Three writers at The Gospel Coalition (Ray Van Neste, Eric Bancroft, and Kenneth J. Stewart) debate the issue of communion frequency in Protestant churches. From Van Neste’s essay:
…in our man-centered age where so many services are shamefully devoid of any meaningful reference to the cross, could we not benefit from a move to a regular use of the Christ-ordained means for reminding us of the cross? If we want to be gospel-centered why not make the Christ-ordained portrayal of the gospel a centerpiece in our weekly worship? In an increasingly “visual” age might we not benefit from regular use of the visible, tangible portrayal given to us by Christ? In a day seemingly interested merely in Our Best Life Now, do we not regularly need the Christ-ordained means of reminding us of the Lord’s return and the wedding feast of the Lamb? [...]
Last, communion at the close of each service has a way of tying the service to the gospel. Too easily a well-intended sermon can end up preaching only the commands of Scripture, failing to undergird the people with the hope of gospel provision and power. The Table anchoring the conclusion of the service has a way of shaping all that comes before it, focusing on the cross of Christ and his return as our hope and joy.
As a Catholic whose faith sees the transubstantiated Eucharist (not merely “communion”) as the source and summit of liturgy (and whose priests offer communion every day) I confess that I find this argument faintly puzzling, though reading the arguments and following the logic of these authors did help me understand (a bit) why they take the positions they do. Where I found myself nodding in agreement, as with the quote above, it was because a fair number of the arguments could function equally well as a defense of the Catholic position. And as one writer observes, this is indeed becoming a “trend” in certain Protestant quarters. So it is encouraging to see an emerging awareness of the importance of this Biblically-based, physical, communal ritual, even if it’s not a capital-s Sacrament.
And as a postscript: Those interested in learning more about the Catholic Church’s own varied practice on the subject might benefit from reading this.
April 19th, 2012 | 5:42 pm
Interesting. Each of the three authors make a similar point: that because the Bible does not specify how frequently one should celebrate the sacrament, there is no sin involved in choosing different amounts of time between communion.
Is it the case that Protestants believe that only things mentioned explicitly in the Bible are binding in conscience, and therefore sinful if violated? I can think of lots of things that are a sin that aren’t mentioned in the Bible.
Aren’t there Protestants who do not celebrate the Lord’s Supper at all? Would these authors believe them to be guilty of a sin for completely omitting the practice?
April 19th, 2012 | 6:34 pm
As a Presbyterian who greatly appreciates my church’s practice of weekly communion, I thought this last remark from the “in between” guy’s post rather baffling:
“An insistence on weekly communion both goes beyond the NT evidence and compels congregations—with multiple bona fide priorities—to attempt too much in that always more compressed hour of the Lord’s Day.”
The solution to this is real, real easy — let the service run ten minutes longer. There’s nothing sacred about an hour.
I realize this isn’t his only objection to “insisting on” the practice, but it shouldn’t be an objection at all. If something is worth doing, it’s worth taking a few extra minutes to do, rather than objecting that you can’t fit it into a magical 60-minute time limit. What other important business or social function has its content entirely dictated by such an arbitrary time limit on a day when very few participants have any other fixed obligations?
April 19th, 2012 | 7:02 pm
The problem with each of these views is that they take a Zwinglian perspective on the Lord’s Supper. It does not matter how often if the Eucharistic meal is understood as a visual object lesson prompting memory. There is no exposition of the real presence of Christ in the meal and there is no recognition of Christ, much like the disciples on the road to Emmaus.
April 19th, 2012 | 8:07 pm
“Aren’t there Protestants who do not celebrate the Lord’s Supper at all? ”
The only groups I’m aware of that fall remotely within Christianity that do not celebrate the Lord’s Supper at all are the Quakers and the Salvation Army. Personally I don’t consider either of them “churches” for that reason but I can’t speak to the views of the The Gospel Coalition crowd.
April 19th, 2012 | 8:07 pm
I should say, for that reason plus the fact that they don’t do baptism, either.
April 20th, 2012 | 3:34 am
As Miss Anscombe reminds us, “He gives us his body,” says St Augustine, “to make us into his body” [Sermo 229 De Sacramentis Fidelium
Dominica Sanctae Paschae]. This brings out how the sacrament symbolizes and effects the unity of the people who join together to celebrate the Eucharist and to receive communion.”
She goes on to say that The “mystical body of Christ,” which we call the church, is a body in figure or metaphor… the unity of the life that is pointed to in the figure of speech is no metaphor. Of this life, Christ called himself the food.”
April 20th, 2012 | 11:00 am
The daily sacrifice of the lamb will be offered each day in perpetuity. Indeed it has been, although God has since become a Man — the lamb of God. The once and for all sacrifice of the lamb of God — the Christian sacrifice of which the Fathers of the Church speak, which replaced all the Jewish sacrifices, is the fulfillment of the daily sacrifice of the lamb.
The once and for all time offering of the lamb of God is now daily made present under the appearances of the bread and the wine. This is still the meeting place between God and His people, only now, of course, it makes God present in His humanity as well as in His divinity. It is where the God-Man meets with us and speaks to us. It is in this way He has chosen to live among His people, so that we would know that He is Yahweh our God, Who brought us out of Egypt — out of the slavery to sin into a new life — to live among us.
What was foretold has been fulfilled:
This fulfillment of the daily sacrifice should not surprise us:
The “frequency of communion” with God in the way in which He has chosen to dwell among His people in His humanity and in His divinity should be daily. Actually there is always a Mass being offered somewhere in the world. The daily sacrifice of the lamb was indeed and still is a perpetual offering for all generations to come.
April 20th, 2012 | 3:48 pm
There are Protestant groups that focus on the Lord’s Supper, or Breaking of Bread, during each weekly meeting. There are others that might not focus on it, but at least practice taking Communion, weekly. These groups have been around since at least the early nineteenth century.
For example, Plymouth Brethren, the independent Christian Church/Church of Christ groups, etc.
April 20th, 2012 | 6:32 pm
“The solution to this is real, real easy — let the service run ten minutes longer. There’s nothing sacred about an hour.”
As I recall, when my wife and I and our children converted to Orthodoxy, my (Protestant (mostly Southern Baptist)) parents’ biggest comment was “What? You mean the service is an hour and a half!?” (Followed by, “And the children are there and *quiet* the whole time!?”) Nothing at all about icons, incense, priests, Mary, or any of the other usual suspects. (I still think that’s a little odd.) So it seems like it’s a thing: Thy Sunday Service Shalt Last One Hour Only.
April 20th, 2012 | 7:28 pm
What a shock to see a PCA professor essentially promoting a Zwinglian view of the Sacrament. He would do better to give more consideration to Calvin and Westminster.
April 20th, 2012 | 8:34 pm
“So it seems like it’s a thing: Thy Sunday Service Shalt Last One Hour Only.”
Oh, I know it’s a “thing” — but it shouldn’t be. If you can’t even teach your congregation that something that is good to do and benefits their relationship with God is worth an extra ten minutes of their lives on a Sunday morning, you’ve got deeper problems than sophisticated arguments against weekly communion. There’s an underlying, though oft-overlooked, problem that needs to be addressed.
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