SERMON BY PASTOR JOHN HOLLIS

OCTOBER 1, 2006

"ONE CUP, ONE BREAD, ONE BODY"

Today is World Communion Day. It is appropriate that we concentrate our thoughts on communion as it appears in our text from First Corinthians. The idea of communion or fellowship is well illustrated in this portion of Scripture.

The word communion appears only four times in the New Testament (KJV) and not at all in some versions. However, the Greek word from which it is translated appears several times. It is most often translated fellowship.

It is probably from our text that we get the term communion to describe what we often call the Lord's Supper.

We are often asked about the frequency of observing the Lord's Supper or Communion. Should we partake every Sunday? Should we partake monthly or quarterly? Some churches have communion every Sunday; some once a month; some quarterly; and some do not have it at all. Are some churches right and others wrong?

The practice I followed for years was to observe the Lord's supper (very seldom was it called communion) every Sunday. The church I grew up in was often chided for having the Lord's Supper every Sunday. The idea set forth was that the supper would become just a ritual to go through each week, and it would become so common that it would not mean anything. In turn, we would chide those who chided us that they were wrong in not observing the Lord's Supper every week.

It is well-known that we have communion every Sunday in our early in the morning service. I don't believe that anyone thinks that it has become just a common thing and an expected ritual through which we go each Sunday. One thing is certain, when we eat this supper we should do so with dignity and reverence.

Through the years the frequency of partaking of the Lord's Supper and the day on which it is to be observed have been often discussed. However, it is not intended in this lesson to dwell on these thoughts but to look at the meaning of being part of the one cup, the one bread, and the one body.

There are three terms used to refer to the eating of the bread and the drinking of the cup: The Lord's Supper, Communion (Holy Communion) and The Eucharist.

Let us first dwell on the Lord's Supper. Perhaps it is called this because it was ordained by Him. Mark's record of the institution of the supper is found in 14:22-25. "And while they were eating, He took some bread, and after blessing He broke it; and gave it to them, and said, 'Take it; this is my body.' And he took the cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them; and they all drank from it. And He said to them, 'This is My blood of the covenant, which is to be shed on behalf of many. Truly I say to you, I shall never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.'" This was, of course, when he was eating the Passover feast with his disciples just prior to his death. Since this was a meal eaten as a supper, it would be natural to call the meal instituted at that time a supper.

I believe that it is also significant that Jesus said he would not eat this supper with them again until he would eat it in the Kingdom of God. This would be the last Passover with the disciples; it would the last time to eat and drink with them until the Kingdom would come in its glory. The significance of this is that a change was coming: a change from remembering a deliverance from Egyptian bondage to a remembrance of a deliverance from Sin. This deliverance would be accomplished through his body and blood.

This meal of remembrance was called "the Lord's Supper by the apostle Paul in First Corinthians 11:20. The body of believers at Corinth were having some problems. They were divided over different matters. Thus, when they gathered to eat the Lord's Supper, they couldn't do so in an appropriate manner because of the factions that had formed in their midst. They were not observing this memorial supper with dignity and reverence. Paul called upon them to do some self-examination before they ate the supper: "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup."

This supper would prepare the people of God for the marriage supper of the Lamb. Jesus used parables to teach his disciples about the marriage of the Lamb. In Matthew 22:2-14 is one of these parables. "The Kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son." The wedding feast was prepared, the invitations sent, but those who were invited did not come to the wedding feast. The king then said: "The wedding is ready, but those who were invited are not worthy." He turned to others and invited them to the wedding. Another parable is found in Matthew 25:1-13, where the wise and foolish virgins were separated, and only the wise were allowed to greet the bridegroom and go with him to the wedding feast. And so it is that in Revelation 19:7, 9 we read: "'Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.'. . . 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" The Lord's Supper prepared the disciples for the marriage supper of the Lamb, inasmuch as they remembered his death and suffering for them.

The second term used to refer to the eating of the bread and drinking of the cup is communion. This word comes from the Greek koinonia. This word is most often translated as fellowship. In Acts 2:42, "They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship,. . ." In 1 Corinthians 1:9, "God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, . . ." In 2 Corinthians 8:4 it is translated participation: "Begging us with much entreaty for the favor of participation in the support of the saints." In Galatians 2:9 Paul and Barnabas were given the "right hand of fellowship, that we might go to the Gentiles." Other passages are Philippians 1:5 and 1 John 1:3. Sometimes the word partnership is used instead of "fellowship" or "participation."

From these references, we get a clear understanding that communion is more than eating bread and drinking grape juice. There is a sharing that takes place that goes beyond mere association. It is possible for us to associate with one another in eating the bread and drinking the cup and never have fellowship or communion with each other.

Fellowship is often used to refer to a common meal, and this is a legitimate use of the word; but when we speak of fellowship - communion - with reference to the Lord's Supper it carries a deeper meaning. Charlie Brown says that every time he hears the word fellowship he smells coffee. In thinking about this, we often refer to our time in the parlor visiting, eating cookies and drinking juice or coffee as a time of fellowship. But not all of us are involved. Does this mean that we are not in fellowship with those who are not there? Certainly not. But in eating the Lord's Supper we are in fellowship with every child of God wherever he or she may be.

Communion is to share. There is a difference in sharing and in merely associating with one another. We may associate with a person of unsavory character, but this does not mean that we share in his conduct. In our text Paul wrote: "Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?"

Deepak Chopra, M.D. in his book Ageless Body, Timeless Mind uses this illustration: "Imagine two candles standing about three feet apart on a table in front of you. To your eyes they appear separate and independent, yet the light they cast fills the room with photons; the entire space between them is bridged by light, therefore there is no real separation at the quantum level. Now carry one of the candles outside at night and hold it up against a background of stars. The pinpoints of light in the sky may be billions of light-years away, yet at the quantum level each star is just as connected to your candle as the second candle in the room; the vast space between them contains waves of energy that bind them." So it is in sharing the cup and the bread; the meaning of these material elements creates a fellowship - communion - that time and space cannot eliminate.

To fellowship we must be a partaker of what is shared. The body we share in the bread is the body of the cross; and neither time nor space diminishes that sharing. The same is true of the cup we share being the blood shed at the death of Jesus. Neither time nor space diminishes that sharing. There is an unbreakable linkage between the body and blood and our righteousness from God; just as there is an unbreakable linkage in the light of the candle and the stars.

There was a failure on the part of the Corinthians to see the significance of the one cup, one bread, one body: they failed to see the significance of sharing. Paul deals with this at length in the eleventh chapter of his first letter to the church in Corinth. He wrote: "But in giving you this instruction, I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you; . . . For there must also be factions among you, . . .Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper, for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk." This situation did not portray the real meaning of the sharing of the one cup, one bread, one body. It was impossible for them to eat and drink that which symbolized oneness and be divided as they were. Therefore, Paul instructs them that each one needed to examine himself and then let him eat.

The third term used to refer to the Lord's Supper is Eucharist. This comes from the Greek eucharistos, which means "thankful, or "being thankful."

This word eucharist is found in many places in the New Testament. For instance, in Ephesians 5:20 we read: "Always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father." Again in Colossians 3:15 we read: "And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful"

Granted, it may be difficult to be thankful for all things as Paul instructs us; but when we come to realize what we share in the bread, the cup and the body, it becomes easier for us to lay aside the burdens and cares of life and touch each others' lives as we share the love and grace of God in the bread and the cup. It is in this sharing that we come to know more fully the peace of Christ and began to let it rule in our hearts. And this realization evokes the greatest praise of thanksgiving.

Again the apostle uses the term eucharist in Philippians 4:6. "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." In Colossians 2:7 Paul writes of their "overflowing with gratitude." Is there anything that will cause us to overflow with gratitude more than to remember how God has fully forgiven us in Christ's body? Isn't it wonderful that we can turn loose of all our anxieties when we remember the cross? When we share the body and blood in remembrance, we are not anxious about anything; we overflow with gratitude.

Let us hear some more about this thanksgiving - this euchrist. "Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name." (Hebrews 13:15). ". . . give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever." (Revelation 4:9). "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen." (Revelation 7:12).

As we gather around this table this morning, what thanksgiving shall we give? Have our hearts been truly touched with the one bread and one cup as they bring to our remembrance the one body and one blood so graciously given that we might live. Are we truly grateful?

The Lord's Supper, the Communion, the Euchrist - whatever we call it; however often we partake of it; let us keep the sharing of God's love and grace flowing from one to the other. May that unbreakable linkage always be between us and God and between us and all of God's children.

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