On the Practice of the Lord’s Supper

More often than not, the way that the Lord’s Supper is practiced in low church traditions makes it seem as if the Lord’s Supper is a perfunctory addendum to the worship of the local church. Our usual practices of observance treat it as something that we are obligated to do because the Bible says so, but also as something that we don’t really believe to be all that important or crucial in worship. High Church traditions with formal liturgies, by contrast, tend to observe the Lord’s Supper every week, and they do so at the very climax of their services. In these churches, coming to the Lord’s table to partake of the body and blood of Christ, symbolized by the bread and cup, marks the very zenith of the worship experience. Congregants are presented with the Gospel through scripture reading and preaching and then invited to the Table to receive the Gospel by the Spirit as they partake of the elements.

Now, I grew up in a local Southern Baptist church in a small town in Arkansas, the buckle of the Bible Belt, and our practice of the Lord’ Supper usually went something like this. It always happened after a Sunday night service. First, we would have our 20-30 minute singing time, and then the pastor would preach a 25-30 minute message. Remember, the services weren’t supposed to go more than an hour. So, after the invitation we would move into a time of observing the Lord’s Supper. And it was always done the same way. The pastor tended to say the same words, read the same texts, and the elements were passed out the same way. Of course, time was always given for personal reflection and confession so that none of us would “partake unworthily.” Still, I was left with the impression that the Lord’s Supper was something to be observed out of duty and not out of joy.

Paul said, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26) Certainly, there is great freedom in the diversity of worship expression throughout churches across the world, and Paul, nor the rest of the New Testament authors, give any kind of regulation regarding the expected frequency of table observance. But it does seem, at least, that they viewed the Table as a central and primary element in the church’s worship, precisely because it is at the table that we come face to face with the very heart of the Gospel. In addition, the earliest Christians set the precedent, because “they devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42) Of course, the celebration of the communal meal in the early church would have been more, but it certainly wouldn’t have been less than the observance of the Lord’s Supper.

So, it would seem that there is great spiritual and communal value in giving the Lord’s Table a much more central place in our weekly worship services. Perhaps, instead of observing once per quarter on a Sunday night at the end of the service, we should observe weekly during Sunday morning worship as the primary expression of our response to the Gospel invitation. This way of ordering our worship is what has been called the fourfold pattern for worship, i.e. gathering, Word, table (response), sending. This seems to be the historic ordering of the church’s worship throughout the ages. More simply, it follows the biblical pattern for worship which is proclamation followed by response. We gather together as the body of Christ through song and prayers. The Word is proclaimed through public reading and preaching. We respond in confession and repentance at the table. And, then, we are sent back into the world as God’s ambassadors and emissaries.

The importance of the Lord’s Table really boils down to how importantly we value the Gospel, because it is at the table that the Gospel is vividly and materially displayed through partaking of the bread and cup. So, by observing the Lord’s Supper each and every week, we move the Gospel to the center of our worship experience. When we partake of the elements, we are communing with the Spirit as he communicates the good news of the Gospel anew to us each and every week. The Spirit meets us at the Table, and He conveys the grace of God as we partake of the symbols of bread and cup. Jesus explains this very fact in John 6:53-58 where he says in part, “The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.” (v.56)

Now, certainly, observing the Lord’s Supper each and every week requires great creativity on the part of pastors and worship leaders. Some have argued that partaking of the Supper every week would diminish its unique peculiarity and significance, but this is not necessarily the case. The onus lies with the pastors and worship leaders to incorporate the Table into the flow of the service in ways that are creative, meaningful, and refreshing. The invitation to the Table each week should flow directly out of the Scriptures that are being read and preached on that particular Sunday. The proclamation of the Gospel through the reading and preaching of Holy Scripture should drive our worship right back to the Table where our forgiveness and pardon are confirmed by the broken body and shed blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I believe that there is a great need in the church today to recover the centrality of the Gospel, and I can think of no better way than coming to the Table each and every week to receive the symbols of our Lord’s broken body and shed blood. We are essentially and fundamentally a Gospel people. We never out grow or mature beyond the wonder and mystery of the Gospel. Whether we have been saved for many years or we have recently come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord, the Gospel is for us. Lord, help us to recover the priority, the mystery, and the wonder of your Gospel as it is displayed at your Table.