While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
Matthew 26:26-29
As I reflect on the script of our Baptism class, we always describe baptism as an “outward sign of an inward work.” However, there are more things than just Baptism that fit this category. Those who follow Jesus should experience God working in their hearts and lives! But this doesn’t happen by accident. Walking through life with God and growing with Him takes work. There are things that we can do to help us experience this growth. Things like prayer, reading the Bible, and communion are ways to help us on our journey in faith. John Wesley would refer to practices like these as “means of grace.” He would say, “By ‘means of grace’ I understand outward signs, words, or actions, ordained by God, and appointed for this end, to be the ordinary channels whereby he might convey to men, preventing, justifying, or sanctifying grace.”1 This means that when we participate in these things, the grace of God works in us and transforms us. While prayer and Scripture reading are fairly common practices, it is communion that can be most misunderstood by Christians. It is easy to pick up a Bible or say a quick prayer, but communion needs prepared elements and occurs within the body of believers. Let’s look at how
We read in Matthew 26 during Jesus’ last gathering with his disciples, he picked up the bread and said it was a sign of his body that would be broken. Likewise, he took the wine and said it was the blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins. This set the practice for the Church to also partake in these elements. While different churches view the practice in different ways, Wesleyans can look to John Wesley for his definition of the ack. He believed that this was more than just an act of remembrance. Holy Spirit is truly present with us when we approach the table! But how then does this operate as a means of grace?
We experience God’s love for us - It is only because of Jesus’ death on the cross that our sins are paid for. Our merciful God sent his only Son as a sacrifice so that we may once again have a restored relationship with Him. This did not happen out of obligation, but an outpouring of love. When we partake of the elements, it is an act of love between us and our Savior. When we receive the bread and cup, we are also receiving the grace of God.
We examine our love for God - As Christians, our desire should be for God to be the Lord of our heart. However, we live in a world that wants to replace God with anything that will take our attention and our affection away from Him. Money, sex, power, insert your idol of choice. But before we consume the bread and cup, we must first examine our hearts. Jonathan Black says it this way, “By calling us to examine ourselves, Jesus is reaching out His nail-scarred hands to us in love, to draw us back to Him for forgiveness, for cleansing, for restoration, for transformation and to welcome us into His loving embrace at the table.”2 This time is not to serve as a guilt trip, but rather for us to remember who is Lord of our life and to put Him back on the throne.
So the next time you approach the table, remember that this is more than just a moment. Participating in communion is living into the grace that God has for us. It is the grace that has gone before, and the grace that continues to transform us. Eat, drink, remember, and be transformed.
1. John Wesley, “Wesley Center Online,” The Wesley Center Online: Sermon 16 - The Means Of Grace, accessed September 21, 2024, https://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-16-the-means-of-grace/.
2. Jonathan Black, The Lord’s Supper: Our Promised Place of Intimacy and Transformation with Jesus (Minneapolis, MN: Chosen: a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2023). 67.
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