views on this
question:
----- First, that the bread and wine
become the actual body and blood of Christ. This is the
Roman Catholic
belief, and it is called Transubstantiation. Before the Mass, the
elements are merely
bread and wine. But in the Mass, through the ministrations of the
priest, they are
changed so that, although worshipers perceive only the bread and wine,
they nevertheless
actually eat and drink the body and blood of Jesus.
----- Secondly, that the bread and wine
are unchanged elements, but Christ's presence by
faith is
made spiritually real in and through them. This was the view of John
Calvin
particularly, but
also of other Reformers ---- that Christ is present in the Communion
Service, but
spiritually rather than physically. Rev. James Montgomery Boice tells
us
that Calvin called
this "the real presence" to indicate that a spiritual presence is
every bit
as real as a physical
one.
----- Thirdly, the bread and wine are unchanged,
and used as symbols representing Christ's
body and blood, in
remembrance of His enduring sacrifice. This theory assumes Jesus is
not present at all,
at least no more than he is present all the time and in everything. To
those who hold this
view, Communion takes on an exclusively memorial character. It is
only a remembrance
of Christ's death.
In his book, Foundations of Christian Faith, Rev.
James Montgomery Boice discusses the merits of these three theories, as
follows:
"To begin with, we
must say that there can be no quarrel with the memorial theory, since it
is certainly true as far
as it goes. The only question is whether more than remembrance is
involved. The real
division is between the view of the majority of Reformers and the
doctrine of the Roman
Catholic Church. Those who favor a literal, physical presence (and
Luther was one, though he
did not accept the theory of transubstantiation) argue from a
literal interpretation of
Christ's words, "This is my body." (Mark 14:22). But that
hardly
decides the matter,
because such expressions occur frequently in the Bible with obviously
figurative or
representational meanings."
I told Harry that we speak of "the real presence"
of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Communion Service as far as we know it, and
seek to respond to Him and serve Him. But, we readily admit that
there are times when this is difficult and the Lord does not seem to be
present. Whether because of our sin, fatigue or simply lack of faith,
Jesus often seems to be far away. Though we continue on in Christian life
and in service, we long for that day when we will see him face to face and be
like him. The Communion Service is a reminder of that day. It is an
encouragement to our faith and an impulse to reach for a higher level of
holiness.
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These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult
Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal
spiritual growth this winter at CPC.
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