It never ceases to amaze me how vitriolic we Reformed folks can be towards those who believe and worship differently than we do. If pressed for an answer for why we are like this, I would say that it is because we like to "principlize" our traditions. We do things a certain way and we like to think that we do those things for good reasons. If you don't follow the consensus, you are wrong, even if your reasons for doing so are grounded in logical deductions from Scripture. Okay, victim rant over.
One such issue that seems to draw much ire is the interval at which we celebrate the Lord's Table (the Lord's Supper, Communion, the Eucharist, or whatever you call it). I hold to a view often called Weekly Communion. To some people it is a non-issue, but how often you celebrate the Table says quite a bit about the value you place upon it. Many churches celebrate it as rarely as once a year. Many churches celebrate it quarterly. Such infrequent observance often shows a relative disregard of the sacrament. It just isn't that important to some people. On the other hand, there are many people who celebrate it so infrequently because of their high esteem for it and the amount of preparation required to celebrate it. There is no way, they reason, that you can observe it properly if you do it weekly. Here are my reasons for supporting weekly (at least) observance of the Lord's Table.
1) I need it. It's really that simple. If Christ did not tell us an exact interval at which to celebrate the Table, then we are free to celebrate it as often as spiritual wisdom and Biblical principles dictate. Why would we not celebrate it as often as possible? The Table is a means of grace. It is a picture of the death of Christ on behalf of His people. It is a tool that God uses to build my faith and to call me to repentance. I personally need to be reminded of fresh forgiveness every week. Now, I'm not saying that the Table is the only way to do that, but it is a way that was instituted by our Savior. God works through the means that He has instituted. There is a power in these means of grace that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. We should utilize them as often as possible.
2) Can you proclaim Christ's death too often? Seriously. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11 that we proclaim the Lord's death as often as we celebrate the Lord's Table. The Table is a visible Gospel. When we observe it, we are telling the world what Christ did. It seems to me that we should do that as often as possible. We preach the Gospel every week, right? Why not observe the Table as well? As a bit of an aside, it seems strange to me that there are many Sabbatarians who do not support Weekly Communion. How can you believe that we are called to set aside every Sunday because of Christ's Resurrection, and yet not celebrate His death every week through weekly communion? It seems strange to me.
3) It's unifies the Church. Singing unifies the body. Praying unifies the body. Preaching even unifies the body. Everything that we do in worship ought to unify us. The Table does so in a powerful way. Perhaps this is part of the problem. We observe the Table in a very individualistic way. It's all about me and Jesus. Let me tell you, the Lord's Table is not all about you and Jesus. It's about us and Jesus. That is what the Table is supposed to picture. We all partake of one loaf and one cup because we are all one body by virtue of our mutual Savior. If you are one with Christ and I am one with Christ, then we are one with each other. That's how the Church works. The Lord's Table is one of God's tools to build the unity and camaraderie of the Church. As we see our mutual helplessness and the provision of God, our hearts are knit with the bond of love (Colossians 3:14).
Those are three quick reasons that I hold to weekly communion. Many different objections have been raised to my sort of logic. Let me address two of them.
Objection #1: It will make it too "routine." Let me ask you, how often do you eat food? Does it become routine for you? How often do you read the Bible? How often do you kiss your wife (you better answer every day!)? Do those things become routine because of how often you do them? Maybe they do, in a way. They become routine in the sense that you get to the point where you can't live without them. Life isn't the same if you miss one of them. That's how the Lord's Table is. Trust me, if you spend years and years having communion every week, you notice when you don't have it. It may become a part of your routine, but that doesn't mean it become rote. Weekly Communion doesn't make the Table any more routine than praying or kissing your wife daily makes those things routine. It makes them special and precious.
Objection #2: Weekly communion doesn't allow for proper preparation. This one actually deals with two problems. Firstly, it assumes the naval-gazing concept--that the Lord's Table is all about self-loathing and intense contemplation of our sin. That's a topic for another day, but just let me say that, while we are to come to our Lord's Table aware of our own sin, we are to come joyfully, eager to receive of His bounty. Understanding the celebratory mindset of the Table facilitates Weekly Communion. Secondly, this objection assumes that we could not perform such introspection weekly. That's actually an argument for Weekly Communion. Forcing ourselves to prepare for Communion weekly calls us to repentance and faith every single Sunday. It reminds us of our sin every week and then reminds us of the grace of God that overcomes that sin. Are we simply not willing to bear that obligation? If so, we may have a negative view of the sacrament. It is supposed to be a blessing, and not a burden.
The Bible does not explicitly tell us how often we should observe communion. What it does tell us is that we must do it. You must abide by your conscience, but I find the reasons in favor of observing it as often as possible to be insurmountable.
One such issue that seems to draw much ire is the interval at which we celebrate the Lord's Table (the Lord's Supper, Communion, the Eucharist, or whatever you call it). I hold to a view often called Weekly Communion. To some people it is a non-issue, but how often you celebrate the Table says quite a bit about the value you place upon it. Many churches celebrate it as rarely as once a year. Many churches celebrate it quarterly. Such infrequent observance often shows a relative disregard of the sacrament. It just isn't that important to some people. On the other hand, there are many people who celebrate it so infrequently because of their high esteem for it and the amount of preparation required to celebrate it. There is no way, they reason, that you can observe it properly if you do it weekly. Here are my reasons for supporting weekly (at least) observance of the Lord's Table.
1) I need it. It's really that simple. If Christ did not tell us an exact interval at which to celebrate the Table, then we are free to celebrate it as often as spiritual wisdom and Biblical principles dictate. Why would we not celebrate it as often as possible? The Table is a means of grace. It is a picture of the death of Christ on behalf of His people. It is a tool that God uses to build my faith and to call me to repentance. I personally need to be reminded of fresh forgiveness every week. Now, I'm not saying that the Table is the only way to do that, but it is a way that was instituted by our Savior. God works through the means that He has instituted. There is a power in these means of grace that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. We should utilize them as often as possible.
2) Can you proclaim Christ's death too often? Seriously. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11 that we proclaim the Lord's death as often as we celebrate the Lord's Table. The Table is a visible Gospel. When we observe it, we are telling the world what Christ did. It seems to me that we should do that as often as possible. We preach the Gospel every week, right? Why not observe the Table as well? As a bit of an aside, it seems strange to me that there are many Sabbatarians who do not support Weekly Communion. How can you believe that we are called to set aside every Sunday because of Christ's Resurrection, and yet not celebrate His death every week through weekly communion? It seems strange to me.
3) It's unifies the Church. Singing unifies the body. Praying unifies the body. Preaching even unifies the body. Everything that we do in worship ought to unify us. The Table does so in a powerful way. Perhaps this is part of the problem. We observe the Table in a very individualistic way. It's all about me and Jesus. Let me tell you, the Lord's Table is not all about you and Jesus. It's about us and Jesus. That is what the Table is supposed to picture. We all partake of one loaf and one cup because we are all one body by virtue of our mutual Savior. If you are one with Christ and I am one with Christ, then we are one with each other. That's how the Church works. The Lord's Table is one of God's tools to build the unity and camaraderie of the Church. As we see our mutual helplessness and the provision of God, our hearts are knit with the bond of love (Colossians 3:14).
Those are three quick reasons that I hold to weekly communion. Many different objections have been raised to my sort of logic. Let me address two of them.
Objection #1: It will make it too "routine." Let me ask you, how often do you eat food? Does it become routine for you? How often do you read the Bible? How often do you kiss your wife (you better answer every day!)? Do those things become routine because of how often you do them? Maybe they do, in a way. They become routine in the sense that you get to the point where you can't live without them. Life isn't the same if you miss one of them. That's how the Lord's Table is. Trust me, if you spend years and years having communion every week, you notice when you don't have it. It may become a part of your routine, but that doesn't mean it become rote. Weekly Communion doesn't make the Table any more routine than praying or kissing your wife daily makes those things routine. It makes them special and precious.
Objection #2: Weekly communion doesn't allow for proper preparation. This one actually deals with two problems. Firstly, it assumes the naval-gazing concept--that the Lord's Table is all about self-loathing and intense contemplation of our sin. That's a topic for another day, but just let me say that, while we are to come to our Lord's Table aware of our own sin, we are to come joyfully, eager to receive of His bounty. Understanding the celebratory mindset of the Table facilitates Weekly Communion. Secondly, this objection assumes that we could not perform such introspection weekly. That's actually an argument for Weekly Communion. Forcing ourselves to prepare for Communion weekly calls us to repentance and faith every single Sunday. It reminds us of our sin every week and then reminds us of the grace of God that overcomes that sin. Are we simply not willing to bear that obligation? If so, we may have a negative view of the sacrament. It is supposed to be a blessing, and not a burden.
The Bible does not explicitly tell us how often we should observe communion. What it does tell us is that we must do it. You must abide by your conscience, but I find the reasons in favor of observing it as often as possible to be insurmountable.
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