As Trinity United Reformed Church (Walnut Creek, California) celebrated the Lord’s Supper this morning, I found this part of the formulary to be a very helpful reminder to Christians what it is and what it is for. These are the three purposes “for which the sacrament was ordained”:
1. “Do This in Remembrance of Me”
[Jesus] ordained this holy supper as a constant memorial and visible proclamation of his death. The apostle Paul also teaches us that as “often as we eat the bread and drink the cup we proclaim the Lord’s death. As we partake of this communion supper, therefore, we bear witness that our Lord Jesus was sent by the Father into the world, that he took upon himself our flesh and blood, and that he bore the wrath of God on the cross for us. We also confess that he came to earth to bring us to heaven, that he was condemned to die that we might be pardoned, that he endured the suffering and death of the cross that we might live through him, and that he was once forsaken by God that we might forever be accepted by him.
The sacrament thus confirms us in God’s abiding love and covenant faithfulness. By his holy supper, our Lord seals to our hearts the promises of God’s gracious covenant and so assures us that we belong to his covenant family. Let us then be persuaded as we eat and drink that God will always love us and accept us as his children for the sake of his Son.
2. Communion with Christ and Communion of his Body
Our Lord promises, moreover, that as we eat the bread and drink the cup, we are fed with his crucified body and shed blood. To this end he gives us his life-giving Spirit, through whom the body and blood of our Lord become the life-giving nourishment of our souls. Thus he unites us with himself and so imparts the precious benefits of his sacrifice to all who partake in faith. The holy sacrament is also a means of grace that unites us with one another in the bond of the Spirit. For the apostle says that “we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf” (1 Cor. 10:17). Thus, even as he unites us with himself, he strengthens the bond of communion between us, his children.
3. Assurance and Hope of Christ’s Return
The remembrance of our Lord’s death revives in us the hope of his return. Since he commanded us to do this until he comes, the Lord assures us that he will come again to take us to himself. So, as we commune with him now under the veil of these earthly elements, we are assured that we shall sometime behold him face to face and rejoice in the glory of his appearing. Our Lord Jesus will surely do what he has promised. Let us draw near to his table, then, believing that he will strengthen us in faith, unite us in love, and establish us more firmly in the hope of his coming.
Addendum: Kim Riddlebarger and Michael Horton argue convincingly for weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper as evidenced in the New Testament, in the early church, and in the desire of many 16th century Protestant Reformers and Puritans. Download Riddlebarger’s article, “The Reformation of the Supper”, and Michael Horton’s paper, “At Least Weekly: The Reformed Doctrine of the Lord’s Supper and Its Frequent Celebration. Both are in PDF.