“Do this in remembrance of me”

There is no higher or more meaningful worship experience for those of us who are Christians than when we come to The Lord’s Table to take the bread and cup. No one should ever participate in this special hour of worship without giving serious thought to the price Jesus paid that we might be redeemed.

I will never forget a Lord’s Supper service that I scheduled several years ago in a Wilmington nursing home. Knowing how long it had been since Christian residents there had been able to celebrate communion, I carried the elements one Sunday morning especially for them. Sitting before me in wheel chairs were about twenty-five residents. After sharing what it means to take the bread and cup “in remembrance of Christ,” the elements were passed. Sitting on the front row side by side were two ladies, one white and one black, both well above eighty. The white lady, a wealthy Episcopalian, was a college graduate; the black lady, a Baptist, possibly had not finished high school. Both had tears streaming down their cheeks. Beautiful! Powerful!

There were so many differences between them – their background, their level of education, the color of their skin etc. But as believers in Jesus Christ they had all things in common. In taking the bread and cup, they were sisters, family members. I remember that Lord’s Supper service as vividly as if it were yesterday.

The Lord’s Supper will likely be scheduled in your church prior to Easter Sunday. I pray that you will attend, and that you will grasp the full meaning of those deliberately chosen words spoken by our Lord to His disciples the night before He was crucified, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me” (II Corinthians 11:24). And likewise the words He spoke as He passed the cup, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me” (I Corinthians 11:25-26).

God’s Word says that those to sit at The Lord’s Table should first examine themselves. Your worship experience will have its greatest meaning if, prior to taking the bread and cup, you will ask yourself the following questions, all of which are based on the seven cardinal sins:

Pride: Have I failed to demonstrate genuine humility? Been self-assertive? Self-indulgent? Opinionated? Done anything that would damage my church? Been scornful or contemptuous?

Anger: Have I been impatient with my family or with others? Been overbearing, cruel or sarcastic? Hurt others in any way, bodily, or spiritually? Yielded to vengeful or jealous thoughts – sullenness, hatred, rage, or irritability?

Lust: Have I entertained impure thoughts or been involved in impure acts?

Sloth: Am I diligent in my work? Am I addicted to laziness? Indolent in thought? Slack in devotion? Faithful in attending worship? Careless or casual in fulfilling my responsibilities?

Envy: Do I show love to persons around me? Or do I cherish grudges, old scores, and hatreds? Discontent? Peevishness? Nagging? Resentment of all unfairness? Sour disposition? Cynicism?

Avarice: Have I acquired anything, money or goods, by unfair or unjust means? Failed to pay anything that should be paid? Kept any possession belonging to others? Failed to give God what is due Him in time, money and service?

Gluttony: Have I been guilty of overindulgence? Spent too much on self? Neglected self-discipline?

 

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