LEGACYouth: Do This in Remembrance

Most of us are familiar with the Last Supper, when Jesus introduced communion, charging his disciples to: "Do this in remembrance of me".

But what does it really mean to "remember"?

After all, we can remember the cross cognitively, but still miss the heart of communion (see 1 Cor. 11:26-28). We can memorize John 15:13 ("Greater love has no one than this...that someone lay down his life for his friends."), discuss topics like about salvation & repentance, but still leave church service without a desire to truly change (which we'll define, in this context, as a burn to be more like Christ & living a life of truth...not just a desire to stop sinning).

Point is: Jesus wants our "remembering" to inspire change within us.

And when we study the Word, especially the early church in Acts, we find communion to be a powerful symbolic expression of worship bringing spiritual truth to life in concrete ways and shaping the identities of early believers as a redeemed people.

Thus, it's worth taking a closer look at what communion is and how it can help us in our walk with God today.

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When we look at the biblical concept of remembrance, we find it to be a call to worship & a call to action.

And when we drill down on the opening chapters of Acts, we find the church embracing both of these calls.

With the call to worship, the early church responded by commemorating the freedom that was theirs. In other words, they not only reflected, but celebrated Christ's ultimate sacrifice. Within their celebration was a shared joy in self-examination (1 Cor. 11:28), reconciling relationships, and the actual partaking of communion together (Acts 2). For they knew communion was more than simply a 'taking of the elements', but an intimate response to unconditional love. In turn, this helped prevent communion from becoming a religious motion.

With the call to action, the early church responded by knowing and living out Jesus's intent for communion. For they knew if Christ deemed something worth remembering, then it was meant to be employed as a repetitive practice. And since early Christians considered communion to be the external expression of a daily internal relationship, it was able to become something far more real than a symbol or tradition.

If we think about it, communion has some things in common with the Fourth of July.

With respect to our independence, we don't just say, 'Yeah, we're free.' No! We find people all over the country given free time to commemorate the freedom that is theirs! Businesses close, families come together and communities gather for feasts and fireworks...all for the sake of celebrating freedom and making gratitude an evident expression.

When we consider the early church, we find them doing just that! They remembered the price that was paid (past reflection), understood the freedom that was theirs (present action)...and out of it, were compelled to shape how they lived their lives* (future hope).

So essentially what we see happening at the end of Acts 2 is a committed church understanding the power of communion (a sincere hunger & commitment for change) and community together. As a result, they were able to experience God's life as the life connecting them.

Bottom line: Remembrance is more than a mental exercise, but a recognition of God's involvement in our past, present & future. When we fix our eyes on the prize (Hebrews 12:2 & Phil. 3:14), we'll find it leading not only to passionate worship, but appropriate action, greater trust in His promises and better understanding of His word and will.

*In other words, communion helped the early church maintain a lifestyle of repentance

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