Washington D.C. is a city of many memorials and monuments. We deem it appropriate to honor and remember those who gave their lives for our country or served for the greater good in some way. One familiar site is a large V shaped black granite wall with the names of over 58,000 American men and women who died in the Viet Nam War etched into the stone.
Our family has visited D.C. on a couple of occasions but one particular visit to the Vietnam wall left an indelible image in my mind. There was a stark contrast to the attitudes of the people visiting that day. Some were placing flowers in front of the wall. One person, perhaps a daughter of someone killed in action, had placed a piece of paper over a section of names and with some kind of marker was able to create an impression of the name on her paper. It was clear that this visit was meaningful and significant to her.
Others there seemed relatively disinterested – even disrespectful – carrying on as though the memorial meant nothing to them. Their behavior seemed out of place at a location where people were stopping to remember those who gave their lives for their country.
I wonder sometimes if we don’t see similar attitudes and actions when we observe the Lord’s Supper in our church services. For some, there is great meaning found in the ordinance and they look forward to participating in the communion service. For others, the Lord’s Supper is treated as a routine ritual with little significance.
The truth of the matter is that when we partake of the Lord’s Supper we are stopping to remember the greatest sacrifice ever made by the greatest being in existence. Just as one ought to show respect and reverence at a war memorial – even more so ought we to be moved to reverence when we come to the Lord’s Table. Christ asked for no monuments to be made in His name. He did ask us to remember Him with the bread and the cup.
I Cor. 11:24 – ‘This is My body, which is for you; Do this in remembrance of Me.’
I encourage you to make sure you participate the next time your church observes the communion ordinance. Look back on what our Savior did at Calvary to secure our salvation. Reflect in gratitude and worship at the Savior’s sacrifice on our behalf.