Check back soon
Once posts are published, you’ll see them here.
What is the costliest meal that you have ever eaten? Perhaps you have been to a very expensive restaurant (the kind that does not even have the prices listed!). I once took Genee on a date for Valentine’s Day without first investigating the price of the meal. After taking one glance at the menu we graciously snuck out of the restaurant by pretending we were going to the bathroom! Whatever the cost of your most exquisite meal, it probably does not compare with a celebration dinner about which I recently read. In October 1971, the Shah of Iran invited 60 kings, queens and heads of state to celebrate the 2,500 years of the Persian Empire. The cost of the celebration was $100 million!
While it is difficult to imagine what a meal such as this could possibly involve, this is still not the costliest meal in human history. Without question, the meal in which we will be celebrating today, as we do periodically as a church throughout the year, is of much greater cost. Every time that we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we are reminded that this meal would cost no less than the very life of God’s own Son. While the elements of bread crumbs and grape juice are certainly inexpensive, our participation in this sacred event would be impossible and ridiculously inconceivable had Jesus Christ not invited us to His table by His own sacrifice on the cross.
In a recent article by Pastor Ryan Shelton, he describes why our church’s regular practice of the Lord’s Supper is so important to our faith and our fellowship.
The Lord’s Supper reminds us of our hunger.
In our day, a new word has arisen from the emotional distress that can be associated by going several hours without food. We can become “hangry.” In comparison to many around the world who do not have access to food, most of us have never experienced a real crisis of hunger. However, we have all experienced the desire to have our stomachs filled. It is a daily reminder of just how dependent we are for sustenance outside of ourselves. When we gather to share in the Lord’s Supper, we are symbolically reminded, even by our sense of taste, that we are utterly dependent upon God. Specifically, we are desperate for fellowship with Jesus Christ. Jesus told the crowds who followed him that they needed him like they needed food: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53).
The Lord’s Supper reminds us of intimacy.
Who we choose to eat and drink with reveals our loyalties. Eating — or not eating — with someone makes a statement. We who were once God’s enemies (Romans 5:10) have been reconciled into his family, invited to dine with King Jesus as a reminder of our newfound intimacy with him and each other. When we share this meal, we are signifying a community in Christ.
The Lord’s Supper reminds us of anticipation.
The morsel of bread and drink we share in our worship services remind us that these elements are only appetizers for the “feast of rich food, full of marrow, of aged wine well refined” which we await (Isaiah 25:6). Every meal satisfies us in Christ, and yet mysteriously awakens a greater hunger for the promised consummation. We gather to eat and drink because we are waiting for Christ’s glorious return.
So enjoy this time in the Lord’s Supper today. Remember Christ’s sacrifice and reflect upon His love. Let it motivate you to total consecration to His call. Regardless of what you eat later today, this week, or for the rest of your life, this is the costliest meal you will ever have.
Jason