My heart broke as I read the following article from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-i-cant-take-communion-anymore_us_57632febe4b034ff3eef2fb2
I
connect with this author completely. And this is why I cannot take
communion anymore either.......***at ANY non-Lutheran church.***
I am so blessed to be able to partake of Communion at Lutheran churches. Why?
Because I come to Communion precisely *because* I am guilty. I need forgiveness of sins.
Zwinglians
and Baptists already feel strong enough and forgiven enough so that
they don't need Christ's Body and Blood. It's just a token of
remembrance for them.
The Reformed, although many
times broken, tend to focus on getting it right, on God's glory, and
whether or not they have "true faith." For them, Christ is only there if
they have "true faith." That is not the "communion" I need.
The
Catholics and the Orthodox focus on Communion being a sacrifice for the
sins of the living and the dead. For them, it is something we offer to
God. Forgiveness, although believed, takes a back seat.
No.
Christ instituted the precious Sacrament of the Altar of His precious Body and Blood given to us for the forgiveness of sins.
Truly given for us.
Shed for us.
He comes *down* to us.
We are simply beggars.
That is the only Altar I will go to.
Where I am received as a beggar, offering nothing.
Where my King comes down to me with gracious Words.
Now this true Body and true Blood of Christ has forgiven all of your sins. Go in peace knowing you are clean and forgiven.
Amen.
"Zwinglians and Baptists already feel strong enough and forgiven enough so that they don't need Christ's Body and Blood. It's just a token of remembrance for them."
ReplyDeleteAnd yet they have alter calls and rededications. They think of a Christian committing a sin as "Backsliding" And they need to keep checking for fruit in their own lives to validate that God is truly pleased with them. Yes, I know you're speaking tongue-in-cheek because it's not that they're strong enough or truly believe they're forgiven enough that they reject God's gifts; it's they just would rather trust something that seems more stable than a promise from God that doesn't square with their reason and offends their sensibilities. - Steve Rentfrow