Jacob Moore’s Reviews > The Lord's Supper: Remembering and Proclaiming Christ Until He Comes > Status Update

Recently a friend told me a church in which many people would not take Communion.. Their apprehension was not based on sin or refusal to repent - it just seems most people could not find enough worthiness in themselves to take the Supper.. The problem with introspection is that it only leads us back to ourselves.. What we all need to hear is "You are not worthy. But Christ is and his body and blood make you worthy."

Calvin: "The flesh of Christ is like a rich & inexhaustible fountain that pours into us the life springing forth from the Godhead into itself. Now who does not see that communion of Christ's flesh & blood is necessary for all who aspire to heavenly life?"

Bromley on Zwingli (241): "Zwingli had no intention of denying a spiritual presence of Christ in the sacrament [of the Lord's Supper] . . . This presence certainly means that the communion is more than a "bare" sign, at any rate to the believing recipient."

Luther: The words are the first thing, for without the words the cup & the bread would be nothing. Further, without bread & cup, the body & blood of Christ would not be there. Without the body & blood of Christ, the New Testament would not be there. Without the new testsment, forgiveness of sins would not be there. Without forgiveness, life & salvation would not be there... All this the words of the Supper offer.

The Lord's Supper is here likened to the joyous experience of being kissed by one's beloved. This loving communion that Christ has with His people through the Eucharist, Ambrose further likens to the beloved coming into his garden & drinking his wine with milk (Song 5:11). This is nothing less than Christ giving his people forgiveness of sins & their subsequent inebriation in Spirit... A glorious inebriation.

We may ask then, "Why the Passover?" There are many significant holy days Jesus could have chosen to associate with his death ... Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, etc... Each of these would have been appropriate and Christ-connections can be made for each of them... Jesus clearly chose when to enter Jerusalem... All of this intentionally aligned His last week with the celebration of Passover. Why?

Baptists need to establish ... observance so it is no longer a ... hurried appendage to a lengthy sermon... We must seek balance & discover the missing jewel of worship. In doing so, we must place the Lord's Supper in the center of our understanding of worship, for nothing is able to help us celebrate the work of Christ ... or enable us to experience His presence ... as does the regular observance of the Supper.