06/12/2021
When Jesus gave His disciples the bread of His body during the first Communion, He did not cut it with a knife, or have it prepared with a perforation so that it would break cleanly into pieces. Jesus took a loaf of bread and simply broke it. Unlike a wafer it didn’t snap cleanly, but tore, and it’s edges were jagged, uneven, and ripped asunder; it was a messy tear. This is how He died for us… He died just as we live and die… messy, torn, imperfect, and yet made to be righteous, by His sacrifice, resurrection, and our coming ascension upon His return.
“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when 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.””
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 ESV
I take bread and drink a cup of coffee each morning at the conclusion of my prayers, and as I do I remember Jesus just as He told us to do. When I first started eating and drinking in this way I would take a bagel and cut it cleanly into two halves then pray that the Holy Spirit would help me to remember the death of Jesus, and His body that was given for me, but one morning, when I had run out of bagels, something amazing occurred. I picked up a loaf of sourdough bread and broke it as I prayed. When I did this the bread tore into uneven pieces whose edges were ragged and messy… and the Spirit came over me. You see, His life, and the body that was given for us, wasn’t given in some surgical fashion… it was brought into this world in a gush of fluid, accompanied by tearing, and to the sound of moaning and screams, and in death He was taken in an equally messy way with His body being bludgeoned, whipped, spit on, and pierced by thorns, nails, and spear. The body of Christ was given in the same way we live our lives… disheveled, made imperfect by an unforgiving and sinful world. Suddenly I remembered Jesus in a very different light… and the offering of Himself became so appropriate to me. He gave Himself in life and death as a reflection of us… torn, uneven, and ragged. Listen to Paul as he speaks to the Corinthians regarding the imperfect nature of their church:
“For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.”
1 Corinthians 11:18-19 ESV
So this morning I broke bread, and looked at the uneven and crumbly edges that I held in my hands as I prayed for the Spirit to reveal to me the remembrance of the death of Jesus Christ, and in so doing I saw humanity, myself, and my church… not a crisp edge to be found, but messy ones that would only be perfected when Jesus comes again to claim us… yes, until He comes.
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”
1 Corinthians 11:26 ESV
A couple of years ago I took Communion at a church in which a round loaf of bread was broken by the Pastor and passed into the congregation. Each person tore off a piece of the bread as it made its way among them. Each piece was different, and there were no clean edges. Later I told someone of this experience and they remarked “How unsanitary”. Today I find that comment to not only be true, but appropriate, and glorious. There was nothing sanitary about the death of Jesus, nor were the fingers of the disciples any different at the first Communion… each one of them ripping off a piece of bread with their hands. Each one of them preparing to remember the death of Jesus as they did so…
“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”
1 Corinthians 11:27-28 ESV
So today let’s examine how we remember the death of Jesus as we take break bread, and consider our own imperfection while contemplating the manner in which He died for us. Let’s look at our hands and see that they don’t show the signs of the cross because He bore those for us, and then let’s say out loud “Come Lord Jesus!”
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Son Jesus who you sent into this imperfect and sin filled world to redeem us. Thank you Lord for the symbolism of Communion that we find in the breaking of bread, and the offering of His body, as He prepared for death, and to take on our sins so that we could find ourselves washed clean of sin and iniquity. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you who loves us so much that you would send this, your unblemished Son, the Lamb of God, to die for us in such a way. Praised be your name for the perfect loaf (Jesus) that was torn asunder, and was made imperfect by our sin… becoming the image of man in this way. You are merciful Lord, and the grace you pour out upon us through Jesus is great indeed. Help us now as we remember His death, and take the body and blood of your Son into our own bodies. Wash us clean, and find us worthy of your love Father. Receive us at your table, we who now bear the image of Jesus, just as you accepted Him as He bore our image, the image of fallen man, and sacrificed Himself for our sins. In this Lord, all glory and praise is yours forevermore, and we worship you eternally in Spirit and Truth.
Rich Forbes