A Satisfying and Refreshing Meal

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Sermon Title: A Satisfying and Refreshing Meal

           This morning we are on the final sermon of our Sacraments series as we look at the Lord’s Supper, also known as communion or the Eucharist. Throughout this series, I’ve been trying to go to the source. When we looked at circumcision and Passover, we went back to when God instituted those. For baptism, we went to the first instance that we find in the New Testament. But since we regularly hear the gospel accounts of Jesus’ institution of this meal on the night he was betrayed, we’re turning to Paul’s message to the Corinthian church, which includes Jesus’ words.

           Before we read from God’s Word, we’ll look at what the Heidelberg Catechism puts forth. Most Christians practice and encourage the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, but part of the reason for the Catechism’s lengthy and detailed treatment is that this sacrament’s meaning has been extremely contentious. Back in the 16th century Reformation, not only did the Protestants want to reform Catholic practices, but Protestants had differences among themselves. The big issues with the Catholic doctrine and practice back then were the view that the bread and wine literally become Christ’s body and blood, which is called transubstantiation, and the understanding that the sacrament is a type of sacrifice. Among Protestants, the contention regarded the presence of Christ in the elements of the bread and wine.

           I invite us to join in two questions and answers from the Catechism that highlight what our tradition believes about this sacrament. I’ll read the questions, if you would please join on the answers. There will be two slides for this first one. Question 75 asks: “How does the holy supper remind and assure you that you share in Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross and in all his benefits? In this way: Christ has commanded me and all believers to eat this broken bread and to drink this cup in remembrance of him. With this command come these promises: First, as surely as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me and the cup shared with me, so surely his body was offered and broken for me and his blood poured out for me on the cross. Second, as surely as I receive from the hand of the one who serves, and taste with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, given me as sure signs of Christ’s body and blood, so surely he nourishes and refreshes my soul for eternal life with his crucified body and poured-out blood.” And 76, “What does it mean to eat the crucified body of Christ and to drink his poured-out blood? It means to accept with a believing heart the entire suffering and death of Christ and thereby to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life. But it means more. Through the Holy Spirit, who lives both in Christ and in us, we are united more and more to Christ’s blessed body. And so, although he is in heaven and we are on earth, we are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone. And we forever live on and are governed by one Spirit, as the members of our body are by one soul.”

           Brothers and sisters in Christ, advertisers don’t just want to show products to consumers, but they want to make clear that we need whatever they’re selling. There is no shortage of options around us, especially when it comes to food and beverages. You can go into any store from the local grocery and convenience stores to one-stop shops like Costco, and you’ll find racks and shelves and refrigerators, aisle after aisle, providing you with things you “need.”

           I’ve picked three products to get us thinking. Snickers has been printing at least some of their candy wrappers with the word “satisfies.” They’ve run commercials in recent years featuring people who were not acting like themselves out of hunger, and so what’s the answer? Eat a Snickers. Gatorade is labeled as the “Thirst Quencher.” Their branding never really changes—an athlete soaked in sweat has to be replenished, choose Gatorade. It’ll satisfy. Coca-Cola, I’m sure they’re not the only pop who market this, but they’ve boasted in the past of being refreshing.

           If you’ve ever been parched, maybe these products or their competitors were what you’ve reached for. Yet I think about a day earlier this summer when it was extremely hot, and I decided to mow the lawn. When I was halfway done, I was drenched with sweat and took a break. I didn’t have Gatorade, so I filled a glass with water and just chugged it. I don’t think that’s what you’re supposed properly hydrate, but it felt good to just gulp it down. At that point, I didn’t even care that it was only water, I didn’t care that it wasn’t a tastier option, I just wanted something to drink.

           If I had Gatorade or something else, I probably would’ve drunk it the same way. I wouldn’t have taken the time to enjoy the taste and make it last. Sometimes when we’re starving, we might just shovel whatever food we find in our mouths. We just consume without thinking or enjoying, and really aren’t nourished. In terms of a truly satisfying and refreshing meal, snack, or drink, just because these things say they’ll do the trick doesn’t mean they actually will in every case.

           That’s what the Lord’s Supper is meant to be when Christians celebrate it. God intends it to be a satisfying and refreshing meal for all believers. As we think back to when Jesus instituted this meal, remember he was eating a Passover meal with his disciples. On the table that night was assumedly unleavened bread, a distinct part of that celebration, and then wine or grape juice, simply a common drink for such a meal. Yet Jesus took these two parts of their meal and put new meaning into them. As we heard the familiar words quoted by Paul, the bread was Jesus’ signifying his body “for you” and the cup of wine, “the new covenant in my blood.” They didn’t necessarily fully understand at that moment or believe what was going to happen over the next 24 hours, but Jesus was going to die on the cross in a public execution, a punishment for crimes he was accused of, though not guilty of. But that event had far deeper meaning—Jesus gave himself as the sacrifice for us. That bread and wine or juice weren’t literally his body and blood, but in repeating what he did with his disciples, we are to remember, to never forget what he did.

           The reminder and the act of eating and drinking are what we might call the easy parts. They’re the most obvious. Yet the point of the sacrament is not just to do this; it’s not just to consume and remember the day like we might think of July 4, 1776. It’s not just to think of these special Sundays several times a year when some of us get a snack in the service. No, we professed in Catechism question and answer 75, “[The holy supper reminds and assures us that we share in Christ’s sacrifice and benefits in that]…As surely as I receive…and taste…the bread and cup of the Lord, given me as sure signs of Christ’s body and blood, so surely he nourishes and refreshes my soul for eternal life with his crucified body and poured-out blood.”

           This meal that we as believers are continuing to practice is meant to be a meal of substance. We grieve our sin and that Jesus had to go to the cross at all—that’s our fault. Yet as repentant sinners, we have hope because of what Jesus accomplished by doing that. As we partake in these signs, by faith, we’re accepting Jesus’ promise that he did that for us. We are included. He gave his body and shed his blood so that you and I may be nourished and refreshed. We’re not talking about the physical nourishment by a minimal number of calories, but nourishment and refreshment in our souls for eternal life. It’s a meal to enjoy and to rest in the privilege of God’s mercy.  

With that in mind, what we do in a service like today’s when we’re celebrating the Lord’s Supper is not a sacrifice. We are not re-sacrificing Jesus. We’re not reperforming the crucifixion. We are celebrating that he was sacrificed once, and that is all that’s necessary. All the work that continues for our justification and sanctification, our redemption and holiness, we’re relying on the Holy Spirit to do that. The bread and juice can’t do that, but the Holy Spirit in the lives and minds and hearts of believers is at work. John Calvin summarized it this way, “…After Christ’s sacrifice was accomplished, the Lord instituted another method for us, that is, to transmit to the believing folk the benefit of the sacrifice offered to himself by his Son. He has therefore given us a Table at which to feast, not an altar upon which to offer a victim; he has not consecrated priests to offer sacrifice, but ministers to distribute the sacred banquet.” This is a banquet feast that we enjoy, being mindful again and again that God the Spirit nourishes us to eternal life.

We move on to our second point now. While as members of the church, God’s church, we delight in the Lord’s Supper and what Christ accomplished, what’s involved with this meal is not intended to be satisfying and refreshing, or even to be participated in, by anyone and everyone. Our point: The Lord’s Supper is a meal of judgment for those who participate undiscerningly.

I appreciate what we print in the bulletin each time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. For those of you who are newer, that started before I got here two years ago. It’s good for all of us to read through that, but especially if you’re wondering whether you should join in on a given day. Some people should not participate. Eating and drinking this meal with all its meaning isn’t something to be rushed into hastily or irreverently or mindlessly. Don’t just eat the bread and drink the juice because you’ve done it before, don’t do it just because everyone else in your pew is doing it and you don’t want to feel left out, don’t do it because you’re a little hungry or thirsty and need something to tide you over until fellowship time after the service.

Why not, though? Looking back to 1 Corinthians 11, I think it’s clear how they celebrated the Supper was different from us. We take these little pieces of bread and little cups of grape juice. That’s fine; the portion size does not change what’s being communicated or the effectiveness. But in Corinth, they offered bread in such a way that people who were hungry physically could be filled and wine was available in such a way that people could get drunk. That wasn’t the intent for how they served the wine, but it was happening and apparently going unchecked. This meal had turned into a first come first-served drinking party with appetizers, and there were people who were going hungry in general, who couldn’t get bread or wine. They weren’t able to enjoy the feast and have their minds drawn to the nourishment we looked at.

So Paul writes, picking up in verse 27, “…Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.” This meal, meant to remind you of how Jesus atoned for your sin, you’ve now sinned in how you do it. “A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.”

What has been my line throughout this series? “The sacrament is not the thing; it points to the thing.” There may be believers who have never celebrated this sacrament in their lives who will be saved. The inability for some of these Corinthian believers to participate did not change their status before God. But it’s clear that God wants his children to be able to participate in this, and when that is restricted or neglected or abused, it is sin. We have to be careful that we don’t overly fence or guard the table or celebrate the sacrament in such ways that keeps genuine, penitent believers from partaking.

But so too, we must caution and rebuke—as Paul did—those “eating and drinking judgment on themselves.” While the sacrament is not the thing, and maybe someone who doesn’t believe doesn’t think it’s that big of a deal: “If I went and ate Wonder bread and drank Welch’s in the fellowship hall, that’s fine, but I can’t in here, in the sanctuary? What’s the difference?” The difference is the context. It’s not the location, it’s not that I do something magical, but when we label this meal as the sacrament—it takes on all that meaning. That’s not to be dealt lightly with.

This is why it’s a good practice to continue reading a preparatory exhortation the week before we participate in communion. It’s not that hearing that form in and of itself fixes everything in our lives. What we read and do with those words is not necessarily different from the regular confessions of our sins on other weeks. But we are called by God’s Word to make sure that our lives of faith—imperfect as they are—are continually seeking the mercy of our Savior and not trusting in ourselves. Hopefully, our preparation wasn’t just at 9:45am last Sunday, but we are constantly living lives that seek the Savior, recognizing our fallenness, and asking his help. To involve ourselves in the gifts of God, to try and claim or receive them without faith—even if we don’t think we’re doing anything wrong—brings God’s judgment according to his Word.

           With that, we come to our third point: this isn’t the final meal with Jesus. We’re continuing to carry this understanding that the sacraments aren’t just about what we know for the present, for right now, but they also make us think of what is coming. Last week when we looked at Passover, I referred to Jesus’ return. The life we have through the blood of Jesus isn’t just our mortal lives here on earth, but he’s coming back. By the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, we have that hope.

But we’re told something even more specific in Revelation 19. John is given this vision of heaven. He’s seen many things, including in chapter 18, the fall of Babylon—the final destruction of God’s enemies has at least begun. Starting in Revelation 19:6, he writes, “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting, ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready…’ Then the angel said to me, ‘Write: “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” This is a future celebration, a feast for the Lord’s final victory. It’s a wedding supper—a joining of Christ to his bride, the church, and that means we’re included, we’re invited!

What Jesus instituted by his disciples was rooted in the Passover. We looked at that last week as a bloody ordeal—it involved death and sacrifice. Jesus told his disciples to now practice with bread and grape juice in remembrance of the death he was about to die, the sacrifice of himself on behalf of sinners. Yet as we look forward to this wedding supper prophesied in Revelation 19, blood and death and sacrifice are all finished. They have accomplished what needs to be accomplished. Now we’ll get to celebrate life, eternal life, and life with Jesus Christ.

If you think our sacrament celebration is something special, just you wait. Jesus alluded to this himself in Mark 14:25, “‘…I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.’” Similar words are shared in Matthew 26:29, with the addition that he would “drink it anew with you,” with his disciples, his followers. We can’t forget that we have the privilege, by the grace of God, to look forward to that.

I love pizza. I’m pretty sure I took this picture which claims the Eleventh Commandment is “Thou Shall Eat Pizza” somewhere in Chicago. Pizza has been a staple in my life growing up and that’s continued into my family now. Christie and I have eaten pizza on many dates and continue to try new pizza places wherever we live, even going into the Cities. While that’s my favorite food, the best meal I think I’ve ever had was a burger. Better or at least more memorable than any steak I’ve had or fancy food, was this burger from MacKenzie River Pizza, Grill, & Pub in Sioux Falls. Yes, I realize the irony of getting a burger at a pizza place. You can ask Christie—we were on a date without the kids, and I was so excited about this burger. I told our waitress or waiter they needed to tell the cook it was the best burger I had ever had. It was amazing.

Why do I bring that up? Whatever is your most favorite food or meal, if there is something that makes your mouth water, if there is a go-to snack that you can’t imagine life without—praise God that he had that created, but also keep your loves in check. There is nothing more satisfying for our broken souls than the sacrifice of Jesus. There is nothing more refreshing than knowing his Spirit is at work and that we’ll get to feast with him again. The best meal we could possibly have is the one still to come, the supper feast when we’ll finally be reunited and wed in faithfulness for eternity. May our celebration of the Lord’s Supper not only remind us of that past sacrifice, which is absolutely necessary, but may it also give us joy and hope for what’s to come. Amen.