A Victory Feast

This meal is a Spiritual meal in many different senses. It is Spiritual because Christ is present with us at this meal in His Spirit. It is Spiritual because Christ feeds us with his body and blood in ways that are not explainable with chemistry or biology. But this meal is also Spiritual because God does with this meal what seems utterly ridiculous to carnal man. Paul says in 1 Cor. 11:26 that our eating and drinking is a proclamation of the Lord’s death. Throughout Acts people repent, believe, receive the Holy Spirit and start eating together. They don’t join a political party. They don’t immediately start dressing differently or working in particular industries. They immediately begin breaking bread together, this bread, Eucharistic bread together. And then the next thing that happens is that they’re getting in trouble with the authorities. What gives? What’s the threat of bread and wine? This meal is Spiritual because it accomplishes by faith what cannot be accomplished any other way. Moses sees the armies of Pharaoh and lifts up a stick. David sees the giant and picks out a few choice pebbles. And we see the world and all its ugly sin and we sit down to a table. It looks like insanity, and the world will do all it can to break our concentration. And it cannot be an accident that so many churches do not celebrate communion but very rarely. But here we are in the power of the Spirit joined to the millions thronging into the Kingdom. Salvation is a victory feast, a festival in honor of our victorious King and his mercy and grace to us and to the whole world. Therefore eat this bread with joy, drink this wine with a merry heart.