Sitting down together and sharing a meal fosters a special feeling of togetherness. Meals are important but more than nourishment, it serves as a means for families and friends to be together, to enjoy a simple or a lavish spread.
We also see sharing of meals as part of peace initiatives among leaders of nations and even between adversaries to create better relations. These are special events that require preparation because they are worthwhile and serve a larger purpose.
Jesus left us a powerful and symbolic tool to help us remember a simple lesson.
Bread and cup are symbols, but what they represent is very real. At the meal, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples.
In the same way, Jesus’ body was broken. The soldiers broke Him down through torture and abuse. The whipping shredded the flesh on His back. His brow was broken open by the crown of thorns. His hands and feet were broken open by the nails.
His precious blood was poured out that day to make atonement for our sins. It was God’s way of saying, “a new way has been opened to My presence. It is through the blood of Jesus.”
We prepare and participate for the Lord’s Supper and it helps prepare us for eternity.
The Lord’s Supper requires preparation and participation. As we prepare for this meal, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to shine His searchlight into the deepest darkest corners of our lives.
Is there anything in there that needs to be swept out? Are there bad habits, anger, resentment, or envy particles hiding in there?
The Scripture tells us that the way to prepare for this meal is by getting rid of the leaven of malice and wickedness and replace it with the bread of sincerity and truth.
Jesus intended His Last Supper to be a beginning rather than an end. Jesus looked forward to a time in the future when He would be alive, and He would celebrate a feast in the Kingdom of God.
This will be a future time of reunion, refreshment and rejoicing. As Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God.”
Every time we partake in communion, the gospel is proclaimed. And we believe and embrace it again. In other words, we remember.
My hope is that we come to the Lord’s table with eagerness and expectancy, believing that it is not a routine religious ceremony but a spiritual experience of God’s everlasting words.