What is Holy Communion and why should we celebrate it?
Holy Communion is also known as the Lord’s Supper, the Remembrance Feast, and the Breaking of Bread. The institution of this feast is found in Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, and Luke 22:19-20. What a simple request from Someone who has done so much! The Lord has requested that we spend time in remembrance of Him by partaking of a simple loaf and a simple cup…symbols that speak to us of His body and blood given for us to save us from our sins.
In the book of Acts, we see that the Lord’s redeemed ones remembered the Lord on a daily basis. We read in Acts 2:46-47, “And they, continuing DAILY with one accord in the temple, and BREAKING BREAD from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” In this book of transitions, we see later that the first day of the week was set aside to remember the Lord. Acts 20:7 tells us, “And upon THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, when the disciples came together to BREAK BREAD, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.”
The Lord impressed upon Paul to expound on this remembrance meeting in 1 Corinthians 11:23-32, “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”
Paul warns us that we should partake of these emblems in a ‘worthy manner’, by ‘discerning the Lord’s body’, when we participate in this remembrance feast. We should never ‘eat of that bread, and drink of that cup’ with no thought as to its meaning. Some were being very careless…partaking of the bread and cup without even thinking about its purpose. For this reason, the Lord caused some to become sickly and some even died. This shows the seriousness of this time of communion. It would seem easier and safer just to refrain from remembering the Lord in this manner, but we are taught in verse 28 to examine ourselves (make sure our hearts and minds are on the Lord while participating) and then “eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.” This pleases the Lord.
Why should we celebrate or partake of this time of communion, or remembrance of the Lord? Simply put, we do it because the Lord asked us to. As I stated earlier, He who has done so much has asked so little of us. Is the Lord worthy of the occupation of our hearts and minds as we are gathered together to honor His request to be remembered? Oh yes! He is MORE THAN WORTHY! May we all learn to count it a privilege to be in the Lord’s presence and remember Him as He has asked us to. May we do it often! There is no better time spent for the believer than to be in thought and remembrance of our precious savior who loved us and gave Himself for us. (354.6)