A Communion Service Homily

[Beetow]

The communion service is supposed to be the topic of a brief sermon.

● 1Cor 11:26. . . For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Below is my favorite communion service homily; perhaps others have a favorite of their own to they'd like to share.

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● 1Cor 10:16-17 . . Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.

The bread that the Lord broke on the night of his last supper represented his crucified body; and whenever I partake of communion's broken bread, it reminds me that not only did Jesus go to the cross for my sins; but that I was with him in the act.

● Rom 6:2-4 . . Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

● Gal 2:20 . . I am crucified with Christ

FAQ: What's the point of going to the cross with Christ?

A: Jesus died for the sins of the world; which means that by going to the cross with him, I died for the sins of the world too: in particular my world, i.e. my own little personal share of all those sins.

FAQ: So?

A: Well the thing is: Jesus is never going to die for the sins of the world ever again because that one time on his cross was sufficient. The same thing with me: I'm never going to die for my sins ever again either because that one time with him on his cross was sufficient.

There was a time when I was dead to God, but thanks to Christ and his crucifixion, that's no longer my status.

● Rom 6:10-11 . .The death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

So the communion service is not only a memorial of his body's near destruction for the world's sake, but also a personal celebration of my own body's rescue from certain destruction in the lake of fire depicted at Rev 20:11-15 wherein people dead to God will undergo the loss of their lives in a manner similar to a foundry worker falling into a kettle of molten iron.
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[Beetow]

FAQ: Why is there no mention of Christ's resurrection in your homily?

A: According to the apostle Paul, the communion service that Jesus initiated with his men during the last supper is specifically intended to be a homily commemorating his death, and his death alone; nothing more.

● 1Cor 11:26. . . For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Use of the communion service to proclaim anything more than Christ's death has to be regarded as presumptuous embellishment upon the Lord's explicit instructions as they were given to Paul.

● 1Cor 14:37 . . If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
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[Beetow]

Continuing in the spirit of 1Cor 11:26 . . .

● Luke 2:10-12 . .The angel said to them: I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today, in the town of David, a savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

The angel announced the birth of a savior; defined by Webster's as one who rescues. We've all seen examples-- lifeguards, firemen, cops, emergency medical services, Coast Guard units, snow patrols, and mountaineering teams. Rescue workers typically save people in distress who are facing imminent death and/or grave danger and utterly helpless to do anything about it.

In other words: Jesus Christ's ordeal on the cross is a lifeline, so to speak, that God is all set to throw to anyone and everyone for whom destiny in Hell is a foregone conclusion if only they have the good sense to plead guilty and throw themselves on the mercy of the court by a simple, naive prayer something like this one:

"God, I know I'm a sinner. I would like to take advantage of your son's death."

Does Jesus' Father honor those kinds of prayers? Well if His son's story of the tax collector at Luke 18:9-14, and the account of the malefactor crucified along with Jesus at Luke 23:38-43 are truthful indicators; then I can honestly, and confidently, attest that He does, and He will.

» Just about everybody who's ever heard anything about Christianity is aware that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world, but what is often unknown is that it was personal; as Isaiah 53:6 says: "The Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him."

In other words: the iniquity of each of us fell on him, i.e. any name we might pull out of a hat, and as many names as we might pull out of a hat: that one name, and each name, is an individual for whom Christ endured the cross; there are no exceptions. Is it any wonder then why the angel announced not just joy, rather, "great joy" that will be for all the people?
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[Beetow]

Here's another useful homily in accord with 1Cor 11:26.

● John 3:14-17 . . As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

The incident to which Christ referred is located at Num 21:5-9. Long story short: Moses' people became weary of eating manna all the time at every meal. But instead of courteously, and diplomatically, petitioning their divine benefactor for a different diet, they became hostile and confrontational; angrily demanding tastier food.

In response to their insolence, and their ingratitude for His providence; God sent a swarm of deadly poisonous vipers among them; which began striking people; and every strike was 100% fatal, no exceptions.

After a number of people died, the rest came to their senses and begged Moses to intercede. In reply; The Lord instructed Moses to fashion an image of the vipers and hoist it up on a pole in plain view so that everyone dying from venom could look to the image for relief.

The key issue here is that the image was the only God-given remedy for the people's bites-- not sacrifices and offerings, not tithing, not church attendance, not scapulars, not confession, not holy days of obligation, not the Sabbath, not the golden rule, not charity, not Bible study and/or Sunday school, not self denial, not vows of poverty, not the Ten Commandments, not one's religion of choice, no; not even prayers. The image was it; nothing else would suffice to save their lives.

As an allegory, the brazen serpent indicates that Christ's crucifixion for the sins of the world is the only God-given rescue from the wrath of God; and when people accept it, then according to John 3:14-17 and John 5:24, they qualify for a transfer from death into life. Those who reject his crucifixion as the only God-given rescue from the sum of all fears, are already on the docket to face it.

● John 3:18 . .Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

» His son's "name" in this case is relative to the brazen serpent incident.
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