Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor's Page
Dear Friends in Christ,
On May 4th we’ll be holding our next scheduled voters’ meeting. One of the items on the agenda will be to address the recommendation by the Elders and me to begin offering the Lord’s Supper at every worship service rather than every other Sunday. Obviously, I am in favor of this beneficial change. But I also realize that some members may have concerns or questions about it. I have attempted to answer those in the past during Adult Bible Class. However, not everyone chooses to, or is not able to, attend those. So, in preparation for May 4th, I will attempt to address the major concerns that are usually expressed about this important issue.
First, the fear is that by having Communion every Sunday it will become too common and will therefore not be properly revered. The reality is this problem was never encountered in the 1940’s when our LCMS churches went from having the Sacrament 4-5 times a year to having it monthly. This lack of reverence also did not occur when our Synodical churches in the early 1980’s made the bold move to having Communion twice a month. During the holidays we sometimes have the Lord’s Supper two weeks, and sometimes two days, in a row and there doesn’t appear to be a loss of reverence or appreciation of the Sacrament. On the contrary, at those times people seem to desire to receive Christ’s body and blood even more! And that’s how it should be for us as Christians. If we truly understand the grace and forgiveness along with the fellowship with Christ and the rest of the body of believers that we experience, then wild horses couldn’t keep us away. Besides, if you sincerely believe that you don’t feel a need to receive Communion when it’s offered, you have the option of staying in the pew and spending that time in prayer and meditation. I can’t speak for anyone except myself. I know my sinful heart and mind and I need that assurance of Christ’s forgiveness which we receive in Holy Communion more rather than less. I suspect there are others like me who have that same need. So, out of Christian love for them we ought to offer the Sacrament.
The next concern is the length of the church services. Well, if you attend regularly then you know that even on a Communion Sunday, we still end at approximately the same time. But seriously think about the underlying premise to this concern. Are we willing to tell God that He can have 60 minutes of our time each week, and not a minute more? If you’re that brave, I’d love to discuss with you how you got to that point in your faith, because I’m not that brave. Here again, if we truly understand and believe what we confess about the Lord’s Supper then it would be worth the additional time spent in worship.
Thus far we’ve only examined the supposed “negatives.” What about the positives? Well, if you go back and check, the early Christian church celebrated Communion every single time they gathered for worship. This remained true up to and throughout the Reformation in the 1500’s. And it continued to be the practice of the majority of the Christian Church until the 1800’s. I can explain in Bible Class why it changed from every Sunday to 4 times a year. Suffice it to say that for the great majority of the existence of the Christian Church, Every Sunday Communion was the norm. What we’re preparing to do with our change in practice is simply getting back to the way that Jesus intended for His holy meal to be treated. Another advantage (other than the ones mentioned during the “negatives” discussion) is that if a person has to be gone on a Communion Sunday, they don’t have to wait two weeks to receive it again.
This is just a brief summary of the discussion on Every Sunday Communion. As I stated earlier, if you have questions that aren’t answered here, feel free to contact me with those. And please, make sure you attend the Voters’ Meeting on May 4th as we address this important issue.
In Christ,
Pastor Meyer
