Whereas in the more liturgical churches the invitation to share in the Eucharist otherwise known as Holy Communion, or what Baptists call the Lord’s Supper, for the most part does not vary from Sunday to Sunday, in the Free Churches and other non-liturgical churches there is a far greater variety. In preparation for this blog I discovered that when I presided at the Table and invited the congregation to come and receive bread and wine (or grape juice as it tends to be in Baptist churches!) I used on a regular basis some fifteen invitations.
Some were words of Jesus such as “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst to see right prevail; they shall be satisfied.’ (Matthew 5.6); “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and put is on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest” (Matthew 11.28,29); “Come to me, all of you who are thirsty, and you will never thirst again. The water that I will give… will become a spring which will provide life-giving water and give eternal life” (John 4.13,14); “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never be hungry,’ (John 6:35); “Whoever is thirsty should come to me, and whoever believes in me should drink. As the scripture says, ‘Streams of life-giving water will pour out from his side’” (John 7.37,38); or “I have come that you might have life – life in all its fulness” (John 10.10). It is this Jesus who invites us all to his table – to eat, to drink, and to rest in his love. Or based on Luke 13.9: “This is the Lord’s table. The Lord Jesus invites us to share this joyful feast. “From east and west, from north and south, people will come and take their places at the banquet in the kingdom of God”.
In addition I would issue more general invitations such as
Come to this table not because of who you are. Come, not because you must but because you may, not because you are strong, but because you are weak.
Come, not because any goodness of your own gives you a right to come,
but because you need mercy and help. Come, because you love the Lord a little and would like to love him more. Come, because he loved you and gave himself for you. Come and meet the risen Christ, for we are his Body.Come, when you are fearful, to be made new in love.
Come, when you are doubtful, to be made strong in faith.
Come, when you are regretful, and be made whole.
Come, old and young, there is room for all. Come, old and young, take this bread, share this wine. In these Christ comes to us, with love from God.
The gifts of God are for the people of God.Come, not because you understand, but because you are understood.
Come, not because of how you feel, but because God has food for you.
Come, not because you deserve a place, but because Jesus invites you,
just as you are.The Lord Jesus invites all those who love him… to come to his table and to share in this joyful feast. In this feast comes the root of our joy, in this feast gleams the glory of the heavens high, in this feast Christ comes, the King of greatness.
Let us draw near to God – for he wishes to draw near to us.
Let us open up our hearts to God – for he stands at the door and knocks.
Let us taste and see that God is good – for his promises never fail.Bring your heartache, bring your tears, bring your worries, stress and fears.
Bring your troubles, hurt and care, bring your doubt, dismay, despair.
Bring your weakness, bring your shame, bring your faults and sense of blame.
Bring your aching deep inside, all the emptiness you hide.
Bring your all, lay bare your soul, Christ is here to make you whole.Come to this sacred Table, not because you must but because you may.
Come not to testify that you are righteous, but that you sincerely Lord our Lord Jesus Christ and desire to be his true disciples. Come not because you are strong, but because you are weak; not because you have any claim on heaven’s rewards, but because in your frailty and sin, you stand in constant need of heaven and love.
Now that the Supper of the Lord is spread before you, lift up your minds and hearts above all faithless fears and cares; let this bread and wine be to you the witnesses and signs of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit. Before the throne of the heavenly Father and the Cross of the Redeemer, consecrate your lives afresh to the Christian obedience and service, and pray for strength to do and bear the holy will of God.
For me the older I grow the more the Table of the Lord becomes the centre of Christian worship. Increasingly I am wearied by ill-thought-out sermons which fail to wrestle with God’s Word, but I am always refreshed by the bread and the wine. In heaven, thank God, there will be no sermons, instead there will be worship. Hopefully there will be no worship bands where the focus is all too often on the music rather than God. Instead God will be the ‘celebrity’ and we will be giving him the glory! There we will be drinking “from the spring of the water of life” (Revelation 21.6) and “all things” will be made “new” (Revelation 21.5). For me the Lord’s Supper is an anticipation of the “wedding feast” of Jesus, “the Lamb” (Revelation 19.9). It is this to which those who have the privilege of inviting people to the Table offer bread and wine for the journey which begins in this life and ends in the life to come.
Thanks for getting me chuckling away at ‘ill thought out sermons’ , I had thought that I was the only one….. . I liked the variety of the invitations . I find it difficult when the Anglican service has the same words every week. Thanks again, yours Robert.
You must have included everyone, in whatever state of body or mind , in those lovely invitations to the feast. Sermons may appeal to one person or another, but rarely to everyone. All should feel included in these touching invitations to communion.