Holy Communion

Scripture Passage

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (NLT)

23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

Focus Statement

In the United Methodist Church, communion is a means of grace and a holy mystery where Christ is spiritually present and the invitation is open to all.

Point of Relation

I have seen Holy Communion change lives…starting with my own…

[Describe Communion at Creation Festival]

But seriously, every time we partake in it, we are in the presence of our Lord and Savior…

receiving his grace and his glory into us.

Did you ever consider that?

Things to Consider

What’s going in your heart, mind and spirit when you come to the Lord’s Table?

Unworthiness?

Acceptance?

Rejection?

Grace?

Welcome?

Love?

Sustenance?

Indifference?

Holy Communion is a means and channel of God’s grace.

What Scripture Says

Holy Communion is both grounded in scripture and handed down from earliest Christians through church tradition.

It comes at Christ’s invitation, where all are invited.

This text is Paul’s instruction to Corinthians Christians

(who were abusing the feast for fun and games

and excluding others

by not sharing the food they brought with each other at the table…in fact…listen to this pettiness

1 Corinthians 11:17–22 NLT

17 But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you. For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. 18 First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it. 19 But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized! 20 When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper. 21 For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk. 22 What? Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this!

Speak of petty. Holy Wow Batman!

PAUL HAD EVERY REASON TO BE UPSET.

Now…There are 5 basic actions involved in celebrating the Eucharist (which is the Greek word for Holy Communion):

First we take

We present the common elements of bread and wine (grape juice).

We Bless:

We make the common elements sacred by the retelling of God’s saving and redeeming relationship to the world.

We Break:

We break the bread acting out Jesus self-giving both on the cross and in his invitation to Communion.

We Share/Give:

We share the bread and cup, enlivening Jesus real presence.

Our Communion Liturgy leads us to understand what is exactly happening during the Eucharist:

Christ is calling you, inviting you to His table…no matter how worthy or unworthy you think you are…

Christ’s invitation is REAL and PERSISTENT

From there we together CONFESS OUR SINS and REPENT…

And then we PROFESS OUR FAITH IN KING JESUS.

And we RECEIVE GOD’S PARDON or FORGIVENESS

We then celebrate the GREAT THANKSGIVING for God’s Holy Mystery!

THEN WE RECEIVE…and by receiving we are partaking in the resurrected life of our Lord and Savior.

All of these things in our liturgy fit within those four actions mentioned above,

which again, within those actions Holy Communion is both a proclamation of Jesus and a place/moment where he is really spiritually present.

If you want to know Jesus, who he is, and what he means,

look no further than the table and the liturgy.

His presence there is not merely memorial or symbolic

but rather a deep, abiding, transformational presence.

You will also notice that in the Great Thanksgiving, Paul’s words (the words of the earliest recorded Holy Communion Liturgy) in our Scripture passage are the very words we too speak.

On the night in which he gave himself up for us,

he took th ebread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread,

gave it ot his disciples, and said:

“Take, eat; this is my body which is give for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.”

When the supper was over, he took the cup,

gae thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said:

“Drink from this, all of you; this is my covenant,

poured out for you and for many

for the forgiveness of sins.

Do this, as often as you drink it,

in remembrance of me.”

Where the sacrament of baptism initiates people into the church,

Holy Communion sustains the church “until he comes.”

In the Methodist tradition:

Communion is for all who earnestly repent and not just “members.”

It creates an evangelistic opportunity to extend Jesus’ invitation to abundant life.

Communion should be celebrated frequently! It should be celebrated, truthfully, EVERY TIME WE MEET FOR WORSHIP.

Don’t believe me, read John Wesley’s sermon, “The Duty of Constant Communion”

Or how about Charles Wesley’s Eucharistic hymns, which are a textbook and source of inspiration on the meaning of the sacrament.

Hymns such as

Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast, (UMH #616);

O Thou Who This Mysterious Bread, (UMH #613);

O the Depth of Love Divine, (UMH #627);

Because Thou Hast Said, (UMH #635)

People will often argue minimal communion (such as once a month) because the ritual will “lose its meaning”.

Let me ask you this? Does weekly worship cause worship to lose its meaning? And if so, is that on God, on weekly worship…or on you?

I Biblically argue that we should partake in communion, which can only be taken together in the context of the Body of Christ…

as often as we meet…after all, how many of us really lack the need for God’s love and grace?

What This Means for You

Let me ask you this:

What’s in your heart when you come to the Lord’s Table?

What’s your attitude?

Is the experience automatic or does it stir reflection of the length, depth, and breadth of God’s love for you and the world?

I want to remind all of you disciples, new and seasoned,

that God’s grace is at work in communion,

especially when we come as we are.

What This Means for Us

How can our local church Communion table be a table where all are welcome?

How can we address the life of our congregation to make sure there are no obstacles to God’s welcome invitation to all?

Friends, this is done by how we approach the table.

If we approach the table with love and humility in our hearts, it shows that we have accepted God’s grace…

and that Grace transformers to be more Christlike…

If we don’t…if we approach the table with the wrong heart…

Well, listen to Paul’s warning just one verse past our passage:

New Living Translation Chapter 11

27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28

Communion is to be taken seriously…it is not a light act…but a vital act in the life of the partaker.

Let us approach the table in a worthy manner…truly confessing of our wrong doing and professing Christ as our savior…

FILLED WITH HUMILITY…

Ready to receive God’s grace and be transformed by it…Amen? Amen!