MAY 31

1 Corinthians 11:24-34
Memorise Revelation 19:7
“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him… ”

Today’s reading gives an account of Jesus teaching His disciples how they ought to commemorate His death on the cross the night He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, and this is what Christians continue to do today. However, participating in the Lord’s Supper is more than just an exercise in commemoration and remembrance; it is a sacrament that we ought to observe in obedience to Jesus and in the presence of His spirit.

The Roman Catholics believe that the bread and cup magically become Jesus’ actual flesh and blood. This is transubstantiation. The Lutherans, however, believe in consubstantiation whereby Jesus’ flesh and blood are present in, with and under the bread and wine. Some worshippers take the position of mere symbolic commemoration where believers gather to commemorate Jesus’ work on the cross. All these views of the Lord’s Supper are to be rejected.

While we are commanded to commemorate Jesus’ death on the cross, participating in the Lord’s Supper is a spiritual exercise rather than and intellectual or even an emotional one, and this is done in the spiritual presence of Christ. Those who participate in it must do so prayerfully and with deep reverence, failing which sickness, or even death may ensue (1 Corinthians 11:30). This means that the very same attitude we take during worship whereby we must have no unconfessed sin, no ulterior motive and no distraction also applies here.

When we talk about a departed person that we have high regard for, we do so respectfully. We would not speak ill of such a person in public even though he was never perfect and had his flaws. We should therefore participate in the Lord’s Supper with an even greater reverence, knowing that Jesus, unlike other mere humans, was perfectly sinless and yet He willingly laid His life down at the cross for our transgressions. When we keep the Lord’s Supper, we are reminded of his precious life which was given for our sins, and we look forward to the day of His return.

Thought: The Lord’s Supper draws me ever nearer to my Saviour in a world intent on denying His very existence.
Prayer: I thank You Lord for going to the cross for my sake out of love and not obligation. Help me to love You more and more each day in return.