#13 Lift Up Your Hearts

Yesterday, we celebrated communion at Kanawha CRC for the first time since my ordination. I was incredibly excited. Communion (or, if you prefer, the Lord's Supper) is probably my favorite part of our worship services. Much of my love for this sacrament comes from the three years Tess and I attended Grace CRC in Grand Rapids, MI. Grace celebrates communion on the first Sunday of every month plus every Sunday during Advent and Lent. Celebrate is really the key word here. We would sing a few songs while groups came up to receive the bread and the cup, and those songs always ended on a joyfully grateful note. I was frequently left in awe of God's goodness and grace.

But this atmosphere of celebration and joy isn't the case in all the churches where I've taken communion. Often the mood is somber, reflective, and even funeral-like. I think that it is good to reflect on Jesus' sacrifice. Being aware of our own sinfulness is key to better understanding and appreciating God's grace to us in Jesus. But I firmly believe that we are missing out if our communion experiences are only somber all the time. We talk about celebrating the sacrament, and we have much to celebrate. Let's run down the list:

• In communion, we remember Jesus' sacrificial death, which may indeed lead us to quiet reflection. But we also do this because Jesus' death was not the end. Our Lord rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is coming again! Jesus' death paid for our sins and brought us forgiveness, and it was His victory over the powers of this world (see Colossians 2:15). Jesus' death is part of His triumph, which is also our triumph.
• In communion, we remember that "we who are many are one body." Jesus Christ overcomes all human divisions and make His chosen people into one new people. In communion we celebrate our unity by sharing the bread and the cup.
• Through communion, God strengthens and nourishes our faith. As the Heidelberg Catechism says, God's Spirit creates faith through preaching and confirms faith through sacraments (Q&A 65). Communion helps us better understand what Christ has done for us (Q&A 66). Bread and wine/juice are food for our physical lives, just as Jesus' body and blood are food for our spiritual lives (Q&A 79). God is at work in communion! He holds out the blessings and benefits of Jesus for us to receive by the Holy Spirit and faith. Communion is indeed "the gifts of God for the people of God."
• In communion, we get a foretaste of life when God's kingdom fully comes. At the last supper, Jesus said that He wouldn't drink wine again until He drank it new in God's kingdom (see Matthew 26:29). Communion is just a taste to whet our appetite for the great feast that awaits us, the great banquet of God.
• In communion, the Holy Spirit lifts us up into Jesus' heavenly presence. In the Reformed tradition, we firmly believe both that Jesus has ascended to heaven and that Jesus is present when we celebrate communion here on earth. As we understand it, Jesus' physical body remains in heaven, but He is spiritually present in our celebration. Rather than talking about Jesus coming down to us in communion, we speak of Christ lifting us up to Him. This is why we often say "lift up your hearts" at the beginning of our communion celebrations. We believe that communion is a taste of heaven!

So next time you take, eat and drink, remember, and believe, I encourage you to do so with joy and gladness. Our sins are forgiven, our enemies are defeated, our Lord is reigning and present with us, our Savior feeds us with Himself, we are united as a renewed people, and we look forward to an even greater celebration yet to come. Let's celebrate!

Grace and peace,

BMH