Holy Communion
Christian Faith
This You Can Believe
Faith Seeking Understanding
Object:
Before going to the electric chair a criminal indicates what he would like for his last meal. Some murderers choose steak, hamburgers, shrimp, half a bottle of red wine, or chicken. In 1431 Joan of Arc, burned at the stake in France, chose the Holy Communion for her last dinner. A devout Christian wants to close out life on earth by having Holy Communion administered in one's dying day. Why? Because Holy Communion is a means of grace which brings God's mercy in terms of forgiveness and eternal life. Above all, Holy Communion provides a mystical union with Christ. The Holy Communion is the holiest of the holy, the epitome of religious experience, the narthex of heaven.
On the other hand, in the history of the church the Holy Communion has been a divisive and controversial subject. For giving the cup to worshipers, John Huss was burned by the church at a stake on the shore of Lake Constance. Luther and Zwingli parted company after disagreeing about the real presence of Christ in the sacrament. Today churches are divided by questions concerning Communion to infants, the frequency of Communion, the use of lay administration, the real presence of Christ in the elements of bread and wine, and the downgrading of the sermon in favor of a weekly celebration of the Lord's Supper.
The Relation Of Baptism To Holy Communion
Baptism and Holy Communion are both Sacraments and means of grace along with the Word of God. Baptism is the original covenant made between God and a believer. Holy Communion is a renewal of the baptismal covenant. Though we at our baptism promised God repentance and faith, we by our sins have not kept the promise. Therefore, the covenant was broken on the believer's part. Though forgiven when baptized, we continue to sin after baptism. Jesus provided the Holy Communion for sins committed after baptism or since the last communion.
Baptism is the sacrament of initiation; Holy Communion is the sacrament of continuation. Baptism is to faith as birth is to physical life; Holy Communion is to faith as food is for physical life. Baptism makes us members of the Kingdom of God; Holy Communion keeps us in the Kingdom. Baptism is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, for adoption occurs only once; Holy Communion is repeatedly received as a guilty heart feels the need of forgiveness.
The Passover And The Holy Communion
The Holy Communion is an outgrowth of the Old Testament Passover (Exodus 12). Before the departure from Egypt, Moses directed that each family should kill a one-year-old male lamb without blemish. A lamb was slaughtered and some of the blood was put on the doorposts and lintel of Jewish homes. "It is the passover of the Lord" (Exodus 12:11). An angel of death was to strike down every firstborn child in Egypt. "When I see the blood, I will pass over you" (12:13). For seven days the Jews were to eat unleavened bread. To this day it is the major annual feast of Jews. It observes the liberation from slavery.
To prepare for the annual Passover meal, Jesus sent Peter and John to prepare the meal in a secret upper room in Jerusalem. During the meal Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper by saying the bread is his body and the wine his blood.
In Saint Paul's time the Holy Communion was celebrated in combination with a meal called "Agape" or "Love Feast." Before the meal the bread of Communion was served. The meal followed and then the cup was administered. Abuses crept in during the meal. Some did not have enough to eat and others became drunk. To solve the problem Paul told the people to eat at home before coming to the Lord's Supper. "If you are hungry, eat at home" (1 Corinthians 11:34).
As the Passover signified the deliverance from bondage in Egypt, the Lord's Supper means our deliverance from the slavery of sin. As the blood of the lamb caused the angel of death to fly over the Hebrew homes, Jesus is the Lamb of God whose blood was shed to deliver us from death resulting from our sins.
Names Of The Sacrament
The Holy Communion is known by several names. Each name gives an understanding of the sacrament.
1. Lord's Supper
The Lord's Supper was the last supper Jesus had with his twelve. It was really more than a supper. It was more like a banquet. Jesus was the host and the food consisted of his body and blood. It was a wonderful feast like none other. This is still today's understanding of this sacrament. The pastor, representing Christ, is the host. He is authorized by the church to serve the food. When the people gather at the Communion rail, it is known as a "table." In recent years the entire congregation is considered one table and the administration is continuous. The Lord's Supper is the time and place to feed the soul with the Bread of Life.
2. Sacrament Of The Altar
The Lord's Supper is also known as the Sacrament of the Altar. This tells us that the Holy Communion is a sacrament, a means of grace. A sacrament is a covenant between God and a believer. The covenant made at baptism was broken by our sin and we need to have it renewed, which is done in the Holy Communion. In receiving the Holy Communion a penitent is restored in his/her relationship with God.
It is called "Altar" because the altar is the symbol of sacrifice. We bring our sacrifice of praise and thanks to the altar. The benefits of Christ's sacrifice on the cross come to us in this sacrament. The physical elements of bread and wine are placed on the altar and the people come to the altar to receive them. Christ serves both as priest and victim that is sacrificed for the sin of the world.
3. Holy Communion
The Sacrament of the Altar is called "holy" because we commune with the holy Jesus. It is also called "Communion," meaning "fellowship" or being one with Christ. It is a mystical union with him as Christ said, "Abide in me as I abide in you" (John 15:4).
If we are to have communion with Christ, he needs to be present in the bread and wine. Denominations differ on the question of the real presence of Christ in the sacrament. First, there is the literal presence of Christ called "transubstantiation." The physical substance of the elements turn miraculously into the body and blood of Christ during the Words of Institution.
A second view is the absence of the presence of Christ. The bread and wine are only symbols of his presence. Then the Holy Communion is a memorial celebration and an act of commitment rather than a means of grace. When Jesus said, "This is my body," it is held that "is" means "signifies." With this view, Holy Communion is an open Communion to all who want to remember Jesus. When Mary McCarthy told Flannery O'Connor that the Holy Communion was only symbolic and could therefore be accepted, O'Connor replied, "Well, if it's a symbol, to hell with it!"
A third view says there is a spiritual presence in the bread and wine. They are the true body and blood of Christ while the physical characteristics remain. In, with, and under the bread and wine is the real presence. It is like an electric iron which one uses. It has a chrome base and a black handle with an electric cord. Before plugging it in, the iron is cold. After plugging it in for a few minutes, it has a new element -- heat! In the same way, the bread and wine are the same, but the presence of Christ comes into the elements. The faith of the communicant acknowledges the presence of Christ in the bread and wine.
4. Eucharist
Since the second Vatican Council held in the 1960s, the name "Eucharist" has become popular among some Protestant denominations. "Eucharist" comes from a Greek word meaning "thanksgiving." When we remember the life, cross, and resurrection of Jesus we have every reason to be thankful to God. As related to the Lord's Supper, the name is theologically inadequate. "Eucharist" is a sacrificial term indicating thanks, praise, joy, and celebration. It is the human response to God. But the true meaning of Holy Communion is sacramental. The Supper's significance is not in what we say or do but it is what God says and does in Christ. It is not a matter of earth to heaven but heaven to earth. It is Christ who comes to us in bread and wine for our forgiveness and eternal life.
This current term "Eucharist" has for many churches changed the meaning of the Lord's Supper. A change has been made in the chancel. The altar traditionally was placed at the east wall of the church. Now the altar is freestanding and moved to the entrance of the chancel. The altar has been turned into a table to hold the Communion vessels and elements. It is no longer so much a sacrament as a celebration. It is celebrated with joy, praise, and thanksgiving. Repentance is no longer required. There is no need for a confession of sins because there are no sins to confess. If there are no sins to confess, there is no need for forgiveness. This concept of "Eucharist" has led to infant Communion. The leaders of the Protestant Church are insisting upon celebrating Eucharist at each worship service, wedding, funeral, and gathering. Since the traditional service is an hour long, the Eucharist demands a "hurry up" service by cutting the liturgy, shortening the sermon, the use of intinction, lay administrators, abandonment of kneeling at the altar rail, and establishing "stations" in various parts of the church rather than coming to the altar. This is resulting in a mechanical, routine affair with little or no time for meditation and reflection at the altar rail. The Holy Communion has become a routine ritual, doing it as fast as possible in an ex opere operatum manner.
The Five R's Of Holy Communion
To help us remember the meaning of Holy Communion, we can think of the meaning of this sacrament in five words beginning with "R."
1. Remembrance. Twice Jesus said when instituting the Supper, "Do this in remembrance of me." This makes the Communion into a memorial dinner. When we remember (relive) the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we are filled with gratitude and joy.
2. Renewal. The Lord's Supper is a sacrament which binds God and the believer into a personal relationship. Since our sins break the baptismal covenant, we need to renew it. The Lord's Supper is the remaking of the covenant because of our repentance, confession, and reception of the Sacrament.
3. Repentance. The Holy Communion is only for sinners who are sorry for their sins, confess them, and in repentance turn away from them to a more Christlike style of life. Some churches no longer require repentance for admission to the Lord's Table. One church's Sunday bulletin said, "We welcome all baptized Christians who have faith in the real presence of our Lord in the sacrament to come." Just so you are baptized -- no need of repentance! The announcement should have read "repentant believers."
4. Remission. When Jesus passed the cup at the Last Supper, he said, "This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28, KJV). His shed blood and broken body are the proof of his love in forgiving our sins. At the close of the Communion service, repentant sinners leave free of guilt and at peace with God.
5. Reunion. The height of the religious experience in Holy Communion is the reunion with Christ. We have a glorious mystical union with him. We feel and know he is really present in the bread and wine. When we leave the church, we can say, "We have been with Jesus."
The Administration Of Holy Communion
Who is eligible to give the bread (body) and wine (blood) to those who come to receive the Holy Communion? Protestants believing in the biblical priesthood of believers would answer any faithful Christian. However, the church has given this privilege to the ordained clergy to prevent abuses and to control the administration. In the Augsburg Confession of 1530 the privilege was given to the ordained: "It is taught among us that nobody should teach or preach or administer the sacraments in the church without a regular call." The action was not based on the belief that ministers are more holy than lay people. It is done for the sake of good order. The church authorizes clergy at their ordination to preach the Word and administer the Sacraments.
Ordained ministers are expected to lead holy lives and lay people look to the ordained as moral examples to be imitated. If the person administering the body and blood of Christ is not worthy of imitation, damage is done to the faith of the communicant. One of my daughters wrote me some time ago about her trouble communing in her church. A layman administering Communion was having an affair with a married woman in the choir. He is also the chairman of the Administrative Board. His wife gives the children's sermons. This layman had so disturbed her spirit that she considered leaving the church.
What Is Administered?
1. Bread. Jesus distributed bread to the twelve in the Upper Room on the night he was betrayed. He said, "This is my body broken for you." It was unleavened bread in keeping with the Passover meal. Today unleavened bread is appropriate. Leaven puffs up bread. Unleavened bread is flat. It symbolizes humility rather than the leavened bread of pride. Again, Jesus said, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (Matthew 16:6). The leaven represented the wickedness of the religious leaders. The unleavened bread of Communion is the sinless bread of Christ. It is administered to the mouth or the hand. Receiving the bread in the mouth means the person feels unworthy to touch the body of Christ or it symbolizes that the person is a babe in Christ and like a baby, the child of God needs to be fed to the mouth.
2. Wine. Jesus passed a cup of wine to the disciples, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood." Jesus used wine as freely as we drink water. He turned water into wine for a wedding at Cana. While on the cross, he was given wine. Until modern times the church universally used wine for Communion because Jesus did. In the years of temperance and prohibition of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, grape juice was substituted for wine. A Methodist, Thomas Welch of Vineland, New Jersey, offered to donate to the churches unfermented grape juice. Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches began to use grape juice in order to have a nonalcoholic Communion.
The wine is administered by a common cup to symbolize the oneness of Christians in Christ. Jesus passed one cup to the twelve. Because of fear of passing germs, some churches began using small individual cups. To retain the symbolism of the common cup and yet to avoid passing germs, a common cup with a pouring lip was designed. In this case, the pastor filled each cup at the altar rail. A third method is intinction. To shorten the time of administration, the bread was dipped in wine and then administered to the mouth of the communicant.
To receive these elements, it is traditional for the people to kneel at the altar rail. Kneeling indicates humility and unworthiness in the presence of the risen Lord.
Upon receiving bread and wine, the communicant usually responds with an audible "amen" indicating that the person accepts the bread and wine as the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins and union with Christ.
Worthiness To Receive Communion
While I was a young pastor, some of my people neglected to come to Communion because they considered themselves unworthy. My answer to them was, "The Holy Communion is for repentant sinners only." Saint Paul faced the problem of worthiness in the Corinthian church. He wrote, "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner ..." (1 Corinthians 11:27). It is a question also in today's church.
1. Are little children worthy of receiving Communion? Some churches think so. At the 1997 assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, this church took action permitting congregations to administer Communion to children as soon as they are baptized. Can a little child understand the meaning of Communion, or the meaning of repentance and faith? Can a child examine him/herself to see if sin has been committed, as Saint Paul writes: "Examine yourselves and only then eat the bread and drink the cup" (1 Corinthians 11:28)? It can mean nothing spiritually to a child as in the case of little Ellen. She was taken for the first time to church. It happened to be Communion Sunday. Her mother took Ellen with her to the altar and took the elements. When they walked back to their pew, she leaned over to a boy behind her and whispered, "I had a coke!" If a child is worthy of taking Communion the child need not have a "first Communion," catechetical instruction, or confirmation.
2. Are older children worthy of Communion before they are confirmed? Let's assume the child was baptized when an infant. When the child reaches the appropriate age and has received instruction in the catechism, he/she is confirmed. At confirmation the youth accepts the responsibilities of baptism taken for him/her by the sponsors. At confirmation the youth confesses his/her faith and accepts Christ as Savior and Lord. The youth has now fulfilled the human side of the baptismal covenant. Since the Holy Communion is a renewal of the covenant, how can one renew a covenant that was never made?
3. Is a person worthy of Communion only on the basis of having been baptized? In the Sunday church bulletin, a church invites people to the altar on the basis of their baptism. When Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, he said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin." If forgiveness is to be received, there must be confession of sins, contrition for those sins, and repentance for committing the sins. A baptized person can be one who says, "I sin -- so what?"
4. The consequences of communing unworthily are disastrous. Paul writes, "For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves" (1 Corinthians 11:29). The big question is, what is the "body"? Some say it is the church as the body of Christ. Others claim the "body" is Christ. We are eating and drinking the body of Christ, not the church. That is why unworthy partaking of Communion is a "judgment" on us, as Paul described it as making them "weak and ill and some have died." To be worthy of taking Communion, we must come as penitent sinners to be assured of the remission of our sins.
Frequency Of Communion
How often should we receive the Holy Communion? When instituting the sacrament, Jesus said, "Do this, as often as you drink it." Paul adds, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup ..." (1 Corinthians 11:25, 26). "Often" does not tell us the number of times we should commune. In a 1996 study of the rate of Communion in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, it was learned that 21 percent offered it weekly, 15 percent monthly, and 3 percent quarterly.
Today the trend is to offer Communion weekly as a part of the regular worship service. The leadership of some denominations are pushing to have Holy Communion available at all worship services, weddings, funerals, and church assemblies. It is maintained that the sacrament was offered weekly in the early church. Dr. John Reumann, a highly respected New Testament scholar, says in his book The Supper of the Lord, published by Fortress in 1985:
A celebration every Sunday or even daily of what is to be "the central act of worship" for the primitive church is widely asserted. The fact of the matter is that we have little evidence and do not know how often or when Communion was held in the New Testament period, or when, let alone how frequently, believers received the Lord's Supper. The assumption is too easy, however, and to be resisted that every Sunday was a Eucharist, or that every worship service was sacramental. (pp. 47-48)
What is the answer to the frequency of Communion? It is reasonable and necessary to hold that each Sunday the sacrament should be available but not necessarily at the regular worship service when some feel they are expected to partake and are embarrassed to leave when the Communion liturgy begins. Some churches schedule a Communion service every Sunday at an early service, or between services, or after a service.
Is the answer: Come to Communion when you feel the need of it, when you have a need to relieve your guilt, when you have a strong desire to be united with Christ? Taking Communion should never be a routine or ritual matter as just going through the motions and meaning nothing to you. To be meaningful calls for preparation: an examination of oneself, a hunger and thirst for restoring oneself with God through the assurance of forgiveness and union with Christ. This was Martin Luther's position on the frequency of taking Communion. In a sermon of March 14, 1522, he said, "So we do not always find that we are fit [to receive Communion]; today I have the grace and am fit for it, but not tomorrow. Indeed, it may be that for six months I may have no desire or fitness for it [Holy Communion]" (quoted in Lull, Luther's Basic Theological Writings, p. 438).
Study Guide
Holy Communion
Holy Communion Disagreements
Are there any disagreements in your congregation related to Holy Communion? Check your answer(s).
1. ___ Infant Communion
2. ___ Every Sunday Communion
3. ___ Lay administration
4. ___ Longer than one-hour service
5. ___ Understanding of the Real Presence
6. ___ Meditation instead of sermon
Name Of The Sacrament
Which name of the Sacrament do you prefer? Defend your choice. Check your answer.
1. ___ Lord's Supper
2. ___ Holy Communion
3. ___ Sacrament of the Altar
4. ___ Eucharist
The Five R's Of Communion
The Sacrament can be explained in five words beginning with "R." Can you list the five and explain each one?
1. R________________________________________________
2. R________________________________________________
3. R________________________________________________
4. R________________________________________________
5. R________________________________________________
The Supper's Administration
Check your choice:
The person who administers the elements:
1. ___ Self-service
2. ___ Lay person
3. ___ Ordained clergy
The bread -- which do you prefer and why?
1. ___ Loaf of bread
2. ___ Wafer of leavened bread
3. ___ Wafer of unleavened bread
The wine -- which do you prefer?
1. ___ Grape juice
2. ___ Wine
3. ___ Common cup
4. ___ Individual cup
5. ___ Intinction
Worthiness To Partake
If you were the pastor, would you invite the following to the Lord's Table?
1. ___ Sinners
2. ___ Repentant baptized sinners
3. ___ Baptized only
4. ___ Infants
5. ___ Unconfirmed youth
6. ___ Nonmembers of your church
Frequency Of Reception
How often would you like to receive the Holy Communion? Check your answer.
1. ___ Weekly
2. ___ Monthly
3. ___ Quarterly
4. ___ Annually
5. ___ Your need for forgiveness and oneness with Christ
On the other hand, in the history of the church the Holy Communion has been a divisive and controversial subject. For giving the cup to worshipers, John Huss was burned by the church at a stake on the shore of Lake Constance. Luther and Zwingli parted company after disagreeing about the real presence of Christ in the sacrament. Today churches are divided by questions concerning Communion to infants, the frequency of Communion, the use of lay administration, the real presence of Christ in the elements of bread and wine, and the downgrading of the sermon in favor of a weekly celebration of the Lord's Supper.
The Relation Of Baptism To Holy Communion
Baptism and Holy Communion are both Sacraments and means of grace along with the Word of God. Baptism is the original covenant made between God and a believer. Holy Communion is a renewal of the baptismal covenant. Though we at our baptism promised God repentance and faith, we by our sins have not kept the promise. Therefore, the covenant was broken on the believer's part. Though forgiven when baptized, we continue to sin after baptism. Jesus provided the Holy Communion for sins committed after baptism or since the last communion.
Baptism is the sacrament of initiation; Holy Communion is the sacrament of continuation. Baptism is to faith as birth is to physical life; Holy Communion is to faith as food is for physical life. Baptism makes us members of the Kingdom of God; Holy Communion keeps us in the Kingdom. Baptism is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, for adoption occurs only once; Holy Communion is repeatedly received as a guilty heart feels the need of forgiveness.
The Passover And The Holy Communion
The Holy Communion is an outgrowth of the Old Testament Passover (Exodus 12). Before the departure from Egypt, Moses directed that each family should kill a one-year-old male lamb without blemish. A lamb was slaughtered and some of the blood was put on the doorposts and lintel of Jewish homes. "It is the passover of the Lord" (Exodus 12:11). An angel of death was to strike down every firstborn child in Egypt. "When I see the blood, I will pass over you" (12:13). For seven days the Jews were to eat unleavened bread. To this day it is the major annual feast of Jews. It observes the liberation from slavery.
To prepare for the annual Passover meal, Jesus sent Peter and John to prepare the meal in a secret upper room in Jerusalem. During the meal Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper by saying the bread is his body and the wine his blood.
In Saint Paul's time the Holy Communion was celebrated in combination with a meal called "Agape" or "Love Feast." Before the meal the bread of Communion was served. The meal followed and then the cup was administered. Abuses crept in during the meal. Some did not have enough to eat and others became drunk. To solve the problem Paul told the people to eat at home before coming to the Lord's Supper. "If you are hungry, eat at home" (1 Corinthians 11:34).
As the Passover signified the deliverance from bondage in Egypt, the Lord's Supper means our deliverance from the slavery of sin. As the blood of the lamb caused the angel of death to fly over the Hebrew homes, Jesus is the Lamb of God whose blood was shed to deliver us from death resulting from our sins.
Names Of The Sacrament
The Holy Communion is known by several names. Each name gives an understanding of the sacrament.
1. Lord's Supper
The Lord's Supper was the last supper Jesus had with his twelve. It was really more than a supper. It was more like a banquet. Jesus was the host and the food consisted of his body and blood. It was a wonderful feast like none other. This is still today's understanding of this sacrament. The pastor, representing Christ, is the host. He is authorized by the church to serve the food. When the people gather at the Communion rail, it is known as a "table." In recent years the entire congregation is considered one table and the administration is continuous. The Lord's Supper is the time and place to feed the soul with the Bread of Life.
2. Sacrament Of The Altar
The Lord's Supper is also known as the Sacrament of the Altar. This tells us that the Holy Communion is a sacrament, a means of grace. A sacrament is a covenant between God and a believer. The covenant made at baptism was broken by our sin and we need to have it renewed, which is done in the Holy Communion. In receiving the Holy Communion a penitent is restored in his/her relationship with God.
It is called "Altar" because the altar is the symbol of sacrifice. We bring our sacrifice of praise and thanks to the altar. The benefits of Christ's sacrifice on the cross come to us in this sacrament. The physical elements of bread and wine are placed on the altar and the people come to the altar to receive them. Christ serves both as priest and victim that is sacrificed for the sin of the world.
3. Holy Communion
The Sacrament of the Altar is called "holy" because we commune with the holy Jesus. It is also called "Communion," meaning "fellowship" or being one with Christ. It is a mystical union with him as Christ said, "Abide in me as I abide in you" (John 15:4).
If we are to have communion with Christ, he needs to be present in the bread and wine. Denominations differ on the question of the real presence of Christ in the sacrament. First, there is the literal presence of Christ called "transubstantiation." The physical substance of the elements turn miraculously into the body and blood of Christ during the Words of Institution.
A second view is the absence of the presence of Christ. The bread and wine are only symbols of his presence. Then the Holy Communion is a memorial celebration and an act of commitment rather than a means of grace. When Jesus said, "This is my body," it is held that "is" means "signifies." With this view, Holy Communion is an open Communion to all who want to remember Jesus. When Mary McCarthy told Flannery O'Connor that the Holy Communion was only symbolic and could therefore be accepted, O'Connor replied, "Well, if it's a symbol, to hell with it!"
A third view says there is a spiritual presence in the bread and wine. They are the true body and blood of Christ while the physical characteristics remain. In, with, and under the bread and wine is the real presence. It is like an electric iron which one uses. It has a chrome base and a black handle with an electric cord. Before plugging it in, the iron is cold. After plugging it in for a few minutes, it has a new element -- heat! In the same way, the bread and wine are the same, but the presence of Christ comes into the elements. The faith of the communicant acknowledges the presence of Christ in the bread and wine.
4. Eucharist
Since the second Vatican Council held in the 1960s, the name "Eucharist" has become popular among some Protestant denominations. "Eucharist" comes from a Greek word meaning "thanksgiving." When we remember the life, cross, and resurrection of Jesus we have every reason to be thankful to God. As related to the Lord's Supper, the name is theologically inadequate. "Eucharist" is a sacrificial term indicating thanks, praise, joy, and celebration. It is the human response to God. But the true meaning of Holy Communion is sacramental. The Supper's significance is not in what we say or do but it is what God says and does in Christ. It is not a matter of earth to heaven but heaven to earth. It is Christ who comes to us in bread and wine for our forgiveness and eternal life.
This current term "Eucharist" has for many churches changed the meaning of the Lord's Supper. A change has been made in the chancel. The altar traditionally was placed at the east wall of the church. Now the altar is freestanding and moved to the entrance of the chancel. The altar has been turned into a table to hold the Communion vessels and elements. It is no longer so much a sacrament as a celebration. It is celebrated with joy, praise, and thanksgiving. Repentance is no longer required. There is no need for a confession of sins because there are no sins to confess. If there are no sins to confess, there is no need for forgiveness. This concept of "Eucharist" has led to infant Communion. The leaders of the Protestant Church are insisting upon celebrating Eucharist at each worship service, wedding, funeral, and gathering. Since the traditional service is an hour long, the Eucharist demands a "hurry up" service by cutting the liturgy, shortening the sermon, the use of intinction, lay administrators, abandonment of kneeling at the altar rail, and establishing "stations" in various parts of the church rather than coming to the altar. This is resulting in a mechanical, routine affair with little or no time for meditation and reflection at the altar rail. The Holy Communion has become a routine ritual, doing it as fast as possible in an ex opere operatum manner.
The Five R's Of Holy Communion
To help us remember the meaning of Holy Communion, we can think of the meaning of this sacrament in five words beginning with "R."
1. Remembrance. Twice Jesus said when instituting the Supper, "Do this in remembrance of me." This makes the Communion into a memorial dinner. When we remember (relive) the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we are filled with gratitude and joy.
2. Renewal. The Lord's Supper is a sacrament which binds God and the believer into a personal relationship. Since our sins break the baptismal covenant, we need to renew it. The Lord's Supper is the remaking of the covenant because of our repentance, confession, and reception of the Sacrament.
3. Repentance. The Holy Communion is only for sinners who are sorry for their sins, confess them, and in repentance turn away from them to a more Christlike style of life. Some churches no longer require repentance for admission to the Lord's Table. One church's Sunday bulletin said, "We welcome all baptized Christians who have faith in the real presence of our Lord in the sacrament to come." Just so you are baptized -- no need of repentance! The announcement should have read "repentant believers."
4. Remission. When Jesus passed the cup at the Last Supper, he said, "This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28, KJV). His shed blood and broken body are the proof of his love in forgiving our sins. At the close of the Communion service, repentant sinners leave free of guilt and at peace with God.
5. Reunion. The height of the religious experience in Holy Communion is the reunion with Christ. We have a glorious mystical union with him. We feel and know he is really present in the bread and wine. When we leave the church, we can say, "We have been with Jesus."
The Administration Of Holy Communion
Who is eligible to give the bread (body) and wine (blood) to those who come to receive the Holy Communion? Protestants believing in the biblical priesthood of believers would answer any faithful Christian. However, the church has given this privilege to the ordained clergy to prevent abuses and to control the administration. In the Augsburg Confession of 1530 the privilege was given to the ordained: "It is taught among us that nobody should teach or preach or administer the sacraments in the church without a regular call." The action was not based on the belief that ministers are more holy than lay people. It is done for the sake of good order. The church authorizes clergy at their ordination to preach the Word and administer the Sacraments.
Ordained ministers are expected to lead holy lives and lay people look to the ordained as moral examples to be imitated. If the person administering the body and blood of Christ is not worthy of imitation, damage is done to the faith of the communicant. One of my daughters wrote me some time ago about her trouble communing in her church. A layman administering Communion was having an affair with a married woman in the choir. He is also the chairman of the Administrative Board. His wife gives the children's sermons. This layman had so disturbed her spirit that she considered leaving the church.
What Is Administered?
1. Bread. Jesus distributed bread to the twelve in the Upper Room on the night he was betrayed. He said, "This is my body broken for you." It was unleavened bread in keeping with the Passover meal. Today unleavened bread is appropriate. Leaven puffs up bread. Unleavened bread is flat. It symbolizes humility rather than the leavened bread of pride. Again, Jesus said, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees" (Matthew 16:6). The leaven represented the wickedness of the religious leaders. The unleavened bread of Communion is the sinless bread of Christ. It is administered to the mouth or the hand. Receiving the bread in the mouth means the person feels unworthy to touch the body of Christ or it symbolizes that the person is a babe in Christ and like a baby, the child of God needs to be fed to the mouth.
2. Wine. Jesus passed a cup of wine to the disciples, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood." Jesus used wine as freely as we drink water. He turned water into wine for a wedding at Cana. While on the cross, he was given wine. Until modern times the church universally used wine for Communion because Jesus did. In the years of temperance and prohibition of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, grape juice was substituted for wine. A Methodist, Thomas Welch of Vineland, New Jersey, offered to donate to the churches unfermented grape juice. Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian churches began to use grape juice in order to have a nonalcoholic Communion.
The wine is administered by a common cup to symbolize the oneness of Christians in Christ. Jesus passed one cup to the twelve. Because of fear of passing germs, some churches began using small individual cups. To retain the symbolism of the common cup and yet to avoid passing germs, a common cup with a pouring lip was designed. In this case, the pastor filled each cup at the altar rail. A third method is intinction. To shorten the time of administration, the bread was dipped in wine and then administered to the mouth of the communicant.
To receive these elements, it is traditional for the people to kneel at the altar rail. Kneeling indicates humility and unworthiness in the presence of the risen Lord.
Upon receiving bread and wine, the communicant usually responds with an audible "amen" indicating that the person accepts the bread and wine as the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins and union with Christ.
Worthiness To Receive Communion
While I was a young pastor, some of my people neglected to come to Communion because they considered themselves unworthy. My answer to them was, "The Holy Communion is for repentant sinners only." Saint Paul faced the problem of worthiness in the Corinthian church. He wrote, "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner ..." (1 Corinthians 11:27). It is a question also in today's church.
1. Are little children worthy of receiving Communion? Some churches think so. At the 1997 assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, this church took action permitting congregations to administer Communion to children as soon as they are baptized. Can a little child understand the meaning of Communion, or the meaning of repentance and faith? Can a child examine him/herself to see if sin has been committed, as Saint Paul writes: "Examine yourselves and only then eat the bread and drink the cup" (1 Corinthians 11:28)? It can mean nothing spiritually to a child as in the case of little Ellen. She was taken for the first time to church. It happened to be Communion Sunday. Her mother took Ellen with her to the altar and took the elements. When they walked back to their pew, she leaned over to a boy behind her and whispered, "I had a coke!" If a child is worthy of taking Communion the child need not have a "first Communion," catechetical instruction, or confirmation.
2. Are older children worthy of Communion before they are confirmed? Let's assume the child was baptized when an infant. When the child reaches the appropriate age and has received instruction in the catechism, he/she is confirmed. At confirmation the youth accepts the responsibilities of baptism taken for him/her by the sponsors. At confirmation the youth confesses his/her faith and accepts Christ as Savior and Lord. The youth has now fulfilled the human side of the baptismal covenant. Since the Holy Communion is a renewal of the covenant, how can one renew a covenant that was never made?
3. Is a person worthy of Communion only on the basis of having been baptized? In the Sunday church bulletin, a church invites people to the altar on the basis of their baptism. When Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, he said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin." If forgiveness is to be received, there must be confession of sins, contrition for those sins, and repentance for committing the sins. A baptized person can be one who says, "I sin -- so what?"
4. The consequences of communing unworthily are disastrous. Paul writes, "For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves" (1 Corinthians 11:29). The big question is, what is the "body"? Some say it is the church as the body of Christ. Others claim the "body" is Christ. We are eating and drinking the body of Christ, not the church. That is why unworthy partaking of Communion is a "judgment" on us, as Paul described it as making them "weak and ill and some have died." To be worthy of taking Communion, we must come as penitent sinners to be assured of the remission of our sins.
Frequency Of Communion
How often should we receive the Holy Communion? When instituting the sacrament, Jesus said, "Do this, as often as you drink it." Paul adds, "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup ..." (1 Corinthians 11:25, 26). "Often" does not tell us the number of times we should commune. In a 1996 study of the rate of Communion in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, it was learned that 21 percent offered it weekly, 15 percent monthly, and 3 percent quarterly.
Today the trend is to offer Communion weekly as a part of the regular worship service. The leadership of some denominations are pushing to have Holy Communion available at all worship services, weddings, funerals, and church assemblies. It is maintained that the sacrament was offered weekly in the early church. Dr. John Reumann, a highly respected New Testament scholar, says in his book The Supper of the Lord, published by Fortress in 1985:
A celebration every Sunday or even daily of what is to be "the central act of worship" for the primitive church is widely asserted. The fact of the matter is that we have little evidence and do not know how often or when Communion was held in the New Testament period, or when, let alone how frequently, believers received the Lord's Supper. The assumption is too easy, however, and to be resisted that every Sunday was a Eucharist, or that every worship service was sacramental. (pp. 47-48)
What is the answer to the frequency of Communion? It is reasonable and necessary to hold that each Sunday the sacrament should be available but not necessarily at the regular worship service when some feel they are expected to partake and are embarrassed to leave when the Communion liturgy begins. Some churches schedule a Communion service every Sunday at an early service, or between services, or after a service.
Is the answer: Come to Communion when you feel the need of it, when you have a need to relieve your guilt, when you have a strong desire to be united with Christ? Taking Communion should never be a routine or ritual matter as just going through the motions and meaning nothing to you. To be meaningful calls for preparation: an examination of oneself, a hunger and thirst for restoring oneself with God through the assurance of forgiveness and union with Christ. This was Martin Luther's position on the frequency of taking Communion. In a sermon of March 14, 1522, he said, "So we do not always find that we are fit [to receive Communion]; today I have the grace and am fit for it, but not tomorrow. Indeed, it may be that for six months I may have no desire or fitness for it [Holy Communion]" (quoted in Lull, Luther's Basic Theological Writings, p. 438).
Study Guide
Holy Communion
Holy Communion Disagreements
Are there any disagreements in your congregation related to Holy Communion? Check your answer(s).
1. ___ Infant Communion
2. ___ Every Sunday Communion
3. ___ Lay administration
4. ___ Longer than one-hour service
5. ___ Understanding of the Real Presence
6. ___ Meditation instead of sermon
Name Of The Sacrament
Which name of the Sacrament do you prefer? Defend your choice. Check your answer.
1. ___ Lord's Supper
2. ___ Holy Communion
3. ___ Sacrament of the Altar
4. ___ Eucharist
The Five R's Of Communion
The Sacrament can be explained in five words beginning with "R." Can you list the five and explain each one?
1. R________________________________________________
2. R________________________________________________
3. R________________________________________________
4. R________________________________________________
5. R________________________________________________
The Supper's Administration
Check your choice:
The person who administers the elements:
1. ___ Self-service
2. ___ Lay person
3. ___ Ordained clergy
The bread -- which do you prefer and why?
1. ___ Loaf of bread
2. ___ Wafer of leavened bread
3. ___ Wafer of unleavened bread
The wine -- which do you prefer?
1. ___ Grape juice
2. ___ Wine
3. ___ Common cup
4. ___ Individual cup
5. ___ Intinction
Worthiness To Partake
If you were the pastor, would you invite the following to the Lord's Table?
1. ___ Sinners
2. ___ Repentant baptized sinners
3. ___ Baptized only
4. ___ Infants
5. ___ Unconfirmed youth
6. ___ Nonmembers of your church
Frequency Of Reception
How often would you like to receive the Holy Communion? Check your answer.
1. ___ Weekly
2. ___ Monthly
3. ___ Quarterly
4. ___ Annually
5. ___ Your need for forgiveness and oneness with Christ
