Communion

1CO 11:23-25 ….. The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."

I was thinking about communion a while ago, preparing to give a talk before a communion service at a Church where I was an associate Pastor. What is communion? Well, it's a time when we come together to remember what Christ has done for us, I thought. But that then begs the question, what is it that Jesus would have us remember? What is it that Christ came to achieve? What is it that He came to do? Why did He have to die? And is the death of Christ the entire picture or is it a very important piece of a larger picture? Is the death of Christ where it all happened – or did something happen when the Son of God became a human? What follows is the talk I eventually prepared for the communion service as a result of my ponderings.

Many years ago, I taught an Alpha course. The Alpha course is run by an English Minister named Nicky Gumbel. It is designed as an introduction to the Christian faith, to be used either to instruct new Christians or as an evangelistic tool. One night on the course, I decided to ask the group a simple yet vital question; why did Jesus come to earth? What was the point of the Incarnation? The unanimous answer was this; that Jesus came to die. The only reason He was born was so He could die. And I was really quite disappointed with that answer. Because Jesus came to earth to do something mind bogglingly spectacular for you, and for me, and indeed for the whole human race; something beyond His death. Now, His death is of course a most vital part of this mission. Far be it from me to marginalise the cross; that’s not what I want to do. But, equally, I don’t want us to so focus on the cross, that we don’t see what else is going on here. I don’t want us to have tunnel vision so that we have eyes only for the cross, and miss the staggering reality of what has happened in Christ 2000 years ago.

The question on the table for us all is this; did Jesus come to save us from our sins? The answer to this question is not as simple as it may seem. On the surface, it appears we could simply answer the question with a resounding, YES! But I would like to answer more tentatively. If the question is phrased, ‘Did Jesus save us from our sins?’ then I agree, the answer to the question is a resounding YES. But if the question ‘Did Jesus come to save us from our sins’, is phrased or asked in such a way that it implies that this is the only reason that He came, then I must answer the question by saying no. Yes, Jesus Christ saved us from our sins, but that was not why He came. He came to achieve something far greater. If we were going to name Jesus Christ's mission to earth the way the military names their missions, like Operation Desert Storm for the Gulf war, Jesus mission would not be labelled Operation Sin Saver. It would be called Operation Adoption. Or to put that another way, Jesus’ death on the cross serves a higher purpose, it isn’t the purpose itself. His death on the cross is a piece, albeit the most important piece, but a piece nontheless of a bigger picture. It serves the purpose of our adoption as sons and daughters into the family of God.

Earlier I said that Jesus did not come only to save us from our sin, He in fact came for something far greater. And I could see in many of your eyes, that you were thinking that I was a few fries short of a McHappy meal. I mean after all, what on earth could be greater than being saved from our sin? Well, I’ve just told you – adoption, adoption. What good does it do to have your sin dealt with, if that’s the end of the story? Are you with me? Let me explain a little better. Let us assume for example, that my son Samuel was not my son at all, but rather he was adopted. Now in order for that adoption to take place, there would be some things that needed to be taken care of. Some paperwork, some legal mumbo jumbo and whatever else. So I take care of the paperwork and whatever else because I want my Son with me. My purpose is not the paperwork and legal mumbo jumbo. I really have no interest in that at all. My purpose here is that Samuel should be brought out of his old existence and brought into fellowship with me. My purpose here is that Samuel should be given a share in something that he has no right to share in. I want him to have his own room in my house. I want him to play in my garden. I want him to share in my very life. So I only have an interest in the paperwork and the mumbo jumbo because they are necessary to achieve my goal. If I didn’t want Samuel in my family, I wouldn’t do the paperwork. The paperwork doesn’t interest me.

Likewise, if I do take care of the paperwork and the legal mumbo jumbo, but I leave it there and don’t actually draw Samuel into my life – what good has the paperwork done? What good does forgiveness do, unless it is serving the higher purpose of adoption? Can you see what I am saying now? Forgiveness is grand, but adoption is far far greater. Forgiveness, doesn’t really excite me. Being drawn into God’s family and sharing in His divine life – now that’s exciting. And my forgiveness only excites me insofar as it serves the higher purpose of my inclusion that life. We don’t come to the communion table merely to celebrate our forgiveness – we come to celebrate our adoption into the family of God. We come to celebrate that we are participants in a life beyond our own – a life that we have no right to partake in, except that God wanted us there and that He wouldn’t have it any other way. We come to celebrate that we have a home in the very heart of God. This is the meaning of communion. We have communion with God. We are in face to face fellowship with Jesus and His Dad.

This is what Jesus would have us remember as we partake in communion.