The following was presented as a devotional before communion at Connections Christian Church, Johnstown, CO

In this season as we reflect on our vision and values, it is appropriate to pause and consider what we have chosen to place at the center of our gathering—a TABLE.

When you reflect on the best memories of your life, how many are set around a meal—a summer BBQ, the traditions of Thanksgiving and Christmas, a special birthday dinner, or simply sharing the events of the day around the evening meal. It is not a coincidence then, that when we come together as God’s family we would also share a meal together. On the surface it is a very simple one—just bread and wine—but these simple things speak to much deeper realities. These realities are profound truths that shape our lives and build our faith but they should also convict our hearts. Here are just a couple of those realities for us to consider and confess.

We come to this table together. Jesus invites us to His table as His people; we come together as brothers and sisters. This isn’t a drive through McMeal you eat in the car, but a shared gathering with your family. When the Corintians allow the Lords’ supper to divide their fellowship, Paul’s words to them were pointed and sharp. Communion with God means community with one another.

Father God, we pause to confess our role in broken relationships and our lack of love for those created in your image.

We come to this table routinely. In the same way that our bodies need continual physical nourishment, so too do our souls need to be filled and fed. Sharing this meal is an acknowledgment that our soul’s longings are never satisfied within ourselves. It is a reminder that He who creates and sustains our physical life is, therefore, the only source and sustenance of our spiritual one.

Father God, we pause to confess our unwillingness to depend on you as the Source of our life.

Finally, we come to this table as guests. A good guest doesn’t bring his own food, or demand a particular menu, or push into the kitchen to fix dinner himself. A good guest receives what is given with open hands and an open heart. Jesus is our generous host, giving us a meal that cost him His very life. To sit at this table requires humility.

Father God, we pause to confess our pride that rejects your good gifts.

Holy God, we come to your table with the conviction that we are indeed unworthy guests, and yet we also come with joy that you, in your love and sacrifice, welcome us to fellowship with you, your Son and the Holy Spirit.

I invite you to the Lord’s Supper remembering the words he spoke to His first disciples:

This is my body which is for you—Do this in remembrance of me

This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.

Come share the followship of his table.