Table Myths, part 3

You may recall the first two myths I’ve shared in previous articles:

Myth #1: It’s my personal time with Jesus.  In fact, it’s the entire community of believers’ time with Jesus.  The Table was established for corporate practice.

Myth #2: We take communion because Jesus commanded it.  Actually, Jesus instituted a new meaning for a meal, which was established in the cultural context of the day, and appointed his immediate followers to continue its practice.

Myth #3: The Table is my altar of forgiveness.

I bet if most of us thought about it, we’d realize that’s not a true statement.  However, what we know and what we often say or practice don’t always agree.  You have probably heard someone say, or even said yourself, “During communion is when I ask for forgiveness for my sins from the week.”  Don’t get me wrong; seeking forgiveness from God (and other believers) is completely biblical.  What I’m getting at is the errant concept that forgiveness comes along with the taking of the bread and cup.

I was fortunate to hear the late Dr. Robert Webber, a theologian who had dedicated his life’s work to the study of worship, speak on numerous occasions.  When addressing crowds of Christian Church ministers he would applaud us for our weekly celebration of the Table, noting how we differed from other movements and denominations.  He would often challenge us in our practice of communion, “But you have your own crucifix,” an allusion to the cross that is worn by many practicing Catholics and on which we find Jesus still being crucified.

Webber observed that we often practice communion as if Jesus is still on the cross, a very Roman Catholic concept indicating the need for continual penance and confession of sin afforded to us by the Eucharist.  See Romans 6:10-11, Hebrews 7:27, and Hebrews 9:12-14.  Christ died on the altar, once and for all.  Yet some believers would continue to approach the Lord’s Table as if it was a functioning altar.

John Mark Hicks, in his book, Come to the Table: Revisioning the Lord’s Supper, urges Christians to rethink the Lord’s Supper as “table” rather than an “altar.”  Consider the implications for the meaning of the communion meal as you read the following excerpt:

Indeed, the table/altar distinction is rooted in the Hebrew sacrificial ritual.  The blood is shed and poured at the altar, but the animal is eaten at the table… The two are connected as those who eat at the table participate in the benefits of the altar, but the two are distinct.

The altar is a place where the guilty bring their sins for atonement, but the table is where the forgiven experience communion with God.  The altar is a place of death and sorrow, but the table is a place of hope (life) and joy.  The believer seeks reconciliation at the altar, but experiences reconciliation at the table.  The altar may be a place for solemnity and silence, but the table is an occasion for celebration and interactive communion.

The Lord’s supper is a meal eaten at a table.  It is not a sacrifice offered at an altar. (pp. 185-186).

This is one of the beautiful things about the Lord’s Table: Although we remain aware of our continued propensity for sin, we rejoice in knowing that we are forgiven by the Christ act on the Cross.  Simply put, at the Table we are not begging that our sins be forgiven, but celebrating that which Christ has already done to forgive us.  Understanding this difference will not only reshape your practice of the supper, but your experience as well.