As we approach communion today I want us to focus on the body and the blood of Jesus Christ, and how he sacrificed those for us. You’ve heard about his sacrifice. It’s something we talk about every time we celebrate communion, but have you really thought about what it means for Jesus to sacrifice his body and blood for you?
Take one of your hands, and feel your skin. Touch your arm, pinch it, rub it. Do you feel your skin, your body? When Jesus says, “This is my body, which is for you,” he is saying: “My skin for your skin. My flesh for your flesh. My heart for your heart.”
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 says, 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.” (ESV)
Jesus literally lost his body so that you and I can keep our bodies. But the sacrifice doesn’t stop there. See he also shed his blood.
1 Corinthians 11:25-26 continues, In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (ESV)
I want you to take two fingers and place them on your wrist or on your neck. Place your fingers on the vein so you can feel the blood beating from your heart. Jesus had a beating heart too. He had blood that ran through his veins, and he gave up that blood and that beat so that we can live. His heart stopped beating so that after death our hearts can beat again.
If you believe this to be true, that Jesus sacrificed his body for your body, and his blood your blood, then you’re welcome to take the Lord’s Supper with us. But if you don’t believe this to be true, hold off. I hope one day soon you’ll be able to claim Jesus’ body and blood as your own.
If you’re living in sin, ignoring how much Jesus sacrificed for you because the sensations and the experiences your body and blood provide are more valuable to you than Jesus, please don’t take communion. Jesus’ body and blood are costly. Approach them with care.
But for all who do believe, I invite you to feel your body and your blood, and take communion with a deep gratitude for all Jesus has done for us. Let me pray for the meal.
The devotional book, “The Listening Day: Meditations On The Way, Volume One” by Paul J. Pastor inspired Pastor Jonathan Romig to write this reflection on the Lord’s Supper, specifically Paul’s chapter, “At the Altar of Life.”
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