Read: Psalm 103; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Cor. 11:26)
The celebration of the Lord’s Supper was a solemn occasion in my boyhood church. The Communion table was covered with a white linen cloth, removed just before the sacrament. The Communion liturgy that explained the meaning of the sacrament was long and full of Reformed theology. The reason for all the seriousness was the apostle’s warning that if you eat and drink in an unworthy manner you bring judgment upon yourself (v. 27). That matters, but Paul wasn’t talking about making some sort of mistake in sacramental theology. The problem in Corinth was that wealthy members of the church were “despising” the “body” of Christ, i.e., the whole congregation. “In eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?” (vv. 20-22).
I’m grateful for those services I grew up with. I grew to love the liturgy for the Lord’s Supper with its clear statement of all that Jesus did for us and how he unites us to himself as we eat the bread and drink the cup. The service wasn’t all solemnity though. We always ended with joyful thanksgiving, as we recited responsively from the “Communion Psalm,” Psalm 103. It resonates with the love and grace that we experienced in celebrating the Lord’s Supper.
As you pray, thank God for his righteousness, mercy, and forgiveness, found in Jesus Christ.
David Bast is a writer and pastor who served for 23 years as the President and Broadcast Minister for Words of Hope. In his more than 40 years of devotional writing and preaching, he has been encouraging believers around the world to be shaped by God and his Word.
Prior to his ministry and work at Words of Hope, Dave served as a pastor for 18 years in congregations in the Reformed Church in America. A graduate of Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, he is the author of nine devotional books and Bible studies, including God of My Days,Why Doesn't God Act More Like God,Christ in the Psalms, andA Gospel for the World.
Dave and his wife, Betty Jo, have four children and eight grandchildren. Dave enjoys reading, growing tomatoes, and avidly follows the Detroit Tigers.
