ThankfulShembull

Thankful for the Lord’s Supper   

It’s pretty hard to be mad at people you’re eating with. There’s something about breaking bread with people that promotes intimacy, understanding, bonding, and camaraderie. 

It’s no surprise that the Savior chose the warmth of the supper table for one of his most important parting gifts to his disciples and to all believers. Taking two ordinary foodstuffs found all over the world, Jesus linked the ordinary with the extraordinary, earth with heaven, and created a Sacrament. Simple bread and wine, eaten and swallowed by believers, would become the vehicles for the very body and blood that were offered on the cross in payment for the sin of the world: “He took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 26:27,28). 

Baptism is intended as a one-time act, our formal adoption into God’s family. Communion is intended as a repeated activity, assuring sinners that the forgiveness of their sins is still valid. When people hear the Word of God spoken, they can always (mistakenly) assume that it is meant for others. When the body and blood are placed in their mouths, there can be no mistake about who is loved and whose sins are forgiven. 

Thank you, Jesus, for being this close to me. Thank you for the gift of yourself.