A Communion Devotional
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
Luke 22:19
Jesus told us, His followers, to remember Him.
He didn’t say, “Remember your sin”. He didn’t say, “Sit there and think about what you’ve done”. For years, I thought that quieting and preparing my heart for taking communion with my church sisters and brothers meant thinking about all that I had done wrong, confessing it to God, asking for forgiveness, and then partaking in the bread and juice. It often felt like a heavy, sad time. Repentance is certainly one of the gifts of coming to the table, but what did the Savior actually say?
In re-reading the words of Jesus, I see that He asks us to remember HIM.
Jesus knew that if we truly remembered Him, the Lamb of God, we would run from sin. We wouldn’t be able to stand the stench of it. Like coming in after a long day of work outside, or sitting around a campfire, and getting cleaned up. After the bath or shower you pick up those clothes you were wearing and think, how could I have been wearing these horrible things and not notice the smell!?
In a similar way, when we remember Jesus, we flee from our sin. We want nothing to do with it. The more we see His light, the more we recognize the darkness, and turn from it.
What a gift He gave us in this command, to remember Him. (How many heavenly gifts come in the form of a command?)
Remember who He was on earth, and still is today. Remember what He has done, that despite how we may feel the fact remains – the work is done. It is finished.
REMEMBER Him walking to Jerusalem from Galilee, followed by crowds, teaching and healing.
REMEMBER Him in the Garden, drops of blood forming from the incredible pressure of what He was about to do.
REMEMBER Him before Pilate, telling the truth while Pilate washed his hands and turned away.
REMEMBER Him with the heavy burden of the cross on His shoulders, struggling to Golgotha.
REMEMBER Him thirsty, exhausted, gasping for a breath on that Roman cross, yet still looking out for his mother.
REMEMBER His words of grace to the thief that hung beside him. “Today you will be with Me in paradise”.
REMEMBER Him crying out, “Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit!” and dying, the perfect Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.
Take a moment, now, to remember Him.
The second gift of communion is Restored Relationship.
There is a call, an opportunity, for healing relationships with others in your church as we remember we are all God’s children, brothers and sisters in Christ. At the table we may be prompted to seek forgiveness and mend brokenness.
The Holy Spirit may ask us to walk through this open door to say “I’m sorry” to family members or friends, seeking wholeness and figuratively coming to the table hand in hand.
And most significantly, communion is a place to restore our relationship with Jesus. As we remember Him, He takes His rightful place as first in our lives, and we feel His grace and know His love once again.
Remembrance, Repentance, Restoration
Communion is a beautiful, sacred doorway where we can leave our burden of sin behind and walk through in restored freedom. However, we can’t walk through that door while still heading in the same direction as our selfishness and sin. Unrepentant hearts bring sickness into the whole Body. I believe this is why we are called to repent and remember together, corporately, as a whole church community. As we repent and remember together, both individual relationships and the church body can be restored. Restored to each other, and restored to Christ.
As we approach the cup and the bread, let’s thank Jesus for these three gifts – the gift of Remembering, the gift of Repentance, and the gift of Restoration.
“Do this in remembrance of Me.”
Stories for Humans 