Communion

By Hayley Boud

Mathew 26:26-28

If we look at the physical attributes of bread and wine, we are able to find something spiritual for our lives.

Bread is tasty to eat but it's only tasty when it's fresh. Bread represents the Word of God which is always fresh, it never gets old - it is relevant for us today. But we need to eat it while it is still fresh for our lives. We shouldn't wait until tomorrow thinking it will be a better time to leat it. We have to accept the Word that God gives to us today. We can't decide to listen to that Word another day because it might be too late. Sometimes God speaks through my conscience and I try to ignore it and if I ignore it for too long, I'll miss the opportunity for God to help me. The bread will become hard and so will my heart. Communion is also relevant for today and very important for our lives.

In the old testament, the bread had to be unleaven, meaning it had no yeast in it. The yeast represents the impurities and therefore it is very important before to take the bread of communion and before to read the Word of God, to be sure that we are pure. It only takes a few seconds to analyze ourselves. And when our conscience speaks; listen, repent. Remember God wants us to say sorry to the person we have offended before we say sorry to Him.

Bread is a staple food. Many people eat it as a meal, especially at lunch time because it is filling. The Word of God should also be a staple part of our spiritual diet. Communion should be too. When I'm hungry, I eat breat and feel satisfied and so does our soul when we eat the Word of God and take communion.

Bread also smells good, especially when we are hungry. As soon as I smell it, I feel the need to eat it. My mouth starts to water and my tummy starts to rumble. Do I also have that same feeling with the Word of God? Do I hunger for it? Do I feel that desire to take communion?

When I eat bread too quickly, it gets stuck in my throat and it actually hurts quite a bit. Sometimes we need to slow down when reading the Word of God, and meditate on it and we should also slow down when taking communion and think about the importance of what we are doing. The Word of God should stick in us, and it should sometimes hurt a little. The Word of God is a double edged sword so it must cut us.

Wine represents the blood of Jesus and we all know that life is in the blood. If I cut myself and bleed until there is no more blood, I will die which means blood contains life. Without Jesus Christ, we die spiritually and without communion we die in a way also because communion helps us to stop and examine ourselves which helps us to stay alive in faith and remain close to God.

In order to examine ourselves we need the Word of God which is a double-edged sword that cuts us. It must produce blood because life is in the blood. If the Word of God doesn't cut us and if it doesn't produce blood, then we won't have life.

Jesus said whenever we are gathered together we must share His bread and remember Him. Whenever we meet with others, we need to share the Word the Word of God, even in our daily conversation and use the Word to encourage each other to produce life in us (blood = wine).

I remember one time I was extremely upset about something and I started to tell a friend but before I finished, that friend told me a verse in the Bible that didn't even relate to the problem I was facing. I was annoyed and said, "Why did you tell me a verse? Why can't you just sympathise with me?" . He answered, "Because I don't want you to sin so I'm distracting you with the Word of God so you can focus on something that will help you but if I talk more about your situation or ask you more questions, you will feel worse and complain and your complaints will be sin." I understood but I didn't like it. The Word of God isn't always want we want but it is always what we need so whenever we are together we must read the Word and speak the Word and remember Jesus and get life from it.

This is the same with communion - it's not always what we feel like but it is always what we need.

So before to take the bread and wine of communion, take some time to think about it's significance and make sure to be ready through repentance.