At the Table Let s start off with a reading from Genesis the first chapter. Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth. Then God said, Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food ; and it was so. (Genesis 1:26-30 NASB) From this section of scripture, we see that God created the earth and humans. He provided food for them. Some may look here and say that we should be vegans since God tells us that the fruit trees and every green plant are there for food for humans and the animals. There are other verses in the Bible that speak of eating meat and fish. The point that I want us to see is that food was provided from the very beginning. Food is important. Some congregations seem to exist to eat. Some churches are known for their consumption of chicken and pies. On an individual level, we all likely know people who plan their day based on the meals they will eat. Our 1
physical bodies need nourishment. Food and water are essential to our survival. Most of us realize this and take the time and opportunity to regularly supply both food and water to meet those needs. We know and act accordingly that we are humans with physical needs for food and water. We often fail to know or act as though we know that we are spiritual beings. As spiritual beings, we have hunger and thirst that require proper nourishment. The children of Israel were in the plains of Moab just to the East of the Jordan River and Jericho. They had spent nearly forty years in the dessert and were now preparing to enter the Promised Land. Moses, in the book of Deuteronomy, is telling a new generation about the law that God had given to them and instructing a new generation about God. We read in Deuteronomy 8:3. He (God) humbled you and let you be hungry and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand (lit know) that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:3 NASB) Once more we see that God provided food for His people. We also see that there may be just a little more than food for the body that is required-man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. The psalmist refers to God supplying our needs in several places. We will read one to show that the same theme is found expressed by multiple writers throughout scripture. Turn with me to Psalm 107:9 as we read. 2
For He has satisfied the thirsty (or parched) soul, And the hungry soul He has filled with what is good. (Psalm 107:9 NASB) Jesus continues the theme of spiritual food and in the 6 th chapter of John, after feeding more than 5000 people, He tells them in verse 35: I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. (John 6:35 NASB) Jesus carries the analogy of being the bread of life to the extreme as He continues talking with the Jews. We will pick back up with the 6 th chapter of John at the 56 th verse. This is a rather ghoulish passage and we will see that some of His disciples could not take the analogy. We will read this and then look at several passages that help us place this teaching in the proper context. First, we will finish our reading in the 6 th chapter of John starting at verse 56. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever. These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore, many of His disciples, when they heard this said, This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it? But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, Does this cause you to stumble? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are 3
spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him (or hand Him over). And He was saying, For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father. As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So, Jesus said to the twelve, You do not want to go away also, do you? Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God. (John 6:56-69 NASB) The idea that we (the followers of Jesus) are to become cannibals is certainly troubling. We see in this passage that some of His disciples turned away. However, Jesus tells them that He is speaking of spiritual food: It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. Jesus is building a progression for His disciples. From His early calls to fishermen to become fishers of men to teachings on the importance of spiritual food. The lesson on spiritual food is relevant. Earlier in this same chapter, Jesus saw a large crowd of people following and asked: Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat? (John 6:5 NASB) We see that Jesus feeds the crowd (5,000) with five barley loaves and two fish. (John 6:9 NASB) Jesus uses this occasion to begin teaching the idea that we must feed on Him to receive the spiritual nutrition that we need to survive in the kingdom of God. Jesus draws the parallel between the manna that kept the children of Israel alive in the desert and the bread of heaven that we find in Jesus. I am the bread that came down out of heaven. (John 6:41 NASB) 4
Jesus uses the same images of eating His flesh and drinking His blood in that upper room just prior to His crucifixion. The initial Lord s Supper is recorded in all four gospels. We will read from Matthew the 26 th chapter beginning in verse 26 to see the image once more of eating and drinking. While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing (or after having blessed it), He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body. And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of 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 NASB) All Christian churches (in the catholic or universal sense), celebrate the Holy Eucharis, Lord s Supper, or Communion. The Disciples of Christ celebrate this each Sunday and we celebrate it as an open table. We invite all who believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, to join with us in this celebration. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth about problems that had become a part of their celebration of the Lord s Supper. Some have used the passage found in 1 Corinthians the 11 th chapter to exclude people. In reality, Paul is telling them that their practices are excluding people based on their socio-economic status. For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident (or manifest) among you. Therefore, when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord s Supper, for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of 5
God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you. (1 Corinthians 11:19-22 NASB) The Lord s Supper is not a place to exclude people that we may deem unfit. We are not to make people feel uncomfortable because that don t fit into our class or live in our neighborhood. Paul goes on to tell the church what we should be doing as we celebrate the Lord s Supper. Our examination is a chance to reflect on our own situation. Are we ready to fellowship with the believers who gather around the table and with Jesus? For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me. In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord s death until He comes. Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. (1 Corinthians 11:23-29 NASB) Each week when we come to the table, we symbolically eat the body of Christ and drink His blood. It is a symbol of the spiritual feast that we are to partake as we prepare for our entrance into our Promised Land. Are we feeding on the spiritual food that God supplied? Let us pray. 6
We invite you to come and join us in our celebration of the life of Jesus. We invite you to come to the feast. Won t you please come as we stand and sing our hymn of invitation. 7