Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my communion meditation today is "Participation." I read from 1 Corinthians 10:14-22 (NIV). All Scripture quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) and are used with permission.
14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 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? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.
18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? 19 Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
In this passage of Scripture, the Apostle Paul is very clear, a Christian should "flee from idolatry." Paul explains to Christians why they should not partake of the sacrifice on the table of demons by showing them what it means when a Christian partakes of the emblems that represent the sacrifice of Jesus on the Lord's table. Basically, Paul is saying that you cannot partake at the table without participating in the sacrifice. If you're in a pagan temple eating meat offered to demons, then you're participating with demons. At no time would that practice be acceptable for a Christian, and don't kid yourself by thinking that participation is just a matter of conscience. If you're assembling with Christians as the Lord's table, then you are participating with Jesus. When a Christian drinks the cup of thanksgiving from the table of the Lord, one participates in the blood of Christ. In Jesus' own words, the cup "is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." In participating, we remember that we have been forgiven by the blood of Christ. When a Christian eats the bread that we break from the table of the Lord, one participates in the body of Christ. We acknowledge that we are all part of one body, the church. Idols come in all shapes and sizes in today's world, and the Christian has to be careful that we are not mistakenly throwing our lot in with them to our own peril. One preventive remedy is to regularly assemble at the table of the Lord to remember Jesus and His sacrifice for us. Let us pray.
Abba, Father. Today we bless and set aside this bread and the fruit of the vine in this cup to remember Your Son, Jesus. We know that the bread represents His body that was nailed to the cross, and the fruit of the vine represents His blood that He shed for us. As we pour out the wine from the cup, we are reminded of how Jesus poured out His own blood that our sins might be forgiven. Abba, Father. All of us left our culture and its practices to accept Jesus as Lord, and perhaps we did not appreciate the gravity of some of these practices. Coming to know Jesus shined His light in our darkness and exposed everything for what it was. We are thankful for that as our desire is to live for Jesus and be good examples to our brothers and sisters in the Lord and our neighbors in this world. As we partake of the bread and drink from the cup, we remember Jesus, His suffering, and how He saved us. We are thankful that we have this time with the Lord, and are continually reminded of what is most important in our lives. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26:26-28 (NIV).
26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” Let us partake of the bread.
27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Let us partake of the cup.
And the assembly of believers said, "Amen!"
Until next time, from Numbers 6:24-26, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
Artist's Note: If you have questions about the Lord's Supper, I invite you to visit my website, https://eatthisbreaddrinkthiscup.com, for a brief overview. The Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast is listed in most podcast directories, and I invite you to add my podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. There is a written transcript that accompanies each podcast, and you are free to use the transcript in accordance with US copyright law. My prayer is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!
