A Motion to Table. Life just can't be normal.

    Throughout the summer communion has become more and more important to me.  I was raised thinking it was a tradition practiced a few times a year and done simply in remembrance of Christ.  Of course, there is nothing wrong with this.  This is a view held by a lot of people.  I've just come to the conclusion that it's unfulfilling for me.  Especially after the pastor at my new church mentioned he felt communion was crucial to worship and encouraged us to take it as often as possible.  I was a little confused.  Why?  I understand it’s significance, but isn’t it’s place around Easter?  The more I saw communion as exactly that, community with Christ, the more I fell in love with it.  It’s so intense for me as a practice now.  I see the major flaw in my thinking was the idea that anything could be done simply in remembrance of Christ. That word ruins the entire proposal.  This belief was further solidified when I attended a sermon in Tennessee. 

June 12, 2011 FBCLC  A Motion to Table

The passage he looked at was 1 Corinthians 11:17-34

¹⁷ In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. ¹⁸ In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. ¹⁹ No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. ²⁰ So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, ²¹ for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and another gets drunk. ²² Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter!

 ²³ For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴ 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.” ²⁵ 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.” ²⁶ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
 ²⁷ So then, 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. ²⁸ Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. ²⁹ For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. ³⁰ That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. ³¹ But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment.³² Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.
 ³³ So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. ³⁴Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
   And when I come I will give further directions.

    He made the point which I love that, “this is not a normal meal; don’t treat it as such.”  The worst thing we can do is make it run of the mill, make it wrote memorization. Should our remembrance of Jesus ever be normal or commonplace?  This reminds me of a point Francis Chan makes: if what you’re doing as a Christian doesn’t look a little weird to the rest of the world, maybe you’re doing it wrong.  It’s this idea that nothing in our Christian faith is normal or commonplace.  We are in an intense love relationship with our God.  Why would remembering him be normal?  The answer is it shouldn’t.  It cannot ever be a simple tradition or quick ceremony. We do this to remember life, death, the resurrection, and atonement.  Those are not things to be made light of.  The pastor then went on to break down the call to "do this in remembrance of me".  I love this; I love when teachers break down the individual words and really unpack them.

Do this in remembrance of me

do: do something! 

remembrance: a study

Me: remember the life, death, resurrection, atonement


     We are not just eating some bread.  He is calling us to do something with our lives.  Take action, be a part of this relationship.  We are not just reminiscing happily with our Lord.  We are making a study of his life and works.  We are making his life the path to guide us.  We are also examining everything he did.  His life, his death, and everything in between and afterwards.  The resurrection, the meaning of the resurrection.  

     Another cool concept that was brought up is that this is a worktable.  This of this as a worktable and a dinner table there is work to be done.  We were, and are, called to study the work and life of Christ.  This table is about peace with God and the peace of God.  The requirements of this table are: believing in Jesus Christ, and believing that he rose again.  We believe that our risen Lord gave himself to his people, and we are remembering and communing with him.

     With this new attitude, I find my communion time is so much more important to my worship.  I am accepting the sacrifice of Jesus and ensuring in my life that it never becomes trivial.  I cannot become just tradition.  That would be trivializing the most important event to my salvation.

      While at a different sermon I was introduced to an awesome prayer about communion that I wish to share with you.

Lord God of our Ancestors;

       God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;

       God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:

open our eyes to see your hand at work in the world about us.

Deliver us from the presumption of coming to this table

       for solace only, and not for strength;

       for pardon only, and not for renewal.

Risen Lord, be known to use in the breaking of the bread.

Amen.

     I was struck with conviction at the idea of coming for solace and not strength, pardon and not the will to change my ways.  So often we seek God for only the comfort and not the solution to our problems.  I feel that my worship can be more complete now that I appreciate communion in this way.  Understanding that nothing about my faith can be commonplace or tradition or normal.