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 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 do try to observe the
commands of Jesus. On the night he was betrayed, Jesus had met in the
Upper Room and ate with his disciples. 21 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,
they
eat and drink judgement on themselves."
At CPC, I told Harry, we regard Communion (the Lord's
Supper) as a sacrament of the New Testament, and that by taking the bread and
wine (grape juice), those that make themselves "worthy" by silently
confessing their sins to Jesus Christ, communicate directly to Him for their
spiritual nourishment. At the heart of Communion is the
"conversation" with Christ. Importantly, 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. We each seek to identify recent sin and beg forgiveness.
Harry asked whether during observance of the sacrament, the
bread and wine really become the body and blood of Jesus? He wondered, as
one is seeking to be in communion with Jesus, how could Jesus participate?
I told him that there are three different 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 during 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 representa-
tional meanings."
I told Harry that we (at CPC) 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.
___________________________________________________________________________
These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult
Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal
spiritual growth this spring at CPC.
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