Stephen spoke this morning on Holy Communion from 1 Cor 11:23-26, 33. Even though at the present time we are physically apart when we share Communion, this act brings us together as we remember Christ and what He has done, and this is an opportunity for us to receive afresh from God. Sharing in Holy Communion is not simply a ritual, something that we do out of duty or to prove our faith; it is our obedient response to Christ’s command to remember His broken body and the blood shed for the forgiveness of sins and a symbol of our union with Christ and our unity with each other.
Participating in Holy Communion acts as a bridge between who we were, before we knew God, and who we are now, His beloved children. In many respects, our lives could be said to resemble clay pots that have been broken by sin. Paul talks of us carrying treasure in jars of clay (2 Cor 4:7-10); we have the treasure of Christ’s life within our earthly bodies. We may be broken (like the ‘china girl’ in the film ‘Oz The Great And Powerful’), but Christ in us restores us, repairs us and makes us new creations. In some ways, we become like a plastic pot rather than a fragile clay one, for even though we are hard-pressed, we are not crushed; even when perplexed, we are not in despair. When we are persecuted, we are not abandoned; when we are struck down, we are not destroyed. All this is because we carry around in our bodies the death of Jesus and so His life is now lived through us. (Gal 2:20)
