Communion

I hope that I can express this as well as it is in my mind. I was reading in I Cor. 10 and came across something new to me about Communion. As a former Baptist, I grew up where Communion was something you did once a quarter and it was purely symbolic and nobody made much of a deal about it. I have also been in Catholic and Episcopal churches where it is done every week but it is so routine that there is no power in it. Surely there is something more.

Well in I Cor. 10:2-4, Paul talks of the Israelites in the desert and being fed by the spiritual food manna and the spiritual drink which was water from the rock. He then says that the rock was Christ. It dawned on me that this was a type of Communion and that the people partook of the food and drink and participated in the substance of Christ. In verses 14-22 he emphasizes the idea of participation. In so doing they identified themselves with God, agreed (or covenented) to follow God and to worship Him alone.

There are three views fo the nature of Communion. One is that the bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Christ. A second view is that the bread and wine are purely symbolic and have no inherent power. A third view which I think is more realistic is that it is somewhere in between. I think that there is something mysterious and powerful when we come together for Communion that is beyond symbolism. That is why Paul is so emphatic in 11:27-32 about being careful when you partake. I cannot explain exactly what happens but I feel that when we partake that we too are identifying ourselves as God's people, we are agreeing to follow only Him and we are committing to worship Him alone. One imperfect analogy might be wedding vows. When we state them, they are more than just symbolic jestures, but a real commitment to the other person, and in a real mystical sense (Eph. 5:31-32) they are joined together as one.

The Greek word for Communion is koinoneia which means to hold in common, to fellowship with or to share. So when we partake Communion we are sharing in the person of Christ and fellowshipping with Him. So next time you take Communion, pause to reflect on the profound mystery that it is and glory in the fellowship with the Son.