Open Communion 1

Open Communion
by Irfan Iftekhar

Are not the Christians obligated to "follow the law" of the Lord. After all, they are in no

way obligated to follow the laws of rabbinical Judaism, or Islam, shouldn't they live as

observant Christians?

Communion is observed because the Lord told us to. We are to obey His commands, it is

our Lord who told us, "And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body,

which does for you; this in remembrance of me." 1 Corinthians 11:24 (NIV). As good Christians

when we observe Communion, we actually are following His ways and we remember what He

has done for all of us, during His entire life, his death and resurrection: "And when he had given

thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."

1 Corinthians 11:24 (NIV). It is through Communion that we get a time in solitude to examine

our deeds and our acts. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks

of the cup. 1 Corinthians 11:28 (NIV). Remember, we observe Communion and eat together, we

proclaim His death until He comes, we thus strengthen our faith on Him. "For whenever you eat

this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 1 Corinthians 11:26

(NIV).

As history is considered, we know that Jesus met to celebrate the Passover meal with his

disciples as a first century Jew. To commemorate deliverance from the tenth plague which was

sent by God, the Jews celebrated the Passover. The passing over of the angel of death occurred
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if a given household of Hebrews chose to follow Gods directive and place the blood of a lamb

on the doorposts and lintel of their houses (Exodus 12:37).

The reason we take communion is to remember what it was the Lord Jesus has done for

us. When we partake of the body and blood, we are proclaiming the work that He accomplished

for us on the cross. We are also proclaiming the benefits of the New Covenant, which include

healing, deliverance, prosperity, and the power to overcome sin in our lives.

We should also remember that Communion is not unique to Christians only. Remember

when the covenant was given at Sinai, Moses took some blood from sacrificial animals, threw

half upon the altar, then the covenant was read by Moses. The people ratified the covenant with

the words kol Asher diber Adonai na'aseh v'nishma: "all that the LORD says we will do and

obey" (Exod. 24:7). Moses took the other half of the sacrificial blood, after the ratification and

threw it on the people, saying, "Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with

you in accordance with all these words." The "match" was made and the bride had agreed to the

Groom's proposal... After this Moses and 70 of the elders of Israel ascended Sinai to eat a

"covenant affirmation meal" between Israel and the LORD. It was there that the elders beheld the

awesome glory of Elohei Yisrael (the God of Israel), under whose feet was "a pavement of

sapphires, like the very heaven for clearness" (Exod. 24:9-10). The Sinai experience was a

"marriage ceremony" between the newly redeemed Israelites and the LORD. This Passover

experience was a pivotal event in Judeo-Christian history, and Jesus celebrated this covenant

with his disciples and then instituted the Lords Supper as a new covenant. Jesus, this new
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deliverer, had come to free people from sin and offer himself as the lamb sacrificed for all.

Neither personal transformation nor the Zionic goal will be accomplished without sacrifice and

suffering. The Muslims too have a full month of Communion, which they call Ramadan, the

month of fasting, when the fast is over as evening falls, they sit together in large groups thank

God and break their fast with drinks and fruits, everyone is invited to this Communion. As

Christians we should know that the frequently repeated of the eight Sacraments of Lord's Supper

in the Church has been nothing but a Communion. It is a graceful time of caring and sharing, of

remembering and worship.

Like the symbols of the Passover meal, Jesus gave a new meaning to freedom over death,

a new moment in time that separates us from our past and brings us new life each Communion

and starts us on a road of transformation as his follower. Emphasis is given in the Old Testament

on human choice and behavior, and this is also a story of Passover. Although unique to the

Church as well as our celebration of the Lords Supper is the inclusion of the commandment to

remember Jesus. As good Christians we perform a physical act, the Communion, but what it does

is that it changes our spiritual nature. We are those people who have made a covenant with Jesus

through the baptism of the body to renew that promise. A time when we truly examine our inner

self, take stock of all our actions and our relationships.

Is not Communion the time when we step forward and lay our sins on the altar and

discard our animal like attitude as sacrifices? This is the time we sit together and remember our

covenant to follow our Lord and abide by His commands through the example of Jesus. At

Communion, we are not just 'some Church goers', we are much more than that, we are the guests
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of the Lord Almighty and sit around the table laid by Jesus Christ, while the priesthood is just the

physical representation. The Lord presides and is symbolized in the bread and the wine, and in

order to give respect we are commanded to kneel down, the only prescribed ritual in the church.

And who can be more proud that the one who dines at the table of the King of kings? This

compelling and forceful personal experience of our Lord's Supper transforms us and our lives are

Realigned with godly antecedences. When a person comes out of church after attending

the Communion, he or she is transformed anew. The joy of remembering in togetherness is

matchless, it is unique like a heavenly spell and above all remembering Jesus is central to the

new covenant which is celebrated by this sacrament. What is remembered is His life, ministry,

death and resurrection and a promise is made to always keep him dear to our hearts and obey his

commandments.

A good fellow cannot forget the grace in the hymn speaks to the personal effect of

Communion: "O Lord, how can it be that I may come to eat with thee this sacred heavenly food?

My robe is marked with sin; how can I come thy courts within to eat and drink with God? O

Lord, by faith, I see that thou didst give thyself for me, to cleanse my soul from sin. In this sweet

morning hour, O seal on me thy cleansing power that I may holy be. And then with heart full free

I reach my hand to eat with thee, in oneness with my God."

As creatures of desire, we all have a deep desire to be one with God again. Yes, we all

have innate desires to receive or acquire things for ourselves, but we all have a divine nature to

give and share. Jesus has called us to transformation, but the requirements are different than one
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might think. We need a broken heart and contrite spirit. God loves justice, but loves creation

more. And so by grace, we ask for and obtain forgiveness and release from sin.

Transformation occursfrom the desire to receive for self alone, to the desire to receive

for the sake of sharing. This unity of purpose in the body of Christ brings us closer in love,

sharing, and forgiveness for the cause of the kingdom.

The first is to eat in remembrance of the body of your Son. We remember Jesus

suffered. As an innocent victim, he was executed through crucifixion. In Jesus every victim also

is present. The second commitment is to witness to God that they are willing to take upon them

the name of your Son, and always remember him. In Communion we reaffirm our commitment

to follow Jesus and remember him all the time in every respect of our lives. We remember his

guidance, his teaching and everything he did to save us. The third commitment is to keep the

commandments which [Jesus] has given them. Jesus said, If you love me, you will keep my

commandments (John 14:15). Where do we find the commandments of Jesus? We find them in

the teaching passages of Jesus recorded in the gospels.

Mount, chapters 57 in the Gospel of Matthew is a great source of learning for all. We

would be blessed also to focus on Jesus new commandment: I give you a new commandment,

that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this

everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:34

35). With the zest to reconcile with others, we prepare for Communion, our greatness lies in
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confessing our mistakes and making up for it. We cannot come to the altar to reconcile with God

if we are not reconciled with a brother or sister in the congregation (Matthew 5:2324).

Such a practice would transform our congregational and family lives, though it is

difficult, yet, to follow Jesus is to walk from pride to humility, from arrogance to love.

At the Communion, the symbolic meal which is laid on the table has the force and power

to mold us into being a true and living expression of the life, sacrifice, resurrection, and

continuing presence of Christ. There are three meals in the Lord's Supper. As we consider each,

our knowledge of this sacrament becomes greater. The first is the Jewish Passover meal. Jesus at

the Last Supper met with his disciples to share in the Passover meal. Jesus said that night, I

have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer (Luke 22:15).

The second meal is the Lords Supper as stated by Jesus. We remember Jesus as a victim

of those in power, who suffered a horrendous execution by crucifixion (Luke 22:1720). The

Passover is the foundation of the Lord's Supper. A kind of happy celebration of the Almighty

God freeing slaves from harm and suffering in order to enter the promised land of plenty.

"Passover is a meal that challenges us to remember that freeing the poor from poverty is the

central story of the Hebrew scriptures and that Jesus took this as a sacred duty, central to his

mission" (Luke 4:1819). Christ died to redeem all (Doctrine and Covenants 16:3ce). In

remembering in the Lords Supper, we disarm our hearts. The third meal is yet to come, but we

anticipate it in the Lords Supper. It is the Messianic Banquet, a biblical theme begun in Isaiah

and reinforced in the New Testament.

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God is merciful and never He refused to meet someone at the sacred table laid out at

Communion. He neither pulled away any plate or neglected in forgiving and accepting. When

someone reflects on this, the heart becomes full of compassion for others. "O Lord, how can it be

that I may come to eat with thee. God invites me to come and eat. God invites you to come

and eat; to share in this meal of renewal, of remembering, of forgiving and of being forgiven; this

meal of being present with God and with each other. then with heart full free I reach my

hand to eat with thee, in oneness with my God.

The Bible itself says about Communion at many places like in: Matthew 26:26-28: "Now

as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples,

and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave

it to them, saying, Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured

out for many for the forgiveness of sins." In John 6:53, "So Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say

to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."

In Isaiah 53, "But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed." In

Exodus 12:1-51, "The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, This month shall be

for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the

congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according

to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then

he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what

each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male

a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats." In Psalm 23:1-6, "A Psalm of
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David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He

leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his

name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,

for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in

the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows."

The following quotes on the benefits and importance of Holy Communion are taken from

St. Alphonsos De Liguoris books, The Holy Eucharist and The True Spouse of Jesus Christ.

Of all the sacraments the adorable sacrament of the altar is the most excellent. The other

sacraments contain the gifts of God, but the Holy Eucharist contains God himself. Hence St.

Thomas says that the other sacraments have been instituted by Jesus Christ to prepare men either

to receive or to administer the Blessed Eucharist, which according to the Holy Doctor, is the

consummation of the spiritual life; because from this sacrament is derived all the perfection of

the soul. For all perfection consists in a union with God: and of all the means of uniting the soul

to Him there is none better than holy Communion by which, as Jesus Christ Himself has said, the

soul becomes as it were one thing with Him. He that eateth my flesh abideth in me and I in

him The principle effect of this sacrament is to preserve in the soul the life of grace. Hence, it

is called bread; for as earthly bread supports corporal life, so this heavenly bread preserves the

life of the soul which consists in the grace of God.

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References

Babin, Pierre. The New Era in Religious Communication, Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991

Schwarz, Christian A. Paradigm Shift in the Church: How National Church Development Can

Transform Theological Thinking, Carol Stream, ChurchSmart Resources, 1999

Sannch, Lamin O. Translating the Message. The Missionary Impact on Culture. Maryknoll, N.Y.

Orbis 1999