Posted by
aurorawatcher on Sunday, August 02, 2009 8:44:56 PM
Our church held Lord's Supper this morning. It was sort of unexpected. We normally scheduled it once a quarter and end up doing it about three times a year, but someone in the congregation has been pushing to have it every month. So we walked in and there it was. I normally like to coach our 10-year-old for the week before the service because I think far too many Christians take the Lord's Supper for granted in the same way they take the song service for granted. For many, it's a mere ritual without a lot of thought behind it. I don't think that was what it was ever meant to be.
We're told in the New Testament that we should approach the altar of God with reverence and a clean heart. The Amish have the right of it in that they make the Lord's Supper a month-long process of self-evaluation, repentence and reconciliation. They teach that only when you're right before God and man can you approach the Lord's Supper cleanly. I'm not quite so adament, believing that Corinthians suggests we should remember our sins and be prepared to reconcile with those we have wronged, but that we should still do the Lord's Supper, then go and take care of our sins and those we have sinned against.
I was impressed with KR's memory on the Lord's Supper. The bread represents Christ's death on the cross for us. The juice represents Jesus' blood that washes away our sin and "makes us white as snow" (KR announced). There is nothing magical in the elements of the Lord's Supper. It's just a wafer of unleavened bread and a little cup of juice. Nothing special. We've done home Lord's Suppers with what we found in the cabinet. I once partook of a Lord's Supper on a mountain top with Ritz crackers and Dr. Pepper. It's not the elements that make the Lord's Supper a special worship time. It's what they represent. They remind us that Christ hung on a cross for our sins and that His blood washes those sins away.
I can't say I pay a whole lot of attention to the pastor as he reads the Scripture and prays. I shelved that under "mindless ritual" a decade or more ago. Instead, I practice my own worship set to make the Lord's Supper meaningful to me. I call to mind the scene on Calvary and Christ's blood flowing down. If I've had warning, and I didn't today, I have already prayed for those sins and those slighted. Sometimes I've had the opportunity to apologize and make amends. Today, I found myself hastily remembering a few and asking God to remember the rest and bring them to my mind this week. KR remembered that he hadn't really played with one of his best friends all summer, so he invited his friend to our house for the afternoon.
Ultimately, the Lord's Supper is a time when we strive to walk into the presence of our God and Savior. We should seek to do that with a clean heart and light conscience. Nothing in the Lord's Supper cleanses us from sin or makes us right before God. Salvation does that. The Lord's Supper is a part of sanctification, the ongoing growth toward being Christ-like. With every Lord's Supper, we should strive to set aside our sins and settle our grievances. And, above all, the Lord's Supper should never be rote ritual, but a vital time when we seek the face of God and hold up unclean hands for Him to wipe clean.