When the people of Israel sinned in the notorious golden calf incident, Moses responded by grinding their idol to powder, throwing it into the water, and making them drink it. They drank the object of their foul worship, thus becoming completely identified with it—in that case, for cursing. We also consume what we worship, partaking …
Within Walking Distance
Our Lord was fond of a fortiori, “how much more” arguments. Not a sparrow falls to the ground apart from the will of the Father. That being the case, He urged, His disciples ought not to fret over whether they were going to be cared for. We can reason the same way here, at this …
Accepted Weekly
It is no accident that our service of worship concludes, or culminates, in the Supper. In response to the summons of the Lord, we have called on His name. We have confessed our sins, knowing that we cannot enter into the holy place of worship apart from His cleansing and forgiveness. We have consecrated ourselves …
Christmas and the Supper
This week is one of our culture’s high feasts. We may lament that many do not know what Christmas really means, or they have bent it into some other strange meaning, but the fact remains quite a striking one—this time of year, every year, the birth of Jesus Christ is marked and celebrated. Other contenders …
Wisdom Offers Bread and Wine
We come to this Supper week after week, and it is tempting for us to start to assume, after a few years of it, that we are doing so as old hands. We know the ropes, we know the words, we know the theology. But one of the things we should know—if we know the …
Joy That Cranes Its Neck
As we come to celebrate the Supper during the season of Advent, it is necessary to remind you of the temptations that come with “penitential” seasons like Advent and Lent. This is a meal closely associated with the death of our Savior. The wine is the blood, and the bread is the body of the …
Making the Physical Spiritual
The God we worship is the God of all mercy. Scripture tells us repeatedly that His mercies crown all that He does, and one aspect of this mercy is that He gives “food to all flesh: for his mercy endureth for ever” (Ps. 136:25). One central aspect of His great mercy is His provision of …
Stones in the Wilderness
When the Lord was tempted in the wilderness, one of the points of temptation was bread. The tempter said that if He was who He claimed to be, He ought to prove it by turning stones into bread (Matt. 4:3). Jesus responded by saying if He turned the stones into bread, that would not be …
Bread for Strength, Wine for Joy
In Psalm 104: 14-15, we are told that God feeds the world. As part of this, the psalmist mentions wine and bread as part of God’s great gift. He tells us that bread is given to strengthen the heart of man, and that wine is given to gladden the heart of man. As we gather …
The Liquid Oath and Edible Vow
Our fathers the Jews were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They, like us, were inaugurated into the body of God’s people. And they also had spiritual food and spiritual drink in the wilderness. The drink came from the rock that accompanied them, the rock that was Christ. They had manna, …