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I recently read a fascinating article by John H. Armstrong in the September, 2014, issue of Christianity Today. Armstrong starts out reminiscing on early childhood worship experiences in the denomination he attended. He writes that his church celebrated the Lord’s Supper “four times a year. I remember asking why we celebrated it so infrequently. The answer I got never satisfied, and it still doesn’t: ‘If we do this very often, it will lose its meaning’” (51). He goes on to say, “As I grew older, I discovered some churches took the meal weekly. I was then even more dissatisfied with the answer I had received” (ibid.).
He goes on to write a mostly historical examination of the Lord’s Supper, looking at the debates and developments of church history. At the end, he summarizes by saying, “…[younger Christians] desire to receive the meal more often. And some of them—as I did when I was younger—have started attending congregations that take Communion every week” (53). The reasons given are that each observance gives us the opportunity to focus on Jesus’ crucifixion, expresses the unity of the body, and reflects our personal identity in Christ (ibid). In other words, it offers commemoration, examination, and expectation. We need that on an ongoing basis, and the Lord knew we would. That is why He pointed ahead to a certain frequency when He established it, saying He would do it again when He established His Kingdom (Mark 14:25). Paul says it was to be done with a certain frequency (1 Cor. 11:25—“as often as”). Thankfully, Luke shows us how frequently it was taken (Acts 20:7—“on the first day of the week”).
It is good to understand that the Bible establishes the frequency of our observation of the Lord’s Supper, but it is also important to know why we take it each week. We look up, look back, look within, look around, and look ahead. Our all-wise God knew we would need this every time we assembled with our spiritual family. Though so many have lost sight of its frequency, may we never lose sight of its significance!
Neal Pollard
Bear Valley Church of Christ
Denver, CO