Spotlight 6/2022: Together at the table of the Lord
It is a beautiful picture: Jesus is sitting at the table with His disciples and passes the cup to His neighbour, who passes it on to his neighbour, and so on until all have drunk from it. For District Apostle Mark Woll from Canada this is a concrete idea that is connected to our motto for 2022.
We read in 1 John 1: 7 “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
One message of this bible passage is the fact that if we want to have fellowship (walk) with Christ (the Light) we need fellowship with one another and to share in His body and blood.
Recently in a divine service, our Chief Apostle highlighted the experience the disciples had with the Lord Jesus as He celebrated the Lord’s Supper. Jesus broke bread and gave it to His disciples and He passed the cup of wine to the first disciple who in turn passed it to the next one to drink until all had drunk out of this cup. One bread and one cup circulated among all the disciples, each one drank and shared with his fellow disciple. This is the body and blood of Christ shared together with the Lord’s own. What a wonderful picture!
The circulation of what is essential for life can be compared to the blood that circulates in our bodies. The blood that cleanses by collecting and removing the toxins and wastes from every part of the body, giving oxygen, providing nutrients, delivering that which gives life and is essential to even the smallest member of the body. Likewise, the blood of Christ cleanses and supplies what is needed for our eternal life and fellowship with God. Together in Christ, we share the body and blood of Christ in partaking in Holy Communion in the divine services.
The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 11: 23–30 points out the importance for us to partake worthily in Holy Communion. We gather at one table with the Lord and with each other in humbleness and unity, remembering Christ’s sacrifice and looking forward to His return. We are to examine ourselves, come with repentance, the desire to change, and the willingness to forgive one another; through His body and blood, His strength and the power to overcome will circulate within us. It will oxygenate our faith, hope and love for the Lord.
We will not be spiritually weak and sick as Paul refers to in verse 30, but spiritually vibrant. The more the blood of Christ circulates in us, the healthier we become. On the other hand, when we insist on our differences and our own importance then there is less room for Christ and the weaker we become. The Holy Spirit revealed this through John the Baptist when he said, “I must decrease and Christ must increase.” When this is the case, the body of Christ (i.e. the church, the congregation) is healthy. It is our ardent desire to be together in Christ and with one another in the congregation where Christ is visibly present and active.
Photo: NAC Canada
Article info
Author:
Date:
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Mark Woll
18.04.2022
District Apostle,
motto,
Together in Christ
