Going Out To Dinner

We call it Holy Communion—which it is on both accounts:  It is a most holy moment, and it is communion with the Holy Trinity—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—in the most intimate way possible.  It is a very special event for both the individual believer and the collective family of God.

The Gospels refer to the inaugural celebration of communion as the Last Supper, and all four of them picture Jesus eating this meal with his disciples before his death on the cross.  Not only is our ongoing celebration of communion a very moving time for us, but Luke’s account reveals just how special it was (and is) for Jesus.  In Luke 22:15, the Lord said, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” Whenever you come to the Lord’s Table in the tradition of your fellowship, Jesus is already there, eagerly desiring to meet you and to meet your needs with the full force of that which communion symbolizes, the redemptive love that sent him to the cross.

If that doesn’t make this sacred event special enough, there is a promise within communion that Jesus made to his disciples, and by extension, to you and me, that ought to rekindle the faith, hope and love that we have placed in him.  It is the promise of his return. Each time we eat the bread and drink the cup we are proclaiming a promise that one day soon Jesus himself will be physically present to eat this meal with us as the full completion of our redemption is finally revealed.

Coming to the Lord’s Table calls us to look back with loving gratitude for his sacrifice on the cross. It also calls us to look inwardly with serious introspection to examine our lives in light of his vicarious suffering. And it calls us to look around in appreciation for our spiritual family with whom we celebrates the sacred meal. But communion also calls us to look up with joy in anticipation of Jesus’ imminent return to take us out to dinner—the greatest celebration of the Last Supper ever, the marriage Supper of the Lamb.

“Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb…These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19:9)

The next time you receive Holy Communion, I hope it will cause you to think about that day when Jesus will come back and you will sit down for the first time since the Last Supper to eat and drink with him in the fulfillment of his kingdom.

“Break one and the same bread, which is the medicine of immortality, the antidote which prevents us from dying, and a cleansing remedy driving away evil so that we should live in God through Jesus Christ.” ~Ignatius

What If God Took Over?

The next time you celebrate communion, offer this prayer: “Even so, come Lord Jesus.”