The Lord's Supper -- Part I

This coming Sunday I will be sharing some thoughts about the first Lord's Supper, as described in the Bible's New testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and 1 Corinthians.

I've been chewing on the topic for the last month. My first thought was this -- what could I possible teach, and learn for myself, that would be new? After all, I've been around this block before. I became a baptized believer in Christ when I was 10 years old -- that's 27 years ago. I've been in church most every week since then -- churches that included the Lord's Supper in each week's worship service. Some quick math allows me to estimate that I've come to the communion table more than 1,300 times to take the bread and the cup. On a number of those occasions (maybe 50) I have had the responsibility to lead the church in a few devotional thoughts. So, this isn't the first time I've meditated on the words of the New testament writers.

Those of us who teach in any capacity probably feel an undue amount of pressure to bring something enlightening to our audience. We imagine standing in front of the class (or in this case, the church) and seeing the cartoonish light bulb rise above the head of each listener, suddenly glowing bright as we pour out our topical wisdom. We wish for our thoughts to alter a life, perhaps change it completely.

I have had to work through these feelings many times as a worship leader -- "What can I do to 'make' God's people worship today?" And, as a teacher, "What can I say to bring new insight?" Such hopes seem particularly difficult on a topic such as the Lord's Supper. I'm not the only one in my church who has "come to the table" a few times. Most of us have.

And so, the first small lesson I've been reminded of in preparing for this teaching is that it's not up to me to reinvent the scriptures or change a life. Rather, it's God's job. The Bible is, after all, God's Word. It's not mine, it doesn't belong to me. What's more, I can't crawl into a person's heart or mind and undertake a massive construction project. But God can, through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Those of us who teach or lead are the messengers, not the message. We try to share words of wisdom, but we didn't create wisdom. We pray for changed lives, but we aren't responsible for the changing. To assume anything more would be presumptuous, even arrogant.

So, as I approach a teaching that has been delivered by men more learned than I for nearly 2,000 years, my hope is that God simply opens MY eyes to something new, and renews MY appreciation for what happened at the cross. I'll try to leave the rest to God.