The Lord's Supper

While countless gallons of ink have been spilt on the biblical-theological issues related to the Eucharist, I’ve found that less work has been done on the “how to” aspect ofย celebratingย Communion. So I started a series laying out a variety of models and issues connected to the Lord’s Supper, beginning with an introduction and the “Open Communion” position. I followed that up with the “Communion Served” approach. This week I want to briefly consider the implications of the relationship between the Eucharist and theย charismata

Communionย and the Holy Spirit

While I don’t have the space to articulate a deep theology of the Spirit and sacraments here, let me just state for the record that I believe that as we partake of the Bread and Cup, the Holy Spirit is at work in a profoundly mysterious and powerful way. As we receive Communion, we experience God’s presence and we encounter the grace of the kingdom.

[tweetthis url=”http://bit.ly/25BxQiY”]In Communion, we experience his presence & encounter the grace of the kingdom. #SpiritChurchMission[/tweetthis]

If this is true (and it totally is!), why not “thicken” the Communion space and be *gasp!*…ย charismatic!ย So after everyone has received the Bread and Cup and has remembered and proclaimed Jesus’ death by eating and drinking deeply, welcome the Holy Spirit’s presence and encourage the church to move in the โ€œmanifestations of the Spiritโ€ (1 Cor. 14:12). After all, the sacramental space of celebrating Communion has been connected to outpourings of the Spirit many times throughout history (cf. the excellentย work by William de Artega,ย Forgotten Power).

Positives:ย One of the most common objections to the regular celebration of the Eucharist is that if you do it every week, it becomes a โ€œrote ritualโ€ that not only lacksย meaning, it lacks doxological purpose (Iโ€™ll address this in more detail below). The concern for people is that we donโ€™t want to see people in our worship gatherings โ€œjustโ€ eating bread and drinking juice/wine (mostly because that isย notย what is happening!!). Therefore, creating space for the Holy Spirit, specifically by inviting him to spontaneously distribute spiritual gifts, during Communion can be an effective way to avoid this aspect of worship from being โ€œrote.โ€ And, by the way,ย if the Spiritโ€™s presence comes in power and people experience healing, prophetic words, empowered prayers, mercy, encouragement, and any other โ€œgraceletsโ€ that God might want to provide, itโ€™s a win!ย 

Negatives:ย In certain circles of the Pentecostal and Charismatic tradition(s), it is assumed and/or taught that Christians can essentiallyย makeย the Spirit work. Thus, church leaders may say, โ€œOkay, as we receive the Lordโ€™s Supper, start to heal people and speak out prophecies.โ€ Weย mustย remember that it is theย Spiritย who sovereignly distributes the spiritual gifts asย heย wills (1 Cor. 12:11)! So perhaps this isnโ€™t so much aย negativeย as it is aย cautionย in that whoever is leading this space needs to make sure that she doesnโ€™t put undue pressure upon the church to โ€œperform.โ€ This is more about creatingย space for people to pray for each other and to welcome the Spirit’s presence around the Table for the building up of the Church.

Recommendations:ย In the gatherings where Iโ€™ve led this aspect of worship, I have beenย very clearย about what weโ€™re doing. After blessing the Bread and Cup and calling attention to the Eucharist, I then say something like this:

Itโ€™s no coincidence that Paul taught on the Lordโ€™s Supper in 1 Cor. 11 and then immediately began to teach about spiritual gifts in chapters 12-14. Communion is a sacrament where the Holy Spirit is present renewing us and reminding us of Christโ€™s crossย andย the future meal weโ€™ll share with him when he returns. So Jesus is present with us by his Spirit, right? And because the Spirit is present with us, Iโ€™d like for us to take a moment and ask him to come and build up Jesusโ€™ church.โ€

Then, Iโ€™ll lead us into a regular โ€œministry time.โ€ Pastors will have to discern the best way to do that in their specific context (e.g., people praying for each other, leaders praying for people, people coming forward, etc.).

Next week weโ€™ll explore the relationship between Communion and liturgy. Feel free to share your thoughts or ask questions in the comment section belowโ€ฆ

 

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