Communion Message
(The sacrament)
December 16, 2001
Pastor Donald Sheley

For I have received from the Lord that which I also delivered unto you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me." In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

It's now time for us to share the Lord's Supper. Sacred scenes unfold with amazing rapidity during the week that Jesus prepared to go to the cross: called the week of passion. During these holy hours of this holy week of wonders we hear the bells of heaven ringing. And at other times, we hear the hissing of hatred hatched in the horrors of hell.

Monday, we see Jesus cleansing the temple for the second time, and He says, as He chases out the money changers, My house shall be called the house of prayer. Then came Tuesday; and we hear the master, as He confronts His enemies in the temple who question Him, by what authority do You do these things? Is it lawful to pay tribute to Caesar? Questions; yes, but Jesus was never caught on the horns of a dilemma. He boldly answers His enemies with striking statements and pointed parables and cutting questions. Then, on Wednesday, Jesus returned to Bethany.

He will come back to Jerusalem later to die, but His enemies continued to perfect their plans and define His death. But there's a touching incident that's recorded on that day. It reflects firm faith and lasting love, and undying devotion. The Bible says there came unto Him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment and poured it on His head as he sat at meat. The shadow of Calvary now is lengthening and the cross is drawing nearer, and our journey to Calvary from this moment on we walk with deep solemnity.

Thursday comes. The sand in the hourglass of this last week is running out and Jesus holds His last cabinet meeting with the twelve. There was contention though among them as they argued. They were in the shadow of the Passover and Jesus was in the shadow of the cross, and yet, these men were fussing among themselves. They were more concerned with self than they were with the Savior. They could not understand that Calvary was so near.

Then, it was suppertime. Leaning on one arm on their reclining couches, their dusty feet behind them, these men witnessed an act of humility such as mortal eyes had never looked upon. Jesus, the eternal One, moved from one man to another washing their feet.

At the table, Jesus breaks the bread and reminds them that it symbolizes His broken body. And He hands to them the cup, and then He gives these instructions: drink ye all of it. Now there's something interesting about the Lord's Supper. Some people in the Christian faith refer to the Lord's Supper as the sacrament. Now the word sacrament comes from the Latin word sacramentum.

The sacramentum was the binding oath each Roman soldier took when he was inducted into the army of the emperor. It was a solemn and certain promise and pledge of readiness to live and die for the sake of Rome. A pledge of dedication without reservation, even if it took death. And thus, the church down through the centuries have given reference to this beautiful moment as the moment of the sacrament -- sacramentum.

And now we see the table from a different light. The sacramentum was a pledge of loyalty and love and devotion that whatever costs. And thus, the church has always looked at this table as not just something wherein a moment we participate in an emblem, but it's on our knees we refresh and renew that dedication of loyalty and love, and dedication to our wonderful King, Jesus. Let's kneel in His presence, shall we?

Lord Jesus, we've come to this table many, many times, and each time we have approached it with a different thought in mind. Sometimes the table of forgiveness; sometimes the table of peace. Other times, it's the table of reconciliation. For some it means the table of love and forgiveness. But today, as we've learned the meaning of the word sacrament, we realize that it has been the understanding of Christians down through the centuries of time that this moment is a moment of dedication. It's a time when we again renew our commitment to You dear Jesus. To serve You at whatever cost. To be loyal to You wherever and whenever, and to serve You even if it costs death.

And thus, we now understand that in the taking of these emblems we are making that pledge to You; to love You, to serve You, we dedicate ourselves to You -- our wonderful King, our blessed Lord, our Redeemer. Let's take the bread together, shall we? And then the cup. And now we pray, Holy Spirit of God, give us the strength and give us the courage and the power to live out this commitment, this dedication, that we have made to our wonderful Christ today. Please, help us, O Spirit of God. In Jesus' name we pray, and everybody said, amen. Let's stand and greet one another, shall we?