Dear Grace Family,
This weekend marks the 4th Sunday that we are unable to gather together in-person to worship the Lord together and joyfully practice the “one another” commands that God has lovingly given us. Though normal life and normal church as we know it have been overturned for now, we believe that Jesus is building His church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18)… and we are His church! On the other hand, we are “walking with a limp” right now, as there is pain and discomfort in our extended separation from one another.
This reality will sink in a little deeper this Sunday. Most would recognize that we traditionally celebrate the Lord’s Supper together on the first Sunday of each month, in an attempt to do it regularly as a consistent reminder of Jesus’ death, which paid the price in full for our forgiveness and redemption. You will find that many churches will work to adapt their normal practices to online formats and other creative measures, including the Lord’s Supper. We, too, have worked to provide continuity of studying the Word together, and a means of worship; yet, we will not be making the same provision for the Lord’s Supper. I want to help you understand why.
First, we must understand the nature of the Lord’s Supper.
It doesn’t depend on any pastoral blessing, and the bread and juice don’t become Jesus’ body and blood, or anything more than what they are. These are symbolic representations, rather than a repeated sacrifice (Hebrews 7:27) or the mystical presence of Jesus. We eat and drink them as a memorial, just as the Passover was eaten as a memorial of the Holy Spirit’s final plague at the exodus which brought Israel to their deliverance from Egypt. The Lord’s Supper is our memorial of what God already accomplished through His Son on the cross, which brought us to deliverance from sin and death.
Second, we must see the Lord’s Supper as very serious.
That doesn’t mean that if we don’t celebrate it together, we will lose favor with God. We don’t depend on the Lord’s Supper for more favor with God. And yet, it is a weighty and special time as a church to pause, and remember together through action, eating and drinking. We are warned of the need for self-examination (1 Corinthians 11:27-29). We must participate in the Lord’s Supper with careful thinking and great thanksgiving (1 Corinthians 11:24) – because we are proclaiming the Lord’s death together (1 Corinthians 11:26)!
Third, we believe that God has given the Lord’s Supper to the church to celebrate together.
Note the repeated phrase, “when you come together” (1 Corinthians 11:17, 18, 20, 33, and 34). They weren’t having the Lord’s Supper at their family tables in the isolation of their homes; this was done in the fellowship of one another, when they came into one another’s presence! This is also why we often call the Lord’s Supper “communion” – from 1 Corinthians 10:16, where that word occurs twice. The word means fellowship, partners in, or participation together. We are actively engaging in a memorial of the gospel, remembering Christ’s death together!
With these in mind, any form of replicating communion from the isolation of our homes, even if we join together through digital means, would be absent of the beauty and power of what it is to participate together in the memorial of Christ’s death in bodily presence with one another. So we wait, not neglecting Jesus’ command to “do this in remembrance of [Him]”, but with a holy discontent that we are without the regular, personal fellowship that God has provided us in being the body of Christ, and eagerly longing for the time when we will unite in person once more – as the Apostle Paul expressed from house arrest, “For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:8). So let us feel the pain of one another’s absence, but let us limp forward to do all we can to worship together in spirit and in truth, and serve one another with frequent contact through phone and email and constant prayer for one another. And let us do all in remembrance of the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Love in Christ,
Pastor Luke