Communion with Him
Come to the Table
Scripture Reading - John 6:52-59
So Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. John 6: 53-55
Do you remember your most meaningful Communion service? My most meaningful service occurred this year when I was asked to serve Communion at a meeting of the Presbytery to which my church is a member. Elders were assigned to a respective wine/juice station or a bread station. I was one of the elders assigned to serve the bread. As people passed by they took a piece of bread from my tray. As I served each person, I said these words: "This is the body of Christ broken for you."As I said these words over and over, I began to feel a real connection to Christ. It was a special moment for me: a moment that I will not forget.
Jesus tells us in John 6 that "His flesh is true food and His blood is true drink." When we partake of Holy Communion we are eating with Christ. We are brought together as one family to eat at the table He has prepared for us. At my church, we celebrate communion on the first Sunday of each month. I look at the faces of each person as he or she takes the bread and the cup and I wonder what they are feeling. I wonder about the thoughts that they are thinking. I wonder what does Communion really means for them.
When I prepare the elements for Holy Communion, I enjoy the process of baking the bread. I love to knead the dough and think about Christ. As I watch the bread rise, I am think about the yeast that is causing the dough to rise, and I am reminded of the parable of the leaven. We may not be able to see the leaven, but we know that it is working just like the Spirit is working inside of us.
Holy Communion is a time of praise, it is a time of joy, it is a time to be with our LORD, and (more importantly) it is a time of promise. When we take the bread and drink the cup we are reminded of what Christ did for us. We are reminded that He loved us so much that He gave His very life so that we may have the promise of eternal life. When we take the bread and drink the cup we are reminded of the promise the He will return one day and dwell among us. When we take the bread and drink the cup, we remember that we are His and that nothing can take Him away from us: not even death.
I ending by asking you one more time: What is your most meaningful Communion service?
