“So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” (John 6:53-56)

Since becoming a vegan about five years ago, it’s been quite a challenge for me to find restaurants that cater to this lifestyle. Many restaurants accommodate the meat-eater, but finding a vegan-friendly place is like searching for a needle in a haystack! When vacationing in Florida a few years ago, I was thrilled after a long search to finally find a restaurant called “True Food Kitchen,” which provided vegan options that were both healthy and delicious. It states on its website: “We are on a mission to make it easier for more people to eat more real food. We are focused on using whole or minimally processed food in everything we make.” Great! I was a happy camper! “But isn’t all food real food,” you ask? I think most of us know the answer to that question.

True food is life-sustaining. It’s one of the basic necessities of life, containing nutrients essential for the growth, repair, and maintenance of body tissues and for the regulation of vital processes. True food works for you and not against you. And in a very real sense, as the saying goes, “you are what you eat.” Nutrients from the food we ingest provide the foundation of the structure, function, and wholeness of every cell in our body. In fact, the health of our cells is directly determined by how well we’ve been eating. So, while eating potato chips might not turn you into a potato chip, the chip’s properties get broken down and absorbed into the body’s blood, muscles, fat, and organs. We can understand this from a physical standpoint, but the same concept is true spiritually.
 
 In responding to His disciples and referring to Himself, Jesus said, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.”

Jesus was not referring here to the literal eating of flesh and drinking of blood, for that would have been cannibalistic and was strictly forbidden in the Torah (Lev 17:10-14). But He uses figurative language here to convey a spiritual truth. He’s saying unless you receive - that’s what “eat” and “drink” here means - unless you receive, take in by faith, and appropriate My flesh and My blood with all that it means and has accomplished, you have no spiritual life in you. In other words, unless you personally accept His incarnation and blood-atoning death as fact, you will never have eternal life. Eternal life is a matter of believing that Jesus is God who came in human flesh and died a substitutionary, atoning, sacrificial death for our sin. “Eating” His flesh is to acknowledge, believe, and receive this. “Drinking” His blood is to accept, acknowledge, and appropriate by faith His blood that was shed for the remission of our sins (Matt 26:28). And rather than just a one-time act, this “eating” and “drinking” is to be continual. According to Jesus, when we feast on Him in this way, something supernatural and wonderful takes place. We’re infused with eternal life, and we enter into a relationship with Him that is so intimate that we literally abide in Him and He in us (vs. 56).

So, when we partake of the Lord’s Supper, receiving the bread representing His body broken for us and the wine or juice representing His blood shed for us, we participate in a symbolic, outward sign of inward faith and acceptance. It’s a spiritual reality that allows us to intimately connect with Jesus in a way that is life-infusing and lasts forever. This is true food, indeed!

Questions For Reflection:

1.  What does your spiritual diet look like? Do you think it’s sufficient to sustain you for the long haul?
2.  What are some “false foods” that you’ve looked to for sustenance and satisfaction that have failed you?
3.  How much is fellowship with Jesus a part of your daily life?
4.  What are some things you can do to ensure that you’re eating and drinking of Jesus continually?

“Nehemiah said,”Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared.  This day is holy  to our Lord.  Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”    Neh.8:10

“But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right at the hand of God.  “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”     Acts 7:55-56

Our God is a consummate teacher.  From the time we open our eyes to the time when we close our eyelids to sleep, God is teaching us.  If we have ears to hear and eyes to see, God is using the classroom of our  lives to teach us about Himself; what He gets excited about, what pleases Him, when we feel the smile of God on our lives.
Eric Liddle, the Olympic runner from Scotland, said it best. When he was explaining to his sister, Jennie, why it was so important that he run in the Olympics: He said, “I know God made me for a purpose —for the mission in China, to work in the ministry with you and Dad,… But He also made me fast; and I when I run, I can feel His pleasure!”
I will never forget the lesson I learned on the college football field.  I was a “roving” linebacker who was charged with responsibility of stopping the opposing team ballcarrier once he got past the line of scrimmage. Once the ball was snapped, I could see the play was coming my way. The ballcarrier had two good-sized blockers running in front of him. For reasons that escape me now, I dove between the two blockers and collided with the ballcarrier in a helmet-to-helmet hit that ended play.  My head was swimming as I lay on the ground, where I was attempting to get my bearings. But I could see our sideline, and our coach jumping up and down, punching the air enthusiastically with “Attaboys”.  I jumped up, shook it off, and got back in the game.   My coach’s joy was my strength.

In the same way, Stephen, in a contest with higher stakes than a college football game, stopped an “end run” of lies with the truth. He rehearsed Israel’s history for the benefit of his accusers, pointing out that from the time of Joseph and Moses and the wandering in the wilderness, “You are just like your ancestors : you always resisted the Holy Spirit!  Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute?  They even killed those who predicted the coming of The Righteous One.  And now you have betrayed and murdered Him—you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious.   But their outrage was overshadowed by an event in heaven. Stephen looked up, and the previously seated Son of Man ( Heb.1:3, 10:12, 12:2 ) was now standing at the right hand of God.  Stephen was getting a standing ovation from the Lord he loved! And that is all he needed to carry him through the death by stoning that followed.  The Lord’s joy was Stephen’s strength.
 
God gets emotional when his people do what pleases Him, as a parent or coach does when their word is carried out, despite the costs incurred because of their obedience.
 When we take communion, we join the body of believers who are of like heart and mind. We live to please Him.  His joy is our strength.

Questions to Think About
 
1. What is the primary motivating factor in your life?

2. What is the thing in your life that, when you do it,  you feel it gives God pleasure?

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”
                                                 Rev.3:20
 
Here is encapsulated the very heart of God and is the theme of all of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation.  The Creator is  simply wanting to fellowship with His prized creation; mankind.
The vociferous atheist, Richard Dawkins, was asked by one interviewer what he would say to the Lord regarding why he doubted His existence.  Dawkins responded with a quote from Bertrand Russell: “Sir, why did you take such great pains to hide Yourself?”
Hide Yourself?!  As if it is not enough that “the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”(Psa. 19:1) or that “… since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made…”(Rom.1:20) are not sufficient to get the attention of an unbelieving world, the Lord says “Here I AM!”
He even cries to His own people, “Here I am!”,  from outside the door of His Church at Laodicea. Though the Lord was clearly disappointed with His people, He still offered her white clothes to wear to cover her shameful nakedness, just like He did for Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.   
 
And what does He want? To break bread with us!  A dinner for two!   In the Middle Eastern culture, breaking bread is key to strengthening relationships and fostering unity.  Here is a picture of the Omnipotent God knocking, seeking an invitation from us, mere creatures, to go the next level of trust in our walk with Him.
It is especially poignant that, knowing what  the breaking of bread represented, Jesus ironically identified the disciple who would betray Him at the Last Supper.
You don’t have to be a veteran disciple to be a casualty of betrayal.  It is the price of love. And it hurts.  I was helped in the process of recovery by two key factors.  One is the character of Christ Himself.  Isaiah describes the Messiah in this manner: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and He will bring justice to the nations.  He will not or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break,  and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out…” (Isa.42:1-3)  No hurt I’ve ever sustained in my life can be compared to those of Christ. How did He respond?  “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

The other help came from the sage wisdom of C.S.Lewis, who said in his book, The Four Loves:  “To love at all is to be vulnerable.  Love anything , and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even an animal.  Wrap it carefully round with hobbies, and little luxuries, avoid all entanglements; lock it safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.
But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless —it will change.  It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable…” God can heal a broken heart.  But the self-protective lovelessness we can hide behind as defensive armor can hinder the healing we need.

“By this shall all men know that you are My disciples when they can see how you love one another” (Jn 13:34).  As we partake of the wine and bread in communion, we honor our God who found us worthy of the price of love.

Questions to Think About
 
1. Have you ever had your heart broken where you were tempted to lock it up safe in the casket of self-protective lovelessness?  How’d that work out?

“I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new you in my Father’s kingdom.”                       Matthew 26:28-29

In the economy of God, Jesus doesn’t waste words.  
At the start of his earthy ministry, He quoted Isaiah 61:1-2, “…The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor,  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners , to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor…”.  In Luke 4:18-19, we read that Jesus closed the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down…He began by saying to them “Today this scripture is fulfilled in fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus stopped mid-verse and did not read the end of the sentence.  The part of the Isaiah 61:1-2, that Jesus did not read  because it was yet unfulfilled was;“…the day of vengeance of our God.”

In the same way, at the Passover Seder (the Last Supper), it is important what the Lord did, and more significantly, what He didn’t do.

At the Passover Seder, the wine is traditionally served in 4 vessels, to correspond to the four promises made by God in Exodus 6:6: “I will bring you out (of Egypt)”, “I will deliver you from being slaves to them”, “and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm”.   
The fourth cup corresponds to the fourth promise ,”I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God .” 

Jesus is thought to have made this remark between the third and fourth cup, “For I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God comes.” The forth cup will be left untouched by the Lord in anticipation of His wedding day.  For in that day, tradition holds,  we will celebrate the consummation of our salvation with our Bridegroom at last.

I remember during the weeks before our wedding day (45 years ago) , I picked up my Bride-to-be from her job where she was assistant branch manager of a bank in Springfield, Virginia.  While she completed some business with a customer, I sat at her desk and was amused by some writing on her desk blotter. There in beautiful cursive handwriting she had written “Karen Marcia Harris”, “Karen Brown Harris”, “Karen Marcia Brown Harris”, “Mrs. Charles Harris”, and several other iterations with flowery embellishments.  I was moved by these musings in anticipation of our marriage, and of her love for me.

Jesus, in like manner, eagerly anticipates His wedding to His Bride, when the Lord will finally “take [us] as His own people, and I will be your God.”  “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!  Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.” (Ps.139:17-18)  So too are we; everyone of us, individually, and personally,  on the mind of God.  More than the grains of sand! This same God, who has created the 200 sextillion stars in the universe and Who called them all by name; (Is.40:26), surely knows every one of the 8 billion human beings on planet earth by name. He especially draws near to the ones who want to know Him.

He has pledged to wait for us in anticipation of when He drinks the wine anew with us in His Father’s kingdom.  When we take the bread and the wine as a memorial to His sacrifice, let us never forget Who it is that waits for us.


  Questions To Think About

1. In your life, how has something you eagerly anticipated affected your priorities?  How does this relate to Phil.3:7-8?
2. How does knowing that you are on the mind of God (Psalm 139:17-18) and Who has prepared a place for us, affected your prayer and thought life?

“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.” 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. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ESV)

On Thursday, September 8th, 2022, the world was told that Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning British monarch, passed at age 96. The official announcement was posted on the door of the gate at Buckingham Palace: “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.” Though brief, this proclamation went throughout the country of England, the realms, the Commonwealth, and the world. The Queen held the respect and deep affection of many. Yet almost two years after the grand State Funeral at Westminster Abbey ended, where tributes were made to her extraordinary reign and remarkable life of service, life continues…business as usual. Her death is rarely spoken of. 

Regarding the death of Christ, however, the apostle Paul tells us, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” 

It’s significant that he speaks here of the repetitive and continual proclamation of Christ’s death. Why is this important? Each time you and I partake of the Lord’s Supper, we make a public announcement of Jesus’ death and our personal identification with it. We declare not only the fact that He died, but also all that it means.

Shortly after my fifteenth birthday, I partook of Communion for the first time. I was told that since I had reached that age, it was time for me to do so so that I could become a member of the church. I complied, but had little to no understanding of what it really meant. For me, it was mere ritual and fulfillment of expectation. Now that I’ve come into a personal relationship with the Lord, my entire understanding and approach to Communion has changed. This has taken my relationship with Him to a deeper, more intimate level. It’s become an occasion of true worship, with gratitude for all He has done to bring me to Himself, as well as means of spiritual warfare.

When we “eat this bread and drink the cup,” we proclaim the power of the Lord’s death to save. We proclaim it’s effectiveness to redeem us and reconcile us to God (Rom 5:10-11). Who do we proclaim it to? We proclaim it throughout the realm of His reign. To the angels who long to see and understand this mystery (1 Pet 1:12). To the demonic realm, whom Jesus disarmed and put to open shame, reminding them of their defeat (Col 2:15). To unbelievers, that they may know there is a Redeemer. And to ourselves, to remind us that He paid sin’s penalty for us, in our place. Oh, what power there is in the proclamation! We don’t have to be eloquent speakers. Each time we eat the bread and drink the cup, this grand and glorious truth reverberates throughout creation. 


Questions for Reflection:

1. What message do you think that Communion sends to the angels?
2. What message do you think that it sends to the demonic realm?

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the One who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered….”  Heb.5:7-8

We wear arm bracelets saying “Do as God Does.”  Eph.5:1. We aspire to be as Jesus is,  but are we willing to do as He did. Read the scripture again: “…Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered.” Now if the Son of God learned obedience from what He suffered, how can we think we can learn obedience any other way?   We attend athletic training camps so we can be a better football player or basketball player, etc, and we come with the expectation that it will cost us in terms of blood, sweat and tears. We willingly submit to the discipline of our coaches, and we learn obedience from the suffering required in the process of becoming a better athlete.     

God has something more in mind than athletics as His grace prosecutes His purpose in our lives.  As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:26 concerning the last   supper with His disciples; “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
He was talking about the Cross.  When Jesus had the last supper with His disciples, He foreshadowed His death ; His broken body the bread, His shed blood the wine.  in “bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered…So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.” (Heb.2:10-11)
Like Jesus, we “can consider it pure joy…whenever [we] face trials of many kinds because [we] know that testing produces patience.”  (James 1:2-3) 

I can say with full strength of heart, for all my recent trials, daunting as they may be, I would not trade anything for the sweetness of Jesus and His fellowship through it all.  Patience is doing its perfect work.  I hold out the hope to all my brethren that we will not kick against the pricks, but “forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, that [we] press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phi.: 13-14)

Questions to Think About

1. How is communion a reminder of what we are called to in Gal.2:20 ?
2. What goal in your life have you been willing to pay the price of blood, sweat and tears?  Was it worth it?