I stood there with the bread in my hand as person after person came down the line to take a piece and with every person who walked by I recited the phrase, “Christ’s body broken for you,” a deceptively simple phrase to say. As familiar faces strolled past I couldn’t stop internalizing their names as they passed, “Alex, Christ’s body broken for you”; “Justin, Christ’s body broken for you”; “Mike, Christ’s body broken for you,” and on and on. With each name running through my head the harder it became to finish the line out loud. I found myself near tears after 40 people whom I have come to know walked my way, something I wasn’t prepared for during this moment of introspection and celebration.
This morning as we prepared for communion in a more liturgical setting/style we recited The Apostles Creed. At the moment we hit the line, “The third day He rose again from the dead,” my heart leapt for joy within me. This is what communion is about, this is what causes such emotion, this is what causes such joy, this is what brings us together and this is why we celebrate. Christ has risen, and through His resurrection we have hope.
Why then has a majority of the evangelical church forsaken the regular celebration of communion? In many churches I have attended over the years we have gathered to worship in song, in giving of offering, and listening to sermons but these three elements seem to be the only constant whereas communion has fallen by the wayside. Why?
Perhaps this isn’t the proper line of questioning, for there really is no good reason for forsaking the regular participation in communion by the church body. Rather, the proper series of questions should revolve around, ‘What are the consequences?’ ‘What happens to the church who fails to recognize and live as a resurrection community, who looses sight of hope?’
I fear that many of the problems we experience in the evangelical church revolve around the rare appearance of the Eucharist/Communion/Lord’s Supper in our midst, and our gross misunderstanding of its importance to the health and unity of the body.
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I’m glad you posted this, Aaron. Because I’ve always felt a large amount of reverence for the Lord’s Supper, and am often hesitant to partake, almost because it seemed too holy for me.
In Rob Bell’s newest book, he briefly mentions the history behind the Passover Meal, which led me to do a little digging myself. And now, I wonder if on the night he was betrayed, Christ simply replaced the meaning of the Passover Meal. Whenever you do this (partake of the Passover Meal), do this in remembrance of me.
No longer will you only remember the time when the blood of the lamb saved your ancestors from death, but you will remember how the blood of THIS lamb rescued all who trust in it.
If so, then wouldn’t we still celebrate the actual Passover Meal just once a year, while still living each day as a resurrection community?
I agree with you that there is a stark correlation between Passover in the OT and Communion/Eucharist/Lord’s Supper in the NT which provides us with a rich heritage and strong symbolism. However, at the same time I don’t think this symbolism/correlation ties in to the frequency of its celebration.
Take a quick look at Acts 2.42:
Breaking of bread is commonly understood as the communion celebration and if you remove it from the list each of the other 3 items (teaching, fellowship, prayer) were certainly not understood as yearly events, or even sporadic. They were regular practices that took place daily. So, when inserting communion back into the list it would seem odd to include a yearly celebration amidst a list of daily practices no matter how important it may seem.
An argument for the weekly celebration of communion is still less regular than what the church was participating in at its inception. I think we (Evangelicals) have failed to recognize just how important the institution of communion is to the body, perhaps even as a knee-jerk response to the Catholic/Anglican/liturgical traditions. We’ve moved to remove the liturgical and have thrown the baby out with the bathwater. Thoughts?
When I first arrived at North Point, I was caught off guard by the fact that the High School group had a time of communion each week. Because of that reaction, communion quickly fell by the side and it has been a year since we have taken it together. Two weeks ago one of my Juniors asked me “why aren’t we doing communion anymore, it was a great time of prayer?” That was when it hit me that I was allowing my busyness in prep distract me from the things that seem “simple.” We have had communion for two straight weeks now, and I have turned the time over to the students. Last night one of my students gave a thought on the death and resurrection of Jesus that brought tears to my eyes. It was a great time of remembering the meaning of Jesus and what he did for us. I wont let this “simple” moment slip out of our service again.
See, this is where you seminary chaps help a lot. If you guys all buy in to the “breaking of bread” meaning communion, I’m in. Is that pretty universally recognized or in the healthy debate section?
Your “i think we have failed to recognize just how important the institution of communion is to the body” comment accidentally gets to another heart of the issue, doesn’t it? My body or THE body?
While the frequency of communion is center stage here, I find it amazing how many people can take communion simply as if someone just gave them a snack. It is habit for so many people that it carries no spiritual significance to many. This possibly is why some churches have changed the system to once a month – or once a quarter. To help give it more meaning.
Unfortunately, it goes to show the continued decline of spirituality of some believers and the lack of respect for what it actually symbolizes. It also goes to show how some churches – instead of perservering to bring believers to a level of respect for communion – that instead they chose to sacrifice communion itself. Good post, Aaron.
“Breaking of bread” is commonly understood as communion, however they practiced it differently than we did. We use a chicklet and a shot glass for communion, they centered there celebration around a meal. So, although it’s not in the healthy debate section there is a stark difference in meaning from their cultural expression to ours.
I think you raise a good point about “my body vs. THE body” that goes to the heart of how we are caught in such an individualistic society that is counter-cultural to the cultural understanding of Scripture. I think we’ve always got to return to the idea of community and the implications on the community before thinking about the self. It’s almost as if the “self” will sort itself out as long as you’re focused in on the community as a whole.
I think our focus on the individual is why we’ve entered into the era that Dan mentions of “snack-time communion” that is participated in on an irregular basis. We’ve focused in on making it meaningful for the individual instead of the importance and symbolism it has for the body as a whole. Unfortunately we’ve forgotten what that importance is for the whole body and because of that we’re only comfortable and able to remember the individualistic meaning of communion.