About Communion

 

Why do we take Communion every Sunday?

Each week, the LifeSprings family observes the Lord’s Supper as a “Thanksgiving of Deliverance”. According to Scripture in Luke 22:19, Jesus said to, “Do this in Remembrance of Me.” As we note, there are three parts to the Hebrew meaning of the word, “Remembrance”.

  1. A recollection of a historical past based on redemptive facts. Not on mythic cycles of gods in primeval history. Redemptive history is linked to real time and space.
  2. To point out its meaning and significance for the present moment.
  3. To point out our human need for divine activity.

Redemptive history is eternal; as such, we are invited to participate in it now.

Divine remembering does not mean that God has forgotten, but to bring about the significance of the past deliverance to be contemporary for our present need.

Remembrance invites us to be present participants to see salvation as “our own story”. It is not us being transported to the past of redemptive history, but rather it being transported to us in our time.

‘Todah’ in the Hebrew Bible

There are 32 instances of the word, ‘Todah’ (meaning: thanksgiving offering) in the Hebrew Bible and it is divided into three categories:

  1. Thankful praise toward God
  2. Singers who rendered worship in church
  3. A thanksgiving of deliverance from an enemy with a sacrifice with family and friends of joyful praise of the account of the deliverance.

The purpose of Todah was not for sorrowful confession of sin but rather for joyful celebration of God’s provision of deliverance from which the worshipper had benefited. Here, we have three scriptural references describing this premise:

  1. Psalm 111:5, 9
  2. 1 Corinthians 11:26
  3. Matthew 26:26-28

This is My Body and Blood

While they were eating, Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it and broke it. Then he gave it to his followers and said, “Take this bread and eat it; this is my body.” Then Jesus took a cup and thanked God for it and gave it to the followers. He said, “Every one of you drink this. This is my blood which is the new agreement that God makes with his people. This blood is poured out for many to forgive their sins.

Our Lord’s body and blood is the bedrock of Christianity. His body and blood are also known as sacraments. Sacraments is a word derived from the Latin word sacramentum which means -i n.: legal , [money deposited by the parties in a suit]; hence [a civil suit, legal process]; milit. [oath of allegiance]; hence [an oath or solemn promise]. It simply means promise. We are guaranteed of these promises when we partake of His body and blood. In addition, the real spiritual presence of Christ is in the sacraments when the office of the priest blesses them.

For more information on this topic please read: “Rediscovering the Eucharist,” by Roch A. Keresty