Communion: A Feast in a Fast Food World

At City Light we’ve recently been celebrating the Lord’s Supper every other week. When you look at the early church, communion was regularly celebrated. But often communion today seems like an afterthought. It has become an archaic practice with little meaning to the modern believer.

We live in a fast food culture. We want things to taste good, be cheap and not take a lot of time. But the problem with this fast food culture is that it leaves us nutritionally deprived. This seeps into our church culture as well. We want our church to have a great service, a rocking praise band and an entertaining speaker. It needs to be fast (who can stand a long boring sermon!), fast-paced and carry with it very little commitment to anything other than Sunday attendence. But this as well will leave us spiritually deprived.

Communion, when properly practiced, offers us a feast in a fast food world. It tells us to slow down in an “In-N-Out” world. It shows us that our greatest hunger is the hunger to be connected with our King. It fills our senses and stirs our imagination. Communion raises our eyes to heaven to see the beauty of our Savior, this we savor. But communion is also a family meal. Meals are central times for families to come together. We congregate around food as we share our own stories. In communion we remember that we are a forgiven family, connected by the life and blood our King.

But communion is but an appetizer. Nobody would imagine that a little piece of bread and a shot of wine would qualify as a meal. It isn’t in itself completly filling. Communion points us forward to the fulness of the heavenly banquet to come. Here we eat in part, then we will eat fully. Communion helps us anticipate the fulness of the feast to come. All of this lends support for a regular and rich observance of communion in our churches today.

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Parenthood

It’s been an exhilarating week with the birth of our first child. Witnessing the birth of Zadie was definitely one of the greatest life-changing experiences of my life. Her life is a gift from God and a testimony of His faithfulness. Zadie’s middle name is “Glory” as we hope her life is one of worship for our great God.

Nina and I are typical nervous first-time parents. We get paranoid at every turn when we suspect even the slightest things are amiss. But fortunately we’ve been tremendously blessed by the outpouring of support from our church and families.

Reflecting on being a parent for the first time I think it is both exhilarating and exhausting. Not just the physical toll of staying up from the late night cries. It’s just the thought that you are entirely responsible for this little growing life. If I mess up now I not only bring myself down but also my entire family. I realize that marriage and children are a key way that God is sanctifying my life. He’s drawing me away from my selfish insticts to focus upon the needs and growth of others. He’s drawing my heart outward and upward through the blessings of family. And through all my future failings, He’ll surely extend His grace to carry me.

As I think about family this verse stings all the more: “If anyone comes to me and hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). This verse isn’t talking about actually hating our family as we are called throughout the Bible to love (Ex. 20:12; 1 Cor. 13). But it means that compared to our love for God, everything else must pale in comparison. I must love my family and am willing to give up everything for my daughter but I can never make them my idol. My chief duty is not only to love my God but teach my family to love Him as well.

I have never experienced the kind of love I feel that I feel now for my wife and child. It is but a dim reflection of the love of Christ for His first family. I hope we would reflect that love well as a family. Zadie, welcome home my love! May we love well our God and serve Him greatly!

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