I mentioned yesterday how much I have grown to appreciate the mystery of the Lord’s Supper. When we gather together as God’s people to eat the bread and drink from the cup we are joining in a long and important tradition of the church. We are saying to ourselves and to each other, “We believe in what Jesus has done for us, and is doing in us.”
The power of this sacrament is experienced when we participate in faith. What this means is we are not coming to the table wishing God would interact with us. When we come and celebrate the Lord’s supper with our brothers and sisters in the Lord, we are are saying we know (as best as we can) that God is present with us.
Not everyone believes this. Some people think it is merely a memorial. I, however, find this to be a misunderstanding of God’s means of grace. A means of grace is when God takes something ordinary, in this case bread and juice, and uses it to communicate his grace and message of redemption. Therefore, Communion and baptism are the best known, but are not the only means God uses to proclaim his love to us.
It would be wise for us to take time and consider, and possibly even reconsider, what we believe about the sacraments. Our task is not a understand every single facet of what God is doing. Rather, we should trust and believe that when we come God is present with us. It is an invitation, where God invites us to dine with him.
[…] with the idea of redemption at various times during this series of reflections (here, here, here, and here). Today, as we draw closer to Easter morning we will take some time to explore what it […]