Today I had the glorious privilege of administering the Lord’s Supper in my congregation. The bread and the fruit of the vine point us to the body and blood of Christ. I read from 1st Corinthians 11:23-29 and noted that in partaking of the Lord’s Supper we are commemorating Christ’s atoning, sacrificial death. But more than that, since our Lord did not remain in the tomb, when we partake of the elements, by faith we are communing with (indeed, spiritually feeding upon) the living, risen, and reigning Lord. And, by virtue of our union and communion with Christ Jesus we are also communing with fellow believers. What a glorious thing partaking in the Lord’s Supper is.
What is not so glorious is how feeble, imperfect ministers like me administer and explain the meaning and significance of the Supper. Today my head was spinning and felt like it was stuffed with cotton. And then the lid on the holder of the juice would not come loose so my ministerial colleague Jim Cassidy had to discretely come up and assist me in prying the lid off the container. So much for decorum! All worked out well though.
Thankfully the efficacy of the Lord’s Supper does not depend upon me or my finesse. Today I was reminded of that truth. In the Lord’s Supper the Holy Spirit lifts participants into the heavenlies by faith so that they may feed on Christ, sometimes even while the ministers are wrestling with recalcitrant paraphernalia.
We have a great, sympathetic, and gentle high priest in our Lord Jesus Christ. To him, along with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be all the praise!
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve. (Romans 16:17-18)