2002-01-01
By now, the citations regarding the taking of the sacraments [communion; Eucharist] are very familiar. They are so familiar because of the recitations of them in church that we have a tendency to take them for granted. This raises a very interesting subject to me regarding reciting the same prayers repeatedly. I was raised in conservative Judaism and regularly attended Shabat [Sabbath] services in a synagogue. The tradition is to say many prayers read in both Hebrew and English from the Siddur, the book containing the order of worship for various types of services. As I have spent more time studying the Scriptures and teaching about them, it has become clear that many of these often repeated prayers that I knew by heart were being taken by me for granted. That was really driven home to me when I was called upon to teach a class which analyzed the Lord’s Prayer in detail. In my heart, I know that God does not want our rote recitation of prayers to be done as automatons without assimilation of the crucial lessons and meanings within them. Truthfully, this is one of the ways God convicts me to do something about that. I suspect He wants all of us to do something about that, because it is the only way that we can live up to our covenant agreements with Him in a way which pleases Him. With all of this in mind, lets take another look at some passages in which God reveals to us the real meaning and importance of taking the sacraments. MT 26: 26-28, “While they were eating, Jesus took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and gave it to His disciples. ‘Take and eat it,’ He said; ‘this is My body.’ Then He took a cup, gave thanks to God, and gave it to them. ‘Drink it, all of you,’ He said, ‘this is My blood , which seals God’s covenant, My blood poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” I have said in previous messages how very impressed I am with the young people in our congregation who come to the communion table for the first time after lengthy preparation. When they come, they don’t take this rite for granted and understand it in a remarkably mature way. The question that arises for adults, like myself, who learned the meaning and importance of the sacraments in other ways is: Do we really understand? I would like to think that I do, because I came to Christianity by choice, not by birth. This very intimate act is the closest that we can come to God on earth. That, in and of itself, makes it crucial to us. The bread, representing Christ’s body, was not really understood at the time of this Last Supper by His own disciples. They were only later to learn that their Messiah and Redeemer would hang on a cross, die physically, be buried three days, and then be resurrected, so that they and anyone else who comes to faith in Him could have eternal life. They didn’t comprehend at the time the suffering that Christ would endure to carry out this mission of redeeming mankind, nor did they give thought to the feelings and pain a loving Abba would endure at seeing His only begotten Son go through such an ordeal for people who were at that time His enemies. And, we mustn’t forget the blood, that blood He would shed representing the sealing of the Covenant of Grace. This is the same blood that is referred to in LV 17: 11 and HE 9: 22, as being where life is found and so necessarily shed for there to be forgiveness. How could Christ’s disciples or even ourselves comprehend that this forgiveness would be eternal? This was forgiveness that would make God not just cover our sins of the past, but deem us innocent of them and even forget them! I am led to spend some time in 1 COR 11: 18-34 and don’t have enough space in today’s message for all that I am to say. Thus, I will begin with part of that and return to rest tomorrow. 1 COR 11: 23-26 is the passage so often repeated in our congregation’s communion service. “For I received from the Lord the teaching that I passed on to you: that the Lord Jesus on the night He was betrayed, took a piece of bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you. Do this in memory of Me.’ In the same way, after the supper He took the cup and said, ‘This cup is God’s new covenant, sealed with My blood. Whenever you drink it, do so in memory of Me.’ This means that every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” Before his retirement from being the senior pastor of our congregation, Pastor Paul Pfotenhauer expressed his desire that our church should be a place of acceptance, profession, and proclamation. These were mighty important words indeed! What we are to proclaim is the truth of the Gospel, best stated in 1 COR 15: 3-8. “I passed on to you what I received; which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures [IS 53: 5-12]; that He was buried and that He was raised to life three days later, as written in the Scriptures [PS 16: 8-10]; that He appeared to Peter and then to all twelve apostles. Then He appeared to more than five hundred of His followers at once, most of whom are still alive, although some have died. Then He appeared to James, and afterward to all the apostles. Last of all He appeared also to me-even though I am like someone whose birth was abnormal.” Meditate on the meaning of these citations to our personal lives today, and I will continue as God directs on this subject tomorrow. PRAYER: O Lord, You have commanded us to come to faith after repenting of our sins, but that is not all. We are to take the sacraments with eyes wide open as to what they mean and why they are so important to our lives. We must do repetitive actions like cleaning our homes, acts of personal hygiene, and living lifestyles that will keep us physically healthy. There are some spiritually repetitive actions we must take as well, such as studying the Scriptures, having an active prayer life, demonstrating the same kind of love Christ has for us in our interactions with others, living a morally healthy life, and taking the sacraments regularly. These are not to be taken lightly, are to be as completely understood as possible, and are to be appreciated for what they are. You are a loving, patient, compassionate, and just God Who loves us enough to encourage us to all these activities, because You know they are necessary for us to have eternal life with You. You offered Your Son on the cross for us knowing the horrendous suffering He would have to do, because You knew it was the only way for us to be eternally forgiven for our sins. We are grateful beyond what words can express for that. We joyfully and dutifully take the sacraments in remembrance of His body broken on the cross for us and his blood shed sealing the covenant in which You have called us to participate. We acknowledge that this is a foretaste of the intimate and constant proximity that we will have with You after the rapture and the wedding feast of the Lamb. We humbly offer You our worship, adoration, loyalty, trust, obedience, glory, honor, praise, and thanks for all that You are in our lives. In Christ’s name, amen. As promised above, tomorrow’s message will continue discussing the sacraments. In the meanwhile, each of us goes about the business of our daily lives surrounded by the aura of God’s love, direction, and protection. Take great comfort in that, knowing that being forgotten, unloved, or abandoned is not a part of our present or future lives. Peter and I send you our love too. Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn