The Lord's Supper: Routine Ritual?
David Powell

Each Lord's Day the Lord's people gather to partake of the Lord's Supper (Acts 20:7; I Cor. 11:20 KJV). Weekly communion was observed until the seventh century according to Dr. Mason in Borden’s Church History. Weekly communion did not die with the apostles and their contemporaries. There is a cloud of witnesses to testify that it was kept up by succeeding Christians. . . . Communion every Lord's day was universal, and was preserved in the Greek church till the seventh century.

Today, faithful followers of Christ continue to observe this memorial each Sunday. This weekly observance should never become a routine ritual. The Scriptures teach that the observance of the Lord's Supper is a time for participation, commemoration, proclamation, anticipation, and examination.

Participation—There is a connection in the New Testament between fellowship and eating together (Acts 2:46; 11:3; I Cor. 5:11; Gal. 2:11-13 KJV). We normally eat the common meal with those with whom we have the most in common--family and friends. When we, the body of Christ, partake of the Lord's Supper, it is an expression of our oneness (I Cor. 10:16-17). Division caused the Corinthian church to lose sight of this perspective (1 Cor. 11:17-2, 33). The observance of the Lord's Supper is an expression of the joint-participation shared among the people of God.

Commemoration—A key word used by Jesus as He instituted the Lord's Supper was the word "remembrance" He said, "Do this in remembrance of me" (I Cor. 11:23-25). The bread represents the body of Christ and the fruit of the vine represents His shod blood. This memorial is Heaven's way of reminding man of the greatest event of all time. The Lord could have asked us to build a monument, or to observe a Lent season, but instead He instituted the Lord's Supper. The observance of this memorial is a time for remembering: thus a commemoration.

Proclamation—When Christians partake of the Lord's Supper they "proclaim the Lord's death till he comes" (I Cor. 11:26). Those who partake on a selective few Sundays are missing out on the opportunity to proclaim the Lord's death. Those who believe that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again should desire to proclaim this message to others. The observance of the Lord's Supper is a proclamation of one's faith in the facts of the gospel.

Anticipation—In partaking of the Lord's Supper, followers of Christ are reminded that Jesus will come again (I Cor. 11 26). Members of the Lord’s family encounter hardships during the week, yet they begin each week with the reminder that some day Jesus will come and take them away from this world of woe to a heavenly home. Thus, the observance of the Lord’s Supper is a time for anticipation.

Examination—The Lord's Supper can be described from the perspective of four views: (1) Backward in commemoration; (2) Outward in proclamation; (3) Forward in anticipation; and (4) inward with examination (I Cor. 11:28). The word "examine," or "prove," (dokimazo) comes from a technical word used in classical Greek of putting money to the test to find out whether it is genuine or not. The partaking of the Lord's Supper is a time for each participant to examine the genuineness of their faith. Such an examination is needed each Lord's Day. Conclusion

In this article, tile Lord's Supper has been discussed as a time of participation, commemoration, proclamation, anticipation and examination. Partaking of the Lord's Supper each Lord's Day is a blessing, and never a burden. When Christians understand the significance of the Supper, they will never allow it to become a routine ritual.