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THE TRUE MEANING OF COMMUNION. CAN I HAVE COMMUNION IN MY
HOME? Originally, Jesus did not intend communion to be as formal
and stiff necked as it is today. Man is responsible for
making it that way, not Christ. When Jesus wanted us to
learn something, he spoke so that even a child could
understand. If it was not yet time for us to know
certain things, he spoke in parables.
The first communion happened after dinner with the
disciples. Jesus broke the bread (tore it in half -
simulating his body being broken for us) and
passed it around. It was not the little mini crackers or
Styrofoam wafers that resemble "poker chips" that are
substituted in some churches today, it was just bread.
(I’ll explain the reason for that later)
Similarly, Jesus had a cup full of wine (no it was
not grape juice) and he passed it around and everyone
drank from the same cup. Jesus did not make one of the
disciples dress in a flowing robe or even a fine suit as
he passed out little thimbles full of grape juice from a
golden tray. (No, the wine was not weaker than present
day wine and it was not 2 parts water to 1 part wine)
The wine represented the new covenant in Jesus’
blood. (To better understand the new covenant, read my
article called:
"The Good News"
1 Corinthians 11:25 In the same way
He took the cup also
after supper, saying, "This cup is
the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you
drink it,
in remembrance of Me."
(Let me point out that in the scripture above,
Jesus did not imply that any eloquent words needed to be
spoken at all or that this had to be a ritual)
Let me translate this verse into modern day English.
What Jesus said was: "Whenever you drink wine, think of
me." Preachers and most of the "religious" folks just hate
it that Jesus chose wine to symbolize his blood and they make a million excuses
to justify and cover up this horrible mistake on Jesus`
part! (It was grape juice, it was watered down, wine was
weaker then etc...etc...)
The truth is, Jesus chose wine for a reason. In those
days, and before then, wine was synonymous with "joy".
(For obvious reasons) Except
for scriptures that condemn drinking too freely, wine is
usually praised, not condemned throughout the bible. It only makes sense that
Jesus would chose something that everyone related with
joy and celebration, to relate to himself and the
wonderful sacrifice he was about to make for all of us.
It is also no wonder that he chose bread to symbolize
his body. We need bread to sustain our physical bodies
and we need Christ to sustain our spiritual bodies. His
body sustains our life and his blood represents the new
covenant. Read The Good News
if you want to know what the new covenant is and just
how happy you should be about it.
As with most of the teachings of Jesus, he made them
quite strait forward and simple for us to understand,
however, when man or Satan gets involved, things always
get more complicated than they really are. So, let’s
quit treating communion like a funeral. After all "HE
HAS RISEN!" Cheer up!
1 Corinthians 11:26 For as often as you eat
this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's
death until He comes.
So according to scripture, are we to only proclaim
the Lords death until he comes once a year? Or once a
month? What do you read out of this scripture? Paul
said: "As often as you eat this bread and drink the
cup". Translated into modern day English, it means:
"every time".
It means we are always to proclaim the lords death
and to keep in mind the sacrifice that he gave every
time we sit down to the dinner table. As we sustain our
bodies with the basics of life (food and drink), we are
to sustain our souls by remembering him each and every
time we take bread or drink wine. (Or whatever is set
before us at the table. Not just what was popular in 33
AD.)
This does not have to be a formal ordeal. You can
remember Jesus and the covenant personally every time
you partake. It does not have to be with a crowd, or
headed by some religious Guru every time. (God knows and
sees) Just remember, the scriptures were meant for you
personally. They were not meant to be performed solely as a
group with some elite person as the head.
Most people figure by virtue of the name communion
itself, that it has to be performed with a large group.
However, one dictionary definition is:
communion >noun 1 the sharing of intimate thoughts
and feelings.
Who do you share these intimate thoughts and
feeling with? A group? Or with Christ? I think this is a
no brainer.
Don't misinterpret me , I'm not saying that we
shouldn't have communion in the church or as a large
crowd, I'm saying that it is not reserved for the church
atmosphere only. Let's not get so wrapped up in making it a
ritual, that we forget the reason we're doing it.
Getting together as a large group and showing reverence
and respect to the Lord is never wrong.
However, when we limit it to a formal ordeal with
some elite person as the head and debate over silly
things such as: (actual statements from people) "You
have to chew the bread" or "you have to put the little
cracker under your tongue and let it dissolve
completely" or "you can not use real bread because a
crumb might fall to the floor" then we have completely
missed the point.
I'll also point out that there is only one head of
the Christian church and his name is Jesus.
SHALL WE TOAST?
Most of our social functions or ceremonies usually involve
"Making a Toast". If the first communion was not the
origin of this, it should have been. After all, when we
toast someone, we raise our glasses, say something in
recognition and praise to the person and then we drink.
I believe Jesus intended it to be that simple. I'm
not suggesting for a moment that we do it in a humorous
or ridiculous manner, but in a manor that gives a king
the respect he deserves. Making statements such as "Yo,
here's to you big guy" would not be very respectful.
(or well received)
Jesus (and the Father) had little respect for the
church of those days, with all their rules and rituals.
It's my best guess that he has not changed. I find it
unlikely that he has much respect for a great deal of
modern day churches where the formality out weighs the
love. And little respect for churches where there are
strict rules that the head of
the church, (Christ) never imposed.
Psalms 104:15 And wine which makes man's
heart glad, So that he may make
his face glisten
with oil, And food which sustains man's heart.
For more information about wine and drinking, visit "The
Truth about Drinking"
I almost forgot! The reason for the styrofoam
wafers during communion. Some time ago, the religious
heads of a certain church had a debate. The big question
was, "What would happen if a crumb from the bread fell
on the floor and a dog ate it?" Would the dog be
saved? Thus, the styrofoam chips!
Silly but true! (Cross my heart)
You can contact me using the form below. This is
not a debate forum. If you have any serious questions or comments, feel free to
contact me.
God Bless You
Dan Douglass
If you drank the
wine, pay the bartender! Your gift is needed and appreciated |
