What You Believe Matters 9 – Communion, a Picture of Forgiveness
The next section of the Apostle’s Creed is a simple three words that change our lives. “Communion of saints” is a sentence we need to explore a little today. Communion represents so many things and is practiced in churches around the world. When I was a kid we would take communion in our churches and they would read some scary verses about taking communion when you were not perfect and that God would get you for it. One of the verses talks about people dying from taking communion when they were not ready. Needless to say I waited as long as I could to take communion when I was younger. It seriously, scared me to think I might mess up and forget to ask forgiveness for some sin and that God would punish me for it.
Of course as I grew up and began to understand communion and God a little better my fear turned into anticipation to remember God’s forgiveness. Communion grows out of an ancient practice of the Passover. Passover was a time that Israel took time to remember God delivering them from Egypt. They sat for a meal and told the story of God’s deliverance. It is in this setting on the night of his arrest that Jesus changes the script and communion of saints is born.
When the time came, Jesus and the apostles were sitting at the table. He said to them, “I wanted very much to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer. I will not eat another Passover meal until it is given its true meaning in the kingdom of God.“ Then Jesus took a cup, gave thanks, and said, “Take this cup and share it among yourselves. I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until God’s kingdom comes.“ Then Jesus took some bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to the apostles, saying, “This is my body, which I am giving for you. Do this to remember me.“ In the same way, after supper, Jesus took the cup and said, “This cup is the new agreement that God makes with his people. This new agreement begins with my blood which is poured out for you. Luke 22:14-20 (NCV)
Jesus changed communion into a time to remember three things. The Israelites remembered being freed from Egypt while we remember being what Jesus has given us. It is a time to remember to be thankful. To stop and thank God for the blessings He has poured out on our lives. Then we remember to be broken before God. Now, we are all broken in different parts of our lives. But we cannot find healing unless we remember that we are broken then we can bring that break to God to be healed. Then we remember to be in agreement with God. It is an agreement that we need God and that he is and always will be there for us. He wants us to remember the sacrifice that brings that agreement with Him. That is why he told the disciples to do this and remember. Remember what he has done for us.
Communion is most of all a reminder that our sins have been forgiven by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Jesus talked about the bread now representing his body that will be broken the next day. He tells us that the cup of wine and said it was to remind us of the blood that would be shed for our sins. Forgiveness is what we remember when we come to the table of communion.
I think we need to remember a couple of things that forgiveness brings us. First, forgiveness leads to happiness. “Happy are they whose sins are forgiven, whose wrongs are pardoned. Happy is the person whom the Lord does not consider guilty.” Romans 4:7 – 8 (NCV) When I was a kid and got into trouble there was nothing better than being forgiven. It is the same as an adult. When I realize that my sins have been forgiven and that God’s love is mine then it leads to peace and happiness for my live.
The second thing forgiveness leads to is life. In Colossians 2:13 the Bible reads, “When you were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self, God made you alive with Christ, and he forgave all our sins.” God has given us life through forgiveness. Our lives are changed as we remember where we have come from in our sins.
In light of these beliefs how will we answer these two questions?
Will you remember the sacrifice that brings us life?
Can you find happiness as you remember your forgiveness?