Communion – A Common Faith

Communion: a body of Christians having a common faith and discipline

When I’m cooking, there is nothing that steals my time or annoys me more than a blunt knife. Some months back I bought an electric knife sharpener. The small handy-looking thing, when I opened it, was complicated to use, and so it has served no purpose since making its home in one of the drawers in my kitchen. Maybe I am just too lazy to get the hang of it, but if trying to fix a problem that is already robbing me of time costs me even more time, that’s a wrap. So, when my blunt blade meets whatever needs to be chopped up, I find myself gravitating to the old school method of sharpening knives, another knife or a stone. It gets the job done and I can jump back into my work in the kitchen, less hampered by a dull tool.

“Using a dull axe requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.” ~ Ecclesiastes 10:10

Each time I have blunt knife challenges in the kitchen, I am reminded of this verse. As we have been reflecting on Easter and communion with God I would be amiss in not taking advantage of the opportunity to emphasise that communion with God also involves communion with His people. God loves people. As an introvert, I remember years back I would always say, “I am not a people person.” I can’t remember which year exactly, but over 6 years ago for sure, the Holy Spirit rebuked me for saying this phrase about myself. He asked me how I intended to be more like Him if I was continually announcing how unlike Him I was. He further shared with me how being a people person did not necessarily mean being an extroverted life of the party. Since that conversation, I have held my tongue each time I have been tempted to announce my introverted disposition with the phrase, “I am just not a people person.” Consequently, my love for God’s people has since grown and taken on new forms.

One of the definitions of communion is “a body of Christians having a common faith and discipline. While God wants us to share His love as we commune with all people, Christians and non-Christians alike, I think there is something to be said about communion with the church of Christ. Back to food. Communion, the Lord’s Supper, is a meal shared with fellow believers in remembrance of Christ. I don’t know about you, but culturally, I was brought up to believe that food is a way we show and share love with people we somehow understand and agree with. I think this is why the Pharisees of Jesus’ time found fault with him for eating with sinners and tax collectors, because sharing a table and a meal with them would have meant that He was like them, being one in beliefs and disciplines. While Jesus was holy, He ate with them because He wanted to connect with them and show them love and kindness.

When we share communion as a church family, we are announcing, in remembrance of Jesus, that we are united as one under His lordship. Regardless of our differences, we are all God’s children, having been purchased by the blood of Jesus which He shed, without reservation for all of us equally.

“Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.” ~ 2 Corinthians 13:11

If it is wise for us to sharpen the blade of the tools we use, I think it is safe to say that we too must find ways to sharpen ourselves so that we are of use to God and others. I think one of the by-products of communion with God is for Him to sharpen us so that we can then be a blessing as we commune with those around us. To borrow from Paul’s words, I encourage you to pay attention to these things as you commune with God’s beloved people.

Be joyful. Communing with God’s people isn’t the easiest thing to do. If we look at the story of the Israelites we can see from Moses’ life just how difficult God’s people can sometimes be, us included. But if we choose to tap into the joy of the Lord, we will be strengthened from the inside out to continue to love people through their difficulties.

Grow in maturity. As we grow in spiritual maturity, our dispositions, words, and actions become more and more like that of Jesus Christ himself. When we keep our maturity as the focus, instead of the maturity of others, we make ourselves more useful to God. Our growth in God attracts others to Him making us not only ones who commune with God and others, but ones who also draw others to commune with God. 

Encourage each other. Life is hard, and everyone needs a little encouragement sometimes. While you trust God to send His words of encouragement to you when you need it most, commit to making yourself available to encourage others. Be radical about it and make it a point to be kind to those around you, especially strangers. One thing God has been dealing with me about is greeting people who I don’t know, and though this is quite uncomfortable, I find that acknowledging others with a simple hello does their soul good. Try it.

Live in harmony and peace. In recent years God has been sharing a line with me as I have gone to Him to complain about different situations brought on by different people. “Louise, people are just people.” One of the ways we can live in harmony and peace with others is to keep this truth at the forefront of our minds. We should not expect people to conduct themselves as God does. We should not expect people to treat us the way God does. And we should certainly not expect people to love us as perfectly as God does. They are not God, they are just people. Rehearsing this will keep us from taking a lot of things personally and as we present different situations, hurts and concerns to God, He will do what He does and empower us not to give up on His people, but to live in peace with them.

It’s easy to isolate, especially during the recent years, with COVID. It’s easy to stay focused on our relationship with God and forget that He has called us into relationships with others. It’s easy to stay committed to working on the vertical lines of communication, us and God, leaving the horizontal lines of communication, us and other people, to gather dust. I encourage you to have all-rounded communion. Partake in the Lord’s Supper at every opportunity presented to you and remember Jesus and His sacrifice for you. Let this bubble over into you living a resurrected lifestyle, full of victory even when the prevailing situation says otherwise. Put on your new clothes. Don’t continue to wear the rags of sin and shame, but fully accept God’s gift of new life by putting on the new nature, His nature, and with this, share in common faith and discipline with those whom God has placed in your circle.