"....Take, eat; this is My body." (Matthew 26)
We know from the John 6 text that the command to, "Take, eat", was more than just some religious observance to later be institutionalized in a religious spirit, a spirit which is based on "coming and going" theology. This, "Take, eat", is a part of the continual life in Jesus to which John 6 invites us. Jesus tells us, "This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."
The "communion service" is, and has been from the beginning, a central part of the Church. But how easily humanity takes Life and makes it ceremonial, even to the extent of the superstitious. When our Lord Jesus calls us to, "Take, eat; this is My body", He is calling us into the most intimate of relationship in the Godhead. Luke's version of the Last Supper tells us that Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of Me." The word for, "remembrance," means, "recalling, reminder," not some sort of "memorial," which usually speaks of some event, mostly in the distant past.
1 Corinthians says that when we partake of the bread and wine we, "proclaim the Lord's death til He comes," i.e., appears again. When we, "Take, eat", we are "sitting" at the table continually in Jesus, not just, "in remembrance," but as 1 Corinthians 10:16 says, "Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the Blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?"
I have never fully understood, and still do not fully understand the mystery of, "Take, eat; this is My Body," nor of, "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him." But I can tell you that I glory in the reality and invitation to, "Take, eat...." What glorious, "participation."
Father, in Jesus' Name, though I do not fully grasp the invitation, I come to the banquet. Amen.
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New articles at: jhs58.blogspot.com
We know from the John 6 text that the command to, "Take, eat", was more than just some religious observance to later be institutionalized in a religious spirit, a spirit which is based on "coming and going" theology. This, "Take, eat", is a part of the continual life in Jesus to which John 6 invites us. Jesus tells us, "This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."
The "communion service" is, and has been from the beginning, a central part of the Church. But how easily humanity takes Life and makes it ceremonial, even to the extent of the superstitious. When our Lord Jesus calls us to, "Take, eat; this is My body", He is calling us into the most intimate of relationship in the Godhead. Luke's version of the Last Supper tells us that Jesus said, "Do this in remembrance of Me." The word for, "remembrance," means, "recalling, reminder," not some sort of "memorial," which usually speaks of some event, mostly in the distant past.
1 Corinthians says that when we partake of the bread and wine we, "proclaim the Lord's death til He comes," i.e., appears again. When we, "Take, eat", we are "sitting" at the table continually in Jesus, not just, "in remembrance," but as 1 Corinthians 10:16 says, "Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the Blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?"
I have never fully understood, and still do not fully understand the mystery of, "Take, eat; this is My Body," nor of, "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him." But I can tell you that I glory in the reality and invitation to, "Take, eat...." What glorious, "participation."
Father, in Jesus' Name, though I do not fully grasp the invitation, I come to the banquet. Amen.
********************
New articles at: jhs58.blogspot.com
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
