Make Communion Great Again - Luke 22:19

Introduction

It was in the year 2016 that the Clemson University Tigers finished the season with a record of 14-1 and 7-1 in the ACC. They went to championship and beat the Alabama Crimson Tide 35-31. As always the champions were invited to the White House and it was during this visit the decorated coach William Christopher “Dabo” Swinney said something that has stuck with me since. He echoed a quote from George Washington Carver, he said “do common things in an uncommon way, and you will command the respect of the world.”

It was at that moment it dawned on me that many things we do across all spectrums of life including business, church, relationships, and everything in between often lack the power necessary to be truly effective because our routines become so monotonous and redundant even second nature that we come to do things even without thinking about it. It is at that point when things have become so common they become often undervalued, under-appreciated, even lacking the meaning and profundity they once had. And the problem with this in the life of the believer is that the spirit of common, if you will, robs the believer of the transformative power that is in the Gospel.

When aspects of our Christian experience become common we then deduce the things of God to what and how we feel. When we first got saved we had a fire for God and for serving God that was unquenchable. We were zealous for the things of God because God was fresh - not common. Somewhere along the lines something happened and we started wanting to control God. Somewhere along the lines we started to see the humanity of people which for some of us may have had lasting impact within us and contributed to a common experience. And the expressions of our faith are no longer based on the God that we know but totally based on our riveting emotions. Whether we realize it or not when some person, place, or entity becomes common to us - it is our human nature to treat it differently.

You worked so hard to get that woman. She wasn’t looking down your street. But you managed to get her attention and somehow someway your relationship blossomed. You proposed and 5 years later you want a divorce because she became common. Ladies don’t you look at him in that tone of voice. You cooked your heart and soul out because someone told you the way to a man is through his stomach. And now he’s doing all the cooking and can’t even get you to make a dish, wash a dish. And that’s because somewhere down the line he became common.

When it comes down to how we treat God, we reveal what we think about God. And when we do not treat God as He is worthy to be treated it is often a reflection of the idols we have made of ourselves.

Body

Luke 22 gives an account of the last supper. Amazingly enough while Jesus sits down to eat with the disciples - those who were closes to Jesus in verse 21 Jesus says there is one who sits at this table who will betray me. This teaches a lesson that it is often when we do not see Jesus for who He is - when Jesus has become common we too might be subject to betrayal. Sadly in our culture today, we often do not place proper value on someone until they are gone or dead.

It is in Luke chapter 22 where a meal becomes much more than a meal. Yes, there’s food and there is wine but all of this in Jesus Christ becomes an act of worship. For when you have come to the Lord’s table, the food you receive is no good unless you view it as worship. See none of us is worthy to eat at the table of Jesus because we all have it some form or another been betrayers. Yet what makes us worthy is not that we come. What makes us worthy is not how good we look, how great we sing. What makes us worthy to eat at the table is what the man who invited us to the table has done!

And after all that Jesus did at the table he said “this do in remembrance of me.” And so what Jesus says there is that when you come to church, when you come to the Lord’s table you must simply come with a memory. And as long as you remember, coming to my table will never be common.

You must remember how lost you were. You must remember how broken you were. You must remember that the wage of sin was death but that by God through Jesus Christ you have eternal life. You remember it was at the Cross, at the Cross where I first saw the light and the burden of my heart rolled away. And it was there by faith I received my sight and now I am happy all the day! The burden of my soul was sin and the penalty for my sin was death. I couldn’t handle the burden and so one day God lifted the burden when He gave it to His Son to bear.

And so when I remember and communion is not common whenever I find myself in a storm or a situation I remember I don’t have to bear my burdens - Jesus will help me and Jesus alone! And that’s why we’ve got to make communion with God great again because if you could remember what Jesus has done at the table when your world is turned upside down its because communion wasn’t common inside the church that when you got outside the church you quit worrying about your problems because you said wait Jesus died for this!

Sometimes communion becomes common because the only thing we remember is that we do it on first Sunday, and ugh we’re going to get out of church later because of it. Which means that we are waiting to get to church to receive it. But look at verse 10, Jesus didn’t instruct the last supper to be at the Temple - He instructed it to be at a man’s house. Which means you don’t have to wait to have communion at church but you can have it at your house! And as often as you do it, you remember what I did for YOU!

When you do not remember - things become common and when things become common dismemberment occurs. When you do not remember what Jesus has done it causes dissension and dismemberment within the body of Christ because in order to love me right - you’ve got to remember what Christ has done. In order to give right you’ve got to remember what Christ has done. In order to serve right you’ve got to remember what Christ has done. When I remember what Christ has done it doesn’t matter what is going on in my life!

In other words God says to you this morning if you could only remember the power of my table. When you remember my body which was broken for you. When you remember my blood that was shed for you… You can exchange your table of depression, worry, frustration, lack for my table. God says come to the table and sup with me. If you come to my table there is joy here, there is peace here, there is favor here, there is love here.

In my close, I love what the apostle Paul said about communion. And this is why we’ve got to make communion great again. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:26 as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. When you remember what Jesus has done by partaking in the bread and wine. You’re letting your problems know Jesus died for this. You’re letting your sickness know Jesus died for this. But He didn’t stay there. And because I partake in the Lord’s supper remembering what He has done I won’t die in what I’m going through. I’ve got a word for my problems and that word is victory. I’ve got victory because He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed. I won’t be defeated because of what the Lord has done.

I need somebody to tell somebody I’m making communion great again. I’m going to remember what God has done on my behalf. When I start to remember as Jesus told me. I’ll start singing the hymn of the church what can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. I’ll start singing there is power, power wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb. And I won’t just sing the song because I know the words. I’ll sing the song because I remember what He did for me!

We’ve got to learn to do common things in an uncommon way. Every time you take communion you’ve got to remember the day you exchanged your table of doing what you wanted to do, how you wanted to do it for the Lord’s table! In a church I used to serve every time it was communion time there was a woman who would start hollering in the service. She did it every first Sunday. And people always had something to say about her hollering. But when I heard her holler I just assumed she had a memory. She remembered who she was, what she was, and who she was doing it with. Then she remembered when Jesus came into her heart. Letting her know she was free from the bondage of her past because of what He had done for her. She exchanged her table of wrongdoing, sin and shame for the table of the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world. She exchanged her table of sorrow and shame for the joy of the Lord!

You ought to hi five somebody and say from now on when I partake of the Lord’s supper I’m going to remember! You’ve got to let the devil know you can’t have my memory!

Table illustration - 2 tables. Its November and thanksgiving is coming up and there might be some people sitting at the table… some certain family members, yeah. But before you let somebody at the dinner table take you out of character you got to remember this ain’t my table. I sup at the table of the Lord.