Last Sunday was the the first Sunday of the month, the day we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus by observing the Lord’s Supper, or Communion. It is a sweet routine for us, as we together partake in the shared loaf of bread representing the body of Christ, broken for us; and as we drink the cup representing the blood of the new covenant of Christ.

But we did not celebrate the Lord’s Supper. We remain under a stay-at-home order, and will continue our worship services at home for the time being. Different churches hold different traditions for this ordinance, and some have elected to continue on an individual basis. But as Pastor Brian and I considered our options, we decided it best to wait until we return under the same roof to celebrate together.

It’s important for you to understand the convictions which motivate this decision. So briefly, three reasons we wait until we gather together once more.

1. The Lord’s Supper is for the Church Gathered

In 1 Corinthians 11, we find some of the clearest instructions concerning the significance and practice of the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament. And beginning in 11:17, the apostle Paul refers to the gathering of the local church several times:

“But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.” (11:17)
“For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you…” (11:18)
“When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.” (20)

Over and over again, Paul reveals that he envisions the church gathering together. And it’s clear that he understands Communion as something practiced in community. It is not something done alone and individually, like personal Bible reading or private prayer. It is experienced as the church assembled.

This is confirmed in the previous chapter, as Paul discusses something rather different (idolatry). In making his point, he refers to the way the Lord’s Supper was observed: “The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” (10:16–17) The logic is that many share in one loaf—a practice we preserve in a modified fashion at Village (we use 2-3 loaves). Of course, for many to share in one loaf of bread, many have to be present in the same space.

In other words, the Lord’s Supper is for the people of Christ when they gather together.

2. The Lord’s Supper Publicly Proclaims the Lord’s Death

There’s another reason we see benefit in waiting to celebrate the Lord’s Supper until we’re back together: it is a public proclamation. Notice what Paul says at the end of his instructions in 1 Cor. 11:26: “For as as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you [here, the word is plural] proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

It’s an interesting word choice. It’s the same word that’s used of the apostles’ preaching of the gospel (Acts 4:1-2; 13:5), and of Paul’s preaching of the gospel to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 2:1). How does observing Communion herald the death of Jesus?

Think about it. Every time we take the bread and cup in hand, we speak these words together: “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me…This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” What are we doing in uttering these words in unison? We’re proclaiming that Jesus died to save us from our sins.

But to whom are we proclaiming? On the one hand, to ourselves—because we need constant reminding of this great truth. But we are also a church with open doors. Anyone may come in and join us. When we celebrate communion, we are, together, declaring our faith in Jesus’ death openly and publicly to whomever might have ears to ear.

If we were to celebrate the Lord’s Supper privately, it would diminish this dynamic.

3. The Lord’s Supper is a Holy Practice

Finally, we wait to celebrate because we believe that the Lord’s Supper is a holy practice. It’s not something to be handled lightly. In fact, Paul writes his instructions to the Corinthian church precisely because they’d handled it lightly, and were experiencing the serious consequences for doing so. He identifies this flippancy as the cause of the sickness, and even death, that had afflicted their congregation (1 Cor. 11:30).

Our God is a holy God. He is so other-than, so unique and glorious that we must always approach Him with the reverence due Him. The Lord’s Supper is also a holy meal. It is not a common meal, as we eat every day, or a “Sunday morning snack” we get once-a-month. It’s a holy remembrance of the infinitely valuable gift lavished on us through the death of the Son of God. And it is a precious gift which the people of Jesus are given to taste the gospel in a rich, experiential way.

Couldn’t we maintain the holiness of this ordinance at home? Of course. I’m not suggesting that the people of Village couldn’t possess appropriate reverence. But there is something in setting this time apart as unique and sacred that helps us to acknowledge, together, the greatness of the gift and the holiness of the meal.

Tension and Anticipation

As mentioned above, there are brilliant and godly Christians who disagree with us on this point. If you would benefit from reading through two different viewpoints, The Gospel Coalition has a nice pair of articles up right now, arguing against and for celebrating the Lord’s Supper during the pandemic.

This is not the way it’s supposed to be. It is right to grieve this dislocation. And if this stay-at-home order drags on for months, we may reevaluate our position to prayerfully determine how best to serve the church.

So let’s feel the present tension. But as we do, allow the temporary withholding of this precious gift to fuel a deeper yearning for Jesus’ return, and for the day when we will feast at His table, face-to-face with our Redeemer.

And so we say, “Come, Lord Jesus.”