Communion

I sometimes envy our more liturgical brothers and sisters in Christ whose liturgy brings them to the Lords' table more frequently than we in the "Free Church" vein of Christendom generally practice. While there are pitfalls of what one of my Baptist forebears called "rutualism," contemplating the broken body and spilled blood is a healthy practice. As I study and ponder our focus for this coming Sunday morning, I have re-encountered some marvelous texts in our hymnal. What they have to say to us and what they equip us to say is powerful.

One that I hope to use this week (at least in our "traditional" service ... I'm still trying to figure out if it will fly in our "contemporary" service) grabbed me ... perhaps because of our tendency to look for lines along which we can divide ourselves. The text is by Tom Allen (about whom I know absolutely nothing). If you have to imagine a tune for this text, it is set to BEACH SPRING in our hymnal, and it fits rather nicely.

Jesus, at Your holy table,
May our hearts united be.
Bind us with Your grace and presence
That redeem and set us free.
Crucify our pride and hatred,
Light the path on which we walk.
Teach us how to love each other,
In the way that You have taught.

Christ, remind us of Your passion,
Of Your precious life outpoured,
Of the love which none can fathom,
And our vict'ry evermore.
Bread of heaven, wine of promise,
Feed us with Your holy Word.
Nourish us with Your strong presence,
Risen Savior, only Lord.

Lift your hearts and raise your voices,
Celebrate this wondrous love.
Join the chorus with all Christians,
And with saints who live above.
Silent lips now sing with gladness,
Blinded eyes are filled with sight.
Jesus' love has pierced our darkness,
Brought us home to peace and light.

Text © Copyright 1991 Broadman Press.

There are so many things that we have allowed to destroy our fellowship with each other. Tom Allen has given us good and healthy words to say about our togetherness at the Lord's table.