Act of remembrance

For some time now I have been taking communion daily and meditating on the meaning of it. It seems that God continues to reveal layers of significance and I just wanted to share a little of this with you.

The first thought I have been mulling over is that in all four Gospels and the passage in 1 Corinthians 11, the writers all stress that communion was taken in the midst of betrayal. This incredibly important act of remembrance was instigated in the face of betrayal, and not the betrayal by one of the thousands of followers, hoping to make a quick buck, but by a close friend, one who dipped his hand in the bowl with Jesus, any act of great fellowship - Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve. 

I find it almost frightening how easy it is for disciples to be deceived, to believe that what we are doing is what God wants us to do. We read that after the betrayal, the scales fell from Judas’s eyes and overcome by terrible remorse, he killed himself. Please God keep us humbly close to you that we too may not be deceived into doing and saying things that are not of you. 

Then Jesus took the bread and broke it ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’ You can imagine the disciples looking at one another wondering what Jesus meant. Someone may have remembered the occasion, recorded in John 6: 53-58:

53 Jesus replied to them, “Listen to this eternal truth: Unless you eat the body of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have eternal life. 54 Eternal life comes to the one who eats my body and drinks my blood, and I will raise him up in the last day. 55 For my body is real food for your spirit and my blood is real drink. 56 The one who eats my body and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him. 57 The Father of life sent me, and he is my life. In the same way, the one who feeds upon me, I will become his life. 58 I am not like the bread your ancestors ate and later died. I am the living Bread that comes from heaven. Eat this Bread and you will live forever!” 

We have eternal life not by taking communion but by accepting Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, his body broken for us, his blood shed for us is the only way to salvation. The communion meal represents and reminds us of this. 

As we take the bread, we recall that ‘by his wounds we are healed.’  The word for healed is also for salvation. Jesus broken body saves, heals and delivers us. His death brought complete salvation; body, mind and spirit. I like to bring my family and friends struggling with health to Jesus at this point. 

‘Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you.’ This is my blood of the new covenant poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’ 

In the midst of betrayal and no doubt with the upcoming acts of desertion, denial, and unbelief from the disciples in his mind, Jesus offered the cup representing his blood to his disciples for the forgiveness of their sins. If ever there was a moment to remind ourselves that being perfect is not a prerequisite for salvation or communion, this must be it. Jesus knows and forgives our sins as we humbly bring them before him. 

The cup represents the new covenant spoken of in Jeremiah 31: 33 – 34 which concludes with ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sin no more.’ This covenant to unfaithful Israel promised forgiveness of sins and a new relationship and it is open to all – you and me.  God promises that ‘I will be their God and they will be my people.’ Covenants are cut with the shedding of blood, are binding, and God never breaks his. In the past the Jews found forgiveness for sins though the shedding of the blood of bulls, sheep and goats. Now a new covenant has been cut in Jesus’ blood as the perfect, all sufficient sacrifice.  He promises to look after us, protect and provide for us as our God. 

The blood of Jesus is incredibly powerful and I like to pray the blood over my family by name, friends, church and any others that God has laid on my heart. 

It was love, not duty or responsibility, that took Jesus to the cross and love that kept him there till he could cry, ‘It is finished.’ 

I believe God is calling us from the tradition of only taking communion at church on Sunday into taking communion as often as we like to remind ourselves of what Jesus did on the cross for us, the completeness of that work and God’s promise to take care of his people through the new covenant cut at Calvary. 

I recommend The Power of Communion by Beni Johnson.