Why do we celebrate the Lord’s Supper?

Firstly, because God will in his divine grace and mercy receive all who repent of their sins, to share in the Supper of our Lord Jesus Christ. And even when we realise that we are still weak and find it hard to live according to God’s law, we accept in faith founded on the Holy Scriptures, that our human nature cannot prevent us to receive the food that Jesus, our Host at the table, wishes to share with us.

Secondly, because we expect to be reminded by the Holy Spirit of everything Jesus did for us to save us and make us his own. The Holy Spirit speaks God’s Word to us through bread and wine that remind us that Jesus was not only innocently condemned to death and let his body be nailed to the cross, to cancel the debt we have because of our sins, but also was victoriously risen from the grave to raise us up to a new life of love for our God and for our neighbour. We are reminded that Jesus was forsaken by God, that we may be accepted by the Father and never be forsaken by our Lord and his Spirit.

Thirdly, we celebrate the holy Supper to have fellowship, with our Lord at his table. Jesus invites us to feast with him to assure us of his love and salvation. He directs our faith to his perfect and complete sacrifice on our behalf.  By the Holy Spirit, who dwells in Christ as our Head and in us as his members, we have holy communion with him and share in all his gifts, his eternal life and his glory.

Fourthly, we come to his table expecting that the Spirit unites us as brothers and sisters in true Christian love as members of the one Body of Christ. We come to love one another at the holy table and show this love not just in words but also in deeds.

Finally, we come because we expect to receive a foretaste of the amazing joy Jesus promised to his own, that we one day will share at the wedding feast of the Lamb of God. Then we will drink God’s new wine in the Kingdom of God our Father.

We celebrate our Lord’s Supper because there we are nourished and refreshed in our inner-being by the living Christ, as certainly as we receive the bread and wine in remembrance of him.