Freedom Meal
“This is the freedom meal”, our assistant pastor Donnel proclaimed as he invited the congregation to join the Lord’s Supper.
It was the first time I heard (or noticed) the communion being referred to as such.
He went on saying, “When you take this meal, would you be mindful that it is the celebration for the redemption of the exiled…?”
Never have I realized the Lord’s Supper is the feast that the Father puts on to welcome prodigal children back Home.
The communion often evoked a sense of guilt and anxiety rather than joy and thanksgiving in me. I’m thankful for the atonement it represents, but I’ve been troubled by the instruction to examine one-self before taking the communion.
More often than not self-examination makes me feel like I’m NOT in the right place or repented enough of my sin or what have you. Basically, I was afraid that I’m taking the communion in an “unworthy manner”, which Paul speaks of in I Corinthians chapter 11, therefore being guilty of sinning against the body and blood of Christ.
But the redemption for all my inequities is already done, right? And isn’t the Lord’s Supper a reminder of the grace, which made the unworthy one (me) worthy to begin with??
So confused and nervous, I’ve been taking the communion with a hope that God is ok with my “to the best of ability” self-examination job.
The phrase “Freedom Meal” dispelled my duty-bound notion of how the communion should be received and opened up the door to the party house.
I went back to Paul’s writing in the I Corinthians chapter 11, and realized he’s not necessarily telling readers to be holy and blameless in order to receive the Lord’s Supper. What he does convey in the verse 29 is to “recognize the body of the Lord”, meaning understanding what the communion is about. Thus “unworthy manner” does not refer to the state of sinfulness but not acknowledging the power and grace of Corpus Christi.
I HAD IT ALL WRONG!!!!!
Yes, there should be an element of solemn reflection in receiving the communion. But it doesn’t end there. There’s more to be savored…heavenly generosity to be celebrated.
For the first time ever I almost skipped my way up to take a part in the feast, free, free, free, at last from the feeling of inadequacy.
It was the first time I heard (or noticed) the communion being referred to as such.
He went on saying, “When you take this meal, would you be mindful that it is the celebration for the redemption of the exiled…?”
Never have I realized the Lord’s Supper is the feast that the Father puts on to welcome prodigal children back Home.
The communion often evoked a sense of guilt and anxiety rather than joy and thanksgiving in me. I’m thankful for the atonement it represents, but I’ve been troubled by the instruction to examine one-self before taking the communion.
More often than not self-examination makes me feel like I’m NOT in the right place or repented enough of my sin or what have you. Basically, I was afraid that I’m taking the communion in an “unworthy manner”, which Paul speaks of in I Corinthians chapter 11, therefore being guilty of sinning against the body and blood of Christ.
But the redemption for all my inequities is already done, right? And isn’t the Lord’s Supper a reminder of the grace, which made the unworthy one (me) worthy to begin with??
So confused and nervous, I’ve been taking the communion with a hope that God is ok with my “to the best of ability” self-examination job.
The phrase “Freedom Meal” dispelled my duty-bound notion of how the communion should be received and opened up the door to the party house.
I went back to Paul’s writing in the I Corinthians chapter 11, and realized he’s not necessarily telling readers to be holy and blameless in order to receive the Lord’s Supper. What he does convey in the verse 29 is to “recognize the body of the Lord”, meaning understanding what the communion is about. Thus “unworthy manner” does not refer to the state of sinfulness but not acknowledging the power and grace of Corpus Christi.
I HAD IT ALL WRONG!!!!!
Yes, there should be an element of solemn reflection in receiving the communion. But it doesn’t end there. There’s more to be savored…heavenly generosity to be celebrated.
For the first time ever I almost skipped my way up to take a part in the feast, free, free, free, at last from the feeling of inadequacy.
posted by Megumi @ 3:31 PM
2 Comments:
This, too, is a new way for me to see the communion meal. We are all sinners, so it is virtually impossible to examine ourselves as worthy to partake of the Lord's Supper.
I also see something else about the word we use to label the meal, Communion. Within this word is the word "union" which refers to "oneness," "unity," and "togetherness." I would like to suggest that maybe the Lord's Supper is to encourage unity among the various members of the Body of Christ, also known as His Church. Because of so many different interpretations of the Word of God, there are so many tangents and denominations within Christianity. Even individual congregation split two, three, and four times because of differences of opinion over doctrine or worship style, etc. The one of the things that remains to be somewhat unchanged is Communion. Except for a very small minority of churches, all churches believe pretty much what it represents. I thank God that there is at least one thing that Christians can be unified on.
Hey Meg,
I'm very happy for this. A borderline (and sometimes fully) neurotic obsession with the self and the conditions of 'right partaking' has been a problem--sometimes extremely so--within in the Church (East and West, ancient and modern are guilty here).
How great it is for the 'rite' to be the joy it is supposed to be!!!
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