COMMUNION, A SPECIAL MOMENT

Sermon Notes, March 22, 2015

Rev. Dick Guizar

            Rev. Guizar’s message was titled “Communion, A Special Moment,” and his scripture basis was 1 Corinthians 11:23-30, where Paul was correcting the abuse of the Lord’s Supper by the church at Corinth, and reiterated what he’d received from the Lord about how it should be done.
            Rev. Guizar told about experiencing a day in the life of Jesus at an Orlando theme park called “Holy Land.”  The highlight for him was at the communion table, with people from many countries, all of them children of God.  It was like a family reunion.
            Whenever we experience Communion, it is a gathering of the family of God.  It is a sacrament, a time to worship, and in the Church of the Nazarene it is open to all who have given themselves to Jesus.
            Jesus said He didn’t come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them.  (Matthew 5:17)  He and His disciples gathered in the upper room to celebrate the Passover meal.  And there He instituted what we call Communion, or the Eucharist.  He looked to the past, and to the future.
            In those days, when a host was finished with the meal and ready for the table to be cleared, he wadded up his napkin at his place.  But if he was coming back, he folded it neatly.  At Gethsemane, Jesus prayed that if it was possible, God would let this cup pass from him.  But He knew that was the reason He’d come to live on earth, and He submitted to His Father’s will.  Shortly afterward, the crowd came, and Judas betrayed Him, Peter cut off Malchus’ ear, and Jesus was arrested.   On the cross, He said “It is finished.”  After His crucifixion, He was buried.  When the women came to finish preparing his body, they saw the empty tomb.   Peter saw the napkin that had been over his face, folded neatly, signifying “I’m coming back.”
            Was the stone rolled away from the tomb so Jesus could get out?  Or was it rolled away so that we could see inside the tomb?  He’s coming back!  We look back, at the Passover, and the napkin is wadded: “I’m finished.”  We look forward, and the napkin is folded: “I’m coming back.”  Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly. (Revelation 22:20)