I grew up in a small Primitive Baptist Church in a small town in central Florida. I accepted Christ early and started participating as a member in my church. We did feet washing. I remember washing feet and having my feet washed. I remember kneeling and getting the towel wet.
Now, we don’t do feet washing in the churches I’ve been a part of, but I will tell you some of the most meaningful Lord Suppers.
In Louisville, I went to a church where the Lord’s Supper was practiced every week, tied wholly into the sermon each week (the Gospel), and we actually broke bread (tore off pieces from one loaf) and could dip the bread either into the wine or the juice (in goblets). The community of believers served each other each week. Here some meaningful aspects:
- Believers serving believers. Community with the Lord’s Supper. First with Christ because He gave himself for us, then we other believers who have put their faith in Jesus too.
- Tearing off the bread. The body of Jesus was a real body. He was bloody. He had thorns on his head. The little wafer that I’ve mostly had in life isn’t as much of a replication of it. But, there is something about tearing off the bread that is more symbolic of what happened on the cross 2000 years ago.
- Wine. (If you have personal reflections on alcoholic intake, I’m not saying you should go partake with wine at the Lord’s Supper. Where there is freedom, there is love). I’m not a dry red wine fan. But, when taking the Lord’s Supper, and you are drinking sweet grape juice, it again misses the symbolic mark for me. When I dip the torn bread in a cup of bitter wine, the wine hits my tongue and almost makes me wince…it highlights the bitter nature of the cross.
And this table, the Lord’s table, reminds me most of a time when I can sit at the table with Him in Heaven, my feet covered with brilliant fine linens, no one seeing my faithlessness, my rebellion, but all seeing the love and beauty of Christ.
Quote from John Frame, Systematic Theology, found in Habits of Grace by David Mathis.
