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 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.” 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.” For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
“Until he comes.” Communion is temporary. We’re only to do this until he comes, until his kingdom comes in all its fullness. Communion not only looks back to Jesus’ death on the cross and the forgiveness of our sins, but it also looks forward to that time when we will no longer need to share the bread and the cup. We live between the ‘now’ of being God’s forgiven children and the ’not yet’ of being like Jesus because we will see him as he is (1 John 3:2).
In the meantime, we proclaim the Lord’s death. We announce, we declare to our world, the difference Jesus has made in our lives. We live out the new life that Jesus died to give us. We no longer conform to the pattern of this world because we have a different set of priorities, we have different values to the world. We no longer live for ourselves but God.
We’re people on a mission to show the world how good God is, and how living according to his ways brings peace and joy. Our communion times remind us that God has equipped us and enabled us to be his representatives in the world.
Let’s pray:
Thank you Lord for your abundant provision. You died and rose again to forgive us, equip us, and empower us so that we will grow more like Jesus. And we are grateful.
Thank you for the symbol of the bread which reminds us of your body broken for us, so that sin and shame become powerless in our lives. We know there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
And we thank you for the symbol of the cup which reminds us of your blood shed for us. The cross demonstrates God’s love and empowers us to be Jesus to our world.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
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