12.23.18 - The Communion of Holy Communion (Kenny Camacho)

SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34


SUMMARY: The practice of receiving Holy Communion each week is one of the few traditional liturgical elements that are a regular feature of our services at Revolution. Why is that? What is Communion, and why do we “receive” it? And why do we do this every week? Today, we want to look more closely at the central role Holy Communion plays not only in the life of the early Christian church, but in the closing days of Jesus’s life prior to His execution. We want to suggest that Communion is a ritual reminder: first, of our dependence on the sacrificial body and blood Christ for our own forgiveness; second, of the promise of our own eventual restoration (and the restoration of all things) embodied in Jesus’s resurrection; and third, of the community in which our membership is secured through our trust and surrender to this ancient sacrament.


DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

  1. Do you remember your first experience with Communion? What was it like? What did you understand it to mean?

  2. Do you receive Communion at Revolution? Why or why not?

  3. Kenny and the other teachers at Revolution routinely talk about Communion as a recognition of certain Truths about ourselves, namely: that we are dependent on Jesus, and that we are participating in the broader Christian community. What do you think about those reminders? Do they seem valuable to you? Why or why not?

  4. What practices surrounding Communion do you find most helpful and encouraging as you participate in this ritual (i.e.- music, darkness, physical posture, prayer, etc.)?

  5. How does the routine observation of Communion challenge you in your own faith?

Kenny Camacho