St. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11,

This and other passages have been on the minds of the Board of Elders in our monthly meetings over the last few months. There was a request from members of the congregation for us to prayerfully consider offering the Lord’s Supper at all our weekend services. The voters were apprised of this on-going discussion at the June Voters Meeting.

This was not a discussion that was undertaken lightly. The practice of the Lord’s Supper is not a trivial matter. The way we handle the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is in keeping with what be believe, teach and confess.

What we believe about the Supper is this: It is taught among us that the true body and true blood of Christ are truly present in the Supper of our Lord under the form of bread and wine and there distributed and received. (Augsburg Confession, Article 10). In this we announce to the world that when we come to the Table, we come to receive Christ. The Holy Communion is a communion with our crucified, risen and returning Lord. There we receive the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of faith. This is a most precious of gifts.

As I have taught my Adult Instruction courses over the years the question is very often raised by those in the class, “If this is what you really believe about the Lord’s Supper, why don’t you have it all the time?” That is really a fair question. It is also a very accurate one.

The Bible does not mandate how often the Lord’s Supper should be celebrated. However, it is clear that the practice in the earliest days of the Church was that the Lord’s Supper was celebrated each week in the Divine Service. It was only in the 1700’s with the rise of a movement called Pietism that the Lord’s Supper was celebrated less frequently in Lutheran congregations. I and the vast majority of theologians feel very strongly that this less frequent celebration of the Supper is not a good thing. It was even taken to an extreme. There is a saying of Luther that was taken more seriously than it was intended. Luther was once supposed to have said, “I don’t see how anyone who does not commune at least four times a year can call themselves Christian.” (The issue of our members not taking communion will be addressed in later newsletters.) The Pietists took this to an extreme of only celebrating the Lord’s Supper four times a year. This was not Luther’s intent and is clearly not the intent of the Bible.

The discussion within the Board of Elders was aware that there might be objection to a move to having the Lord’s Supper at every weekend service. There are many in our congregations that have been raised up in the faith where the Supper was celebrated once a month. Therefore, they feel very strongly that the Supper should be received only once a month. However, the discussion point that moved the Elders was from a slightly different perspective. We stopped for a minute to think not about those who are in worship on a weekly basis. We spent a good deal of time asking the question, “What if someone who has not been in worship for several years finally takes the initiative by the leading of the Holy Spirit to come back to worship. If their work schedule only allows them opportunity to worship in a service that the calendar says does not have communion, is that a good thing?” Our conclusion was no.

Here is an example from my own parish experience. I had a woman member of my congregation that was going through a horrendous divorce. She admitted to me that she hated her soon to be ex-husband. She also knew that in that state of hatred she should not commune. For months the divorce raged. She worshiped but did not commune. The day of the final decree came. The marriage was dissolved. Against the advice of her attorney, she went to her now ex-husband and forgave him. When she returned to her car she was so excited because this was a Friday and she was now ready to receive her Lord in the Holy Supper. It was only then that she looked at the calendar to see that the coming Sunday was a non-communion service. This broke her heart.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, the calendar should not be the sole reason a child of God does not have communion with their Lord. There is a Biblical ground. This too is recorded in 1 Corinthians 11.

The sole reason a person should not commune is when in their examination of their lives they find themselves to be in a state of unbelief or sin that would make their reception of the Body and Blood of Christ sinful. This does not mean that if you feel sinful you should not commune. Sinners who are aware of their sin and desire forgiveness should come forward and come forward often. Only those who are in the midst of a sinful lifestyle that they have no desire to change or those who are in the midst of refusing to grant forgiveness should refrain from participating in the Lord’s Supper. These are the ONLY grounds that should keep someone from the Table. This includes the arbitrariness of the calendar. No one should feel compelled to commune or be kept from the Supper for any other reason than these.

As you may conclude from the tenor of this article, a decision was made at the June Elders meeting on this issue. In a unanimous vote of the Board, it was decided that beginning September 1, 2007 the Lord Supper will be celebrated in all the regular weekend services of Zion Lutheran Church. If you have any questions in regard to this issue, feel free to speak with Pastor Meador or any of the Elders.

This is a major step for Zion. However, it is a step that moves us closer to a practice that resembles the historic practice of the Church and one that is governed by our confession of what we believe regarding the Holy Supper. As the Lord leads us to His Table, we approach it with great joy. The joy comes from our knowing that there sinners, including me, will receive the greatest gift ever given: forgiveness, life and salvation. This gift comes from Christ. Our regular, weekly celebration of the Supper proclaims this. We will continue to proclaim it until the Lord comes! Amen. Come Lord Jesus