Grapevine Ministries
Messages from the bible to uplift and encourage those that need a word from the Lord, to strengthen their faith. Ps Phillip Barker is an itinerant pastor in Perth, Western Australia.
Grapevine Ministries
The Sacred Meal: Understanding Communion's True Meaning
What lies at the heart of communion? Beyond the bread and wine, beyond the ritual and tradition, what sacred truth awaits those who participate with genuine understanding?
The practice of communion originated directly from Jesus's actions on the night of his betrayal. Taking bread and wine, he established a powerful physical reminder of his impending sacrifice, commanding his followers to continue this practice "in remembrance of me." For over two millennia, believers worldwide have honored this directive, though their methods may differ—some use wafers instead of bread, some juice instead of wine, some dip while others drink, some celebrate weekly while others quarterly.
What matters most isn't the method but the meaning. When we participate in communion, we engage in a multidimensional spiritual experience: looking back to Christ's sacrifice, examining our present hearts, and anticipating the future wedding supper of the Lamb. As Scripture reveals, communion isn't merely something we do—it's something being done to us, a means through which Christ becomes spiritually present, nurturing our faith and uniting us as one body.
Anyone can partake in communion anywhere, provided they approach with a discerning heart. Don't become distracted by others or by church traditions that might seem exclusionary. Instead, focus on the powerful truth that through these simple elements, we remember and receive Christ's sacrifice made for us.
Discover the profound significance of communion this Easter. Subscribe to hear more insights that will deepen your spiritual understanding and enrich your faith journey.
Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are in the world - Welcome to Grapevine Ministries.
As we approach Easter, it's time to actually look at something different. So what is communion and why do we do it? As a parent of two kids and two grandchildren, I'm often asked the question why, why this, why that? I wish I could say I'm always how would you put it? Always thoughtful and patient with my response, but the honest truth is that I'm not. More often than not, I'd like to admit. My reply goes something like this it's just what we do, not helpful. I know. Maybe you know the feeling, the irony, of course, a lot like my kids and I like to ask why and why is it this way? Is really an answer? I'm satisfied. This response was the very response that first led me my search that ultimately led me to the Lord and my faith 35 years ago. So you could thank those nuns for that, because you know it wasn't always that way. You know the nuns and the priests, so sometimes, but not always, it's just what we do can lead us on a journey.
Speaker 1:I think many of us take a communion at church or at home fall into the same category. It's just what we do and yet, if we're honest, we might not really know what it is and why we do it. If that's you, then you aren't alone. I went through a time when I also thought that sort of thing myself. I thought that sort of thing myself, and the other thing with that is that if we're 100% honest with ourselves, how many of us want to actually get an answer other than that's just the way it is, or that's what we do. You just accept it, and it doesn't matter what faith you've got. It doesn't matter, and I'm not going to go name in ones, because if I miss some then they're going to get offended and it's the same sort of thing. It's just this you know the gerbil on the wheel. He just keeps running and going around in circles and he thinks he's getting somewhere, but he's not. So sometimes we do that and we don't want to be embarrassed to think that we don't know.
Speaker 1:But as we approach Easter, I think it's the importance and the need to understand communion and why we should undertake it. It's a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice done by our Lord and Saviour, but that's about as basic as it gets. A reminder of the ultimate sacrifice done by our Lord and Saviour, but that's about as basic as it gets. So, at a basic level, communion, also called the Lord's Supper. But what I want you to do is I want you to turn your books to 1 Corinthians. Let me see where I want to go. Let's get this right so I don't mess it up.
Speaker 1:1 Corinthians 11.20. If you've got your Bibles, please turn with us to that. This is what 1 Corinthians 11.20 says. So then when you come together, it is not the Lord's supper you eat, for when you are eating, some of you go ahead with your own private suppers. As a result, one person remains hungry and the other gets drunk.
Speaker 1:Now this talks about the two sacraments instituted by Jesus. The other one is baptism. Jesus established communion on the night that he was betrayed, as he ate a meal with his disciples. Now just go back a little bit further. Go back to Matthew 26. While they were eating, jesus took bread and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying take, eat, this is my body. He gave it to them, saying drink from it. All of you, this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for you, for many, for the forgiveness of sin. So if we refer to this as the Eucharist, which originates from the Greek word meaning Thanksgiving.
Speaker 1:In the celebration of the Eucharist, bread and wine become the body and the blood of Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit, and come and can be done alone or instigated by anyone in a group or a church setting, and is a guarantee, god's promise to us. This is one of the things that a lot of people actually get wrong straight away is they think that it has to be done by the pastor, the priest or the leader of the church. Anybody can take communion at any time, as long as they do it in the correct manner, and it can be done on your own, with your family, in a small group setting or in a large setting or in a church. See, the simple answer to this is that the Greek word to thanksgiving, which makes sense because in communion we give thanks for Jesus and for what he has done, the bread we eat and the wine that we drink symbolize, or symbolize jesus body and the blood given for us. The simple answer is that jesus commands us to do this.
Speaker 1:Let's look at, uh, luke 22, 19 to 20. Luke 22 19 to 20. And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it and gave it to them. This is my body given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after the supper, he took the cup, saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. See, the main thing is that some manuscripts or some Bibles say you know, not have given you, but poured out for you. But he's saying do this in remembrance of me. When he's saying, do this, you've got to look at that as being a commandment. This is what Jesus is telling us to do.
Speaker 1:And so, for more than 2000 years, christians all over the world have been doing exactly that gathering together, exactly that gathering together, eating and drinking wine or juice. Why, in remembrance of him, it's not just a ritual we do to remember what Jesus has done for us. No, well, not exactly when we take communion together. It's not merely about what we do when we eat the bread and drink the wine. Something is being done to us as well. Christians have long debated what exactly is being done At the cross.
Speaker 1:We believe that when we take communion together, jesus is really spiritually present in the bread and in the wine, meaning that when we eat and drink of those things, we receive Jesus and the promise he makes to us in faith. Now, what are those promises? Jesus promises to forgive us our sins, right Now. Don't trust me for this. Let's look at it from another perspective. Let's go to Matthew 26, 28.
Speaker 1:From another perspective, let's go to Matthew 26, 28. Matthew 26, 28, if you're there says this this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin. All right, we go a little bit further. When Jesus is talking about him being present with us, we see that in 1 Corinthians, 10, 16, and 17. 1 Corinthians, 10, 16, and 17 says this Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we gave thanks, our participation in the blood of Christ, and is not the bread that we break, our participation in the body of Christ because there is one loaf. We who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. We who are many are one body, for we all share the one loaf. And just to further strengthen us, it grows us and helps us preserve the following. And we go to John 6, 53 to 58.
Speaker 1:Jesus said to them Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise them up for at the last days, for my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in them, just as the living father sent me and I live because the father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. Now that pretty well sums it up.
Speaker 1:So what should you or I be doing during communion? Now, as a pastor, this is one of the questions I'm asked the most about communion. I get it. I remember having the same questions when I was younger. It's awkward and it's uncomfortable when it seems like everyone else knows what they're doing and you don't. And to make even more confusing, different churches celebrate communion in different ways. I'll give you an example. At some churches, they dip the bread into the wine or the juice, and they do that about once a month on a regular basis, on a regular basis. Other churches will use wafers instead of bread, juice instead of wine, or drinking it instead of dipping. Now I know that since COVID, a lot of people are extra careful and they have your little portable ones which have the wafer on the top and they just hand them out and you do it on your own. Some of these churches and different organizations they do communion every week or once a quarter, that's okay. Do communion every week or once a quarter, that's okay. That's more important, what happens in your heart and in your mind as you take communion? It's not necessarily how it's done.
Speaker 1:Taking communion reminds us to look back. When we eat the bread and we drink the wine, we do so in remembrance of Jesus. Now, once again, let's go look at Luke 22, 19. So I'm making sure that you know that it's not me. Okay, this is what the Word of God says. Okay, this is what the word of God says. Luke 22, 19 says and he took bread, gave thanks and broke it and gave to them saying this is my body given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. It's very clear. And, more specifically, we're reminded of the sacrificial death Jesus was willing to endure on our behalf. But we also need to look inward. It's very important.
Speaker 1:The Apostle Paul says that everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat the bread and drink the cup, and we go back to 1 Corinthians 11.28. So I'm making sure this all lines up with scripture. So you know, it's not me how I do it or how anything else is doing it. 1 Corinthians 11 28 says this everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink of the cup. Communion reminds us that Jesus' death was necessary because of sin, our sin, and so when we take communion, it's an opportunity for you to search your heart, confess your sin and ask God for forgiveness to you. The good news is that he will.
Speaker 1:Now a lot of people, or should I say a lot of church organization means if now I'll go back to an earlier thing. I thought, when you're talking about um taking communion uh, some people call it the eucharist uh, some of it talk about how, um, it is the sacrifice that we do there's two things that we need to do, and that is taking communion and being baptized. Okay, water, baptism, these are the two commandments that are there, but the thing to remember is that you're not excluded from any group because you haven't done something within the church body and if you feel uncomfortable doing it in that church because it says like hypothetically oh if you haven't had your first communion or done this or done that, please don't come up and take the elements. What you should do is just spend some time in prayer where everybody else is doing it and then, when you go home, do your own communion. That's my own personal take on it all right, that's what I would do.
Speaker 1:An often forgotten aspect of taking communion is when people look around eating and drinking of the bread and the wine can feel intimidating and a private moment between you and God, and to some extent it should be. Communion is also more than that. So this is why I'm saying is that you need to make sure that you discern your heart. Paul reminds us that because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body, for we all share the one loaf. That's 1 Corinthians 10-17, where it says because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body, for we all share the same loaf. So you are entitled, everybody is entitled to share it. So you are entitled, everybody is entitled to share it. We don't need to worry about what other people are thinking or saying or whatever. In other words, communion isn't meant to be done privately, but you still can do this. Rather, it is to be a celebrated event together, as one body, a community of believers joining together, unified by Jesus.
Speaker 1:But it doesn't mean that you can't do it on your own, and that sometimes happens for a variety of reasons. So these are key indicators, but do not take this out of context and say, oh well, I have to do it at the church or I have to do it the way that they do it. No, sometimes myself and my wife take communion together just the two of us and the Lord. It's how you discern the body. That is more important than anything else. And it is as important that you do celebrate the sacrifice made by him for us. And that's what Easter is about. It's not a solemn time of oh, this was terrible. Yes, we know it was terrible and he endured a lot, but he endured that for us.
Speaker 1:So, lastly, when we're taking communion, I want you to look forward. After Jesus gave his friends the cup of wine, he said to them I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it in the new kingdom of God. That's Mark 14, 25. So let's just read that again Mark 14, 25. So let's just read that again Mark 14, 25. And this is what Jesus is saying Truly. I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new, in the new kingdom, that is, when he returns and comes to be with us. He will return and come and be with us In that moment.
Speaker 1:Jesus was looking forward to another meal, a future meal in the coming kingdom, where believers from every tribe, tongue and nation will gather together to celebrate God's final work of salvation and restoration. And why do we know this? Let's go right to the very end and we look at Revelation 19, 6 to 9. This is what it says. Then I heard that sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud pearls of fun, the shouting of rushing waters and like loud pearls of thunder shouting hallelujah for our lord, god almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory, for the wedding of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. Fine, fine linen, bright and clean was given her to wear. Then the angel said to him Write this Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb. And he added these are the true words of God. It doesn't make it any more clearer than that when you take communion, you too can look forward to the promise of this future, this future meal with hope and expectation.
Speaker 1:So how does taking communion impact your life? Following Jesus is a long journey, and God knows that every one of us will need encouragement and strength along the way. Sacraments are the means by which God does that. Taking communion doesn't make you a Christian, but it does give you the nourishment you need as you follow Jesus. And so the next time you eat the bread and drink the wine, use it as an opportunity to renew your trust in Jesus and to reflect on the promises he's given you.
Speaker 1:And remember, when we take communion together, it is not just something we do. It's a physical reminder that Jesus has done what he has done and is doing something to us and for us. The reason he went to the cross is so that we could celebrate knowing that he is there for us each and every day. So I hope this gives you a better understanding of what communion is and what it's really all about. And so next time that you are invited or asked to take communion, you know that you're discerning his body and it's what's in your heart that is more important, and don't look around at what everybody else is doing or or how're doing it.
Speaker 1:Just take that moment to pray quietly and make that so special to you that when you take the bread, you know that that is what Jesus did at the cross for every sickness and disease that is in the world. That is what Jesus did at the cross for every sickness and disease that is in the world. And when you drink of the wine, remember that he shed his blood for you and for all of mankind, for the remission of sin. So as you do this, you know that he has done it all at the cross. So as we get closer to Easter, I want you to reflect on that and get a better understanding of communion and why we do things a particular way. If it doesn't line up with the word of God, then as far as I'm concerned, it's not really walking with Jesus. All right, well, god bless for now, and we'll see you next week here on Grapevine Ministries. Okay, you all take care, god bless. Bye for now.
