For Jesus, every moment was a “teachable moment.” We marvel at how Jesus could take common, everyday events and point His followers to the Kingdom of God. Throughout His teachings, how many times do we read, “And the Kingdom of God is like…”? Jesus used water to teach the Samaritan woman about never thirsting again. After feeding the 5,000, Jesus said, “I am the true bread.” He was the Master Teacher.
As I write this, we are fast approaching an event on everyone’s calendar. Believers and non-believers alike will join us on Resurrection Morning, widely known as Easter.
What will be your teachable moment?
Church leaders are aware of the tension of making this day special, while not raising the bar so high that when people return the following week it’s a letdown. We joke about the “Easter Lily and Christmas Poinsettia” crowd. We grieve at the stats that the average church member attends 1.6 times a month.
“We grieve at the stats that the average church member attends 1.6 times a month.”
What is the message you want to relay to those who are coming to church on Easter and Christmas, maybe out of obligation, who figure that church probably doesn’t interface with their real-world problems? What teachable moment could you use to help them connect their everyday struggles with the invitation to trust and follow Jesus?
I want to suggest a teachable moment that is basic and fundamental and already “locked and loaded.” Is it possible that the teachable moment is as simple as, “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread” (Acts 20:7, NIV)?
In other words, is it possible that the Lord’s Supper is our teachable moment—if we can help people rediscover its significance?
Here’s the point I want to make (and then below I’ll explain what I mean): the nominal crowd who will join in our services on Easter and Christmas may not crave a church service, but they live in chaos and crave community. Thus, communion can make for an ideal teachable moment for them.
“The nominal crowd who will join in our services on Easter and Christmas may not crave a church service, but they live in chaos and crave community.”
My wife and I attended a seminar where the keynote speaker, talking about the media, said “Chaos is their currency.”
The majority of people spend far more time watching the news than they do reading the Bible or dwelling on the gospel. Notifications on their phone are a constant reminder of the chaos in the world—and the media’s willingness to capitalize on the chaos. People instinctively know what is like to stand on shaky ground.
Our friends show up on Resurrection Morning struggling to escape the chaos. They wonder where they can find hope and peace. They long for a place of belonging amid all the us-versus-them fighting. Amid this, the only lasting foundation of unity is Jesus (see 1 Corinthians 3:11), as He brings us together as one body with Him as the head. He is our principal reason for doing anything, including gathering for worship.
I recently attended a “floating conference” (i.e., a cruise) with close to 400 preachers, investors, and their spouses. I was able to strike up a conversation with an individual from another group, a Free Thinkers club. After I told him what I did at The Solomon Foundation, he told me his group was “basically the opposite.” Yet, when I asked him what he did, I found out that the Free Thinkers plan bike outings, backyard barbecues, and other gatherings. I then said, “So you would agree, we are all created for community.” He agreed with me that we all need community (although he did not agree that we were created for community).
“Our friends show up on Resurrection Morning struggling to escape the chaos.”
Even those who are far from God are longing for community. They are longing to find peace amid the chaos. That includes a great many people who will show up to our church on Easter and Christmas.
I’m convinced that the Lord’s Supper is exactly what the Easter-and-Christmas crowd needs, whether they know it or not. It’s our job to make the connection so they can see it.
The Bible word translated as “communion” is “koinonia.” It is used 20 times in the New Testament scriptures and means “communion, fellowship, partnership, and joint participation.” When we eat the bread of the Lord’s Supper, we proclaim our “communion” or “partnership” with every other member of the Body of Christ. When we drink the cup, we proclaim our “communion” or “partnership” with the blood of Christ.
“I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.” (1 Corinthians 10:15-17, NKJV)
“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?”
The members of your church body participate in communion with one another as members of the same body. If you drop a big rock on your toe, for example, your whole body reacts and you might even scream because of the pain. The same is true of the Body of Christ.
“But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:24-27, NIV)
John wrote,
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7, NIV)
Paul wrote,
“Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.” (1 Corinthians 10:17, NIV)
“Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.”
Have we lost the eternal significance of Christ’s suffering and victory represented by the Lord’s Supper? Some consider it an option to be observed at our convenience. Others choose to not observe it at all as if it were something of a throwaway commandment Jesus gave just before he died. Others, to keep the service moving, focus on getting it over with as quickly as possible. Honestly, what else could Jesus have said to make us feel that it was important to remember his death?
The evidence, both from the scriptures and the early church fathers, shows that the apostolic church gathered every week for the primary purpose of “breaking bread” (Acts 20:7). Some wonder why such a fuss would be made over something they consider to be fairly insignificant.
Yet what could be more significant to lonely people drowning in chaos than to learn that they are invited into a community that is one with each other and one with Christ? For those seeking community amid chaos, communion can be a rich teachable moment. No surprise there, as it was given to us by the Master Teacher.
“What could be more significant to lonely people drowning in chaos than to learn that they are invited into a community that is one with each other and one with Christ?”
What if the Lord’s Supper became an opportunity to invite a crowd to become a community?
