The Lord’s Supper, or communion, as we often call it, is very simple. It really boils down to three things. We say some words. We eat bread. We drink grape juice.
We say some words. Not just any words. We say words of remembrance. We proclaim the death of Jesus, as Paul tells us in his first letter to Corinth. We tell the story about Jesus’ sacrifice for our sake, and his resurrection, and his promise that he will return again. We make a point of intentionally remembering those words, just as Jesus instructed: “Do this in remembrance of me.”
We eat bread. When we share the bread, we are transformed from a collection of individuals who happen to be in the same place into a community. We satisfy one of our deepest desires: to belong to something bigger and greater than ourselves. As we are told, “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”
We drink grape juice. Jesus said it is the cup of the new covenant. We acknowledge that God has always initiated a relationship with his people. Each time we turned away from God, God sought us out to be reconciled to him. Eventually, he sent Jesus to shed his blood for the sake of the covenant.
In our sermon this Sunday we will talk about God’s covenant with us, and the unity we have through him, and the salvation we have in Jesus Christ, as we discuss the Lord’s Supper.