For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. (1 Cor. 11)
As a recovering perfectionist, I’m learning to think in terms of good, better, and best. It simply makes life easier for those living with my condition.
What is the “good” for us around this act of communion? The “good” is when we remember that, as the scriptures describe, Jesus was not simply sharing some food with his friends; he was establishing an enduring symbol of the giving of himself for us. I might say this symbolic act reminds me of what God did for me. That’s a “good” way of thinking about this and a “good” starting place.
What’s the “better” way of relating to communion? Here’s what’s better: When we say, “Something special – even something sacred – is happening when we gather around these elements with all of us eating from the same plate and drinking from the same cup, all of us sharing the same bread and wine.” In other words, when we acknowledge and participate in the communal aspect of this, it becomes more than a symbol; it becomes an enactment of us sharing our lives together – an enactment that overwhelms the boundaries a symbol. When this happens, then the joy of Victoria’s new job is my joy and your joy, the anticipation of Heather and Cam’s pregnancy is my and your anticipation, the pain that Sharon carries in her body is my pain and your pain.
When we think about communion in this way it becomes bigger than God gave God’s self for me; it becomes us giving ourselves for one another. That’s the “better” view.
What’s the “best”? The “best” happens when we take our little lump of torn bread and wine and put it in our mouths, feel it go down into our stomachs, and sense that we’ve placed something heavier than bread and wine in there. Then, before we pile some Mexican food or leftovers from last night or whatever on top of it, we feel it in there, and remember that little bit of bread wasn’t just about Jesus and his disciples around that table, or about God and me (the “good”) or God and you and me (the “better”), but it’s about God and you and me and your server at the restaurant, or your co-worker, or your neighbor, or that guy holding the cardboard sign in the median.
I think this is what Paul has in mind in those words above, telling us to participate in this sacred act in a worthy manner. In other words, he is reminding us that we are consuming something heavier than bread and wine and, thus, if all we are doing is consuming, then we are missing it entirely.
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Rev. Matthew Hanzelka is the Ministry and Missions Pastor at Grace Baptist Church.