My heart was broken as I watched and heard during COVID-19, as many churches offered drive-through communion. Yet I am sure the Father’s heart is more broken as He witnesses the way His table is treated as a casual event from church to church. It does not convey the seriousness that it represents.
Some seem to consider it a yearly event, or when it is convenient for the order of service, maybe around easter. Others think that the Lord’s Supper, regularly, will lose its meaning.
So let me ask you a question. Is there a communion service that you recall where it made such an impact that you remember it to this day?
Let me share mine from when I was a young person.
Our church participated in the service maybe three or four times a year. The real emphasis was on New Year’s Eve, when we held a watch night service. This was a gathering at around 7 p.m. to pray at midnight, sending out the old year and bringing in the new. There were times of testimony, prayer, and, in some cases, preaching the word.
At around 10 or 10:30 PM, a communion service would be followed by a foot-washing service.
I recall one such event from my childhood. The communion service or activities were unique, at least compared to anything I’ve experienced in my later years. In this service, a table was set in front of the church, between the front pew and the altar, with 13 chairs and 13 china plates on it. They were plain, but they were the best the pastor and his wife could offer for the table we were to honor.
The pastor would stand at the pulpit and call the people forward, 12 at a time. The 13th chair represented Jesus Christ.
The deacons had prepared the bread; some wafers had been prepared beforehand, and there was Welch’s grape juice.
As the 12 who had come forward sat at the table, looking at each other, the pastor read the Scriptures for the ceremony we were participating in. He then asked each person seated at the table to look at the others and those around them, and to search their hearts to see if there was anything they had against anyone sitting at the table. If they did so, they were to assess that individual and ask that believer to forgive them and make things right before they took part in the Lord’s supper. The deacons would then place the wafer on the shining plate and a small vial of grape juice beside it.
The pastor then proceeded with the commands in accordance with the apostle Paul's New Testament pattern. The eating of the wafer represents His body, and the drinking of the juice represents His blood. As each person partook of the elements, there was a subtleness in most cases. They then quietly left the table, and the next group of 12 came forward to repeat the same situation. That night, a tongue or someone was speaking in tongues and interpretation.
After the meal, there were times of singing and praising the Lord. Around 11 o’clock, the men and women proceeded to the back, where the Sunday school rooms were. The men gathered in one room, and the women gathered in another. It was there that warm water was prepared in small basins. The women always outnumbered the men, but we could hear the women shouting as their feet were being washed by one another.
I remember Brother Blevins was a deacon preparing the water, bringing it into the room, and setting it down. We all took turns washing each other’s feet, but what was most moving was when my little brother asked for his feet to be washed. He could have been no more than five or six, and he placed his feet in the water, and deacon Blevins began to wash his feet and pray over them. It was a fantastic time. We sensed the Holy Spirit moving, and we humbled ourselves to wash each other’s feet.
That night, we finished early, and we waited and listened as the church's ladies shouted and rejoiced in the other room, washing each other’s feet. The men made their way out to the sanctuary and sat as they waited for the women to finish. There was a time of reflection. The women finally made it into the sanctuary, and then there was a time of prayer. We prayed intently as a church for the old year to end and the new year to begin. The cries for salvation and for people to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The cries and prayers for the coming of Jesus Christ. This lasted for about 30 minutes, and as the pastor called the meeting to a close, he asked if all minds were clear. There was a quiet affirmation from the congregation as the last prayer was made for safe travels home.
“Do this in remembrance of ME….”
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