Did you know that eating processed meats like bologna and pepperoni have been linked to memory loss? That’s a real bummer because most of the meat that I like is processed. I love Vienna sausages, hotdogs, pepperoni, and many other types of processed meat. Which might explain why I can’t remember names to save my life. It’s not just names, I forget about birthdays, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, and a bunch of other important dates. But I’m not alone in this. Mankind as a whole tends to forget important events with the passing of time.

 

Which is exactly why God in His infinite wisdom commands us to remember a certain event every first day of the week. “The Lord’s Supper,” “the Lord’s Table,” “the Cup of Blessing,” “Communion,” and “the Breaking of Bread” each are descriptions used in scripture that refer to the act of remembering the body and blood of Jesus on the first day of the week. In the early church it was also called “the Eucharist” or “the giving of thanks” (Matt. 26:27).

 

What is the Lord’s Supper? Every week Christians observe it, and most of us know what it is. It’s a time to pause and think about the sacrifice of Christ. We do it every week and for good reason since we tend to forget important events. God commands us to participate in this act every week as a church so that we can always be thankful and remember what Christ did for us.

 

What can sometimes be an issue is that if we aren’t careful, it can be easy to let it turn into a mindless habit. What should we be doing during the communion?

 

Scripture gives us many different aspects of the Lord’s Supper that should be taken into consideration when we stop to remember the sacrifice of Jesus.

 

Matthew 26:26-29 Jesus commands us to “eat” the bread, and “drink” the cup. We are commanded to eat the bread which represents His body, and drink the cup which represents His blood.

 

As we fulfill the command to “eat” and “drink,” our minds must be completely engaged in a thorough remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice (1 Cor. 11:24-25). What do we think about during this time? The sinless and perfect life Jesus lived that made Him an acceptable solution for our sin problem. His willingness to go to the cross. The crucifixion. Specifically His body that was pierced and beaten, and His blood that poured from His wounds. Blood that has the power to forgive our sins. The burial AND resurrection because none of this would’ve meant anything if Jesus stayed in the tomb.

We should remember Christ’s right hand position in heaven that now gives us access to the Father. And we are to remember the common bond we now have as a church.

 

1 Corinthians 10:16 describes the Lord’s Supper as a “participation.” Paul uses the Greek word koinonia which means “a sharing or fellowship.” As a church we have fellowship in the blood and body of Christ. Verse 17 tells us that the “many are one” because there is only one body (Christ) that brought us together. We are united by the body of Christ.

 

The next time we observe the Lord’s Supper let’s be sure to dwell on these things; Remember every aspect of Christ’s sacrifice, remember where He is now, and remember the unity we now share with each other.