Communion

by Tim Isbell

All Christians are instructed in scripture to partake of Communion regularly.

Communion symbolizes the cost of our salvation and our union with the family of God. Christians partake of communion because our Lord instructed us to do so. We believe that Jesus himself is our unseen host at the communion table, meaning that it is a fellowship meal to which Jesus invites his followers to gather and eat as he serves. Jesus himself instituted Holy Communion on the night before the crucifixion and instructed his followers to continue with the practice as a prototype of the celebration meal we’ll share with Jesus in heaven. Scripture identifies the two elements of the Lord’s Supper as bread and wine. The bread is a reminder that Jesus’ body was broken, killed by crucifixion on a Roman cross, as God’s sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. The wine, replaced by grape juice in many churches, is a reminder that on the cross, Jesus shed his blood to offer to us a “new covenant.” By “new covenant.” Scripture means a new agreement through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. God’s new promise is that every person who trusts in Jesus’ death for the forgiveness of past sins and chooses to follow Jesus as leader of their future receives the very Spirit of Jesus. This Spirit is a continual companion, guide, and source of strength in restoring the believer to become increasingly like Jesus himself. 

The Lord’s Supper and Eucharist are synonyms for Holy Communion. In addition to the teachings in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Paul passes on an account (1 Corinthians 11. 17-34) of the communion practice in the early church. Paul’s letter was written more than 20 years after the crucifixion. Scholars believe that his account describes the ritual that had grown up in the early church by that time. There is some indication that the early followers of Jesus shared communion daily.

Different Christian traditions celebrate Holy Communion in slightly varying ways. In most churches, an ordained or licensed pastor normally serves communion. We believe that Holy Communion is a symbolic sacrament in which Jesus’ Spirit joins Christians at the table. Though the bread used at Jesus’ Last Supper was undoubtedly unleavened because it was a Jewish Passover meal, churches today are just as likely to use normal bread. Most churches use small individual containers of grape juice instead of wine in celebrating communion several times each year. In most protestant churches, you do not need to be a member of that particular congregation or tradition to participate. All who have committed themselves to following Jesus Christ and pursuing right relations with others are welcome at the Lord’s Supper. Sometimes communion is the marker to identify when someone becomes a Christian.

Scripture does not give us direction on whether or not young children are to take communion. Thinking on this issue is diverse, so different churches handle it differently. Some automatically include young children as part of the family of Christians, only asking the general question of whether the child loves Jesus as best they know how to at the current stage. Other Christian parents teach their children to wait until they are old enough to become believers themselves before they are to partake in communion.

Episcopal and Catholic churches celebrate communion as part of every Mass. In Catholic Churches, participation is limited to members of that church who have completed a course of study preparing them for their first Holy Communion. This generally occurs when a child is around the age of 8. Many of these more formal traditions use wine, often from a common cup. Grape juice is usually available upon request. 


A biblical example of Communion: Luke 22.1-20

This Scripture is one of three accounts in the Bible of Jesus’ last supper (the other two accounts are in Matthew and Mark). It occurred as part of the Jewish Passover celebration.

Questions about Holy Communion

Memory verse: 1 Corinthians 11.26

Optional reading