The Grace at the Table
I grew up Catholic. In the Catholic church, communion wasn’t just for anyone. You had to go through what’s called the sacraments: being baptized into the Catholic church, confirmed, and taking part in your first communion. There were also important guidelines: you must be fasting beforehand, you could not receive communion if you had sinned (unless you went to confession and did penance with a priest), and you had to believe that through the blessing of the priest, the bread and wine became the actual body and blood of Jesus.
It’s a beautiful and reverent ritual. The Catholic church holds the table of the Lord with deep honor, and I’m not here to diminish that in any way. My family is still Catholic, and they believe, just as I do, that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, that He died for our sins, and that they have a place at the table.
But there were rules. You couldn’t partake if you had unconfessed sin. You couldn’t partake if you weren’t Catholic. You couldn’t partake if you hadn’t received the sacrament of “Holy Communion” through the church.
When I came to Opendoor, I encountered something different. Communion is offered every week, and it’s offered to all who follow Jesus. We don’t come because we’ve cleaned ourselves up first! We come broken, overwhelmed, maybe even covered in the dust of the week. Yet we are invited to remember Him, not because of our worthiness, but because of His grace.
As 1 Corinthians 11:24 says, “and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’” The focus is on Him. His body, broken for us, not on our ability to present ourselves as spotless before coming.
Yes, we examine ourselves, just as 1 Corinthians 11:28 reminds us: “Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.” But that examination doesn’t disqualify us because we find sin; it draws us to repentance and back to the very grace the cup offers.
And 1 Corinthians 11:25 reminds us why we come: “In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’” The new covenant is not about us getting it all right first, it’s about what He already did for us.
The most important part of communion is not the bread or the cup in themselves, or the rules we bring to it. It’s the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice and the unity we have with Him because of it. In that moment, we remember that His body was broken for our healing, His blood was poured out for our forgiveness, and His invitation to the table is for all who believe. Communion is where Gods grace meets our deepest needs, and we are reminded that we are one with Him because He made a way.
Prayer | Jesus, thank You for thinking of us that night in the upper room. Thank You for taking the bread and the cup and creating a way for us to be one with You after Your death and resurrection. Thank You that You invite us to come as we are, broken and in need, and that You meet us with grace every time. May every time we take communion be a holy moment where we remember Your sacrifice, Your love, and Your victory. Amen.
It’s a beautiful and reverent ritual. The Catholic church holds the table of the Lord with deep honor, and I’m not here to diminish that in any way. My family is still Catholic, and they believe, just as I do, that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, that He died for our sins, and that they have a place at the table.
But there were rules. You couldn’t partake if you had unconfessed sin. You couldn’t partake if you weren’t Catholic. You couldn’t partake if you hadn’t received the sacrament of “Holy Communion” through the church.
When I came to Opendoor, I encountered something different. Communion is offered every week, and it’s offered to all who follow Jesus. We don’t come because we’ve cleaned ourselves up first! We come broken, overwhelmed, maybe even covered in the dust of the week. Yet we are invited to remember Him, not because of our worthiness, but because of His grace.
As 1 Corinthians 11:24 says, “and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’” The focus is on Him. His body, broken for us, not on our ability to present ourselves as spotless before coming.
Yes, we examine ourselves, just as 1 Corinthians 11:28 reminds us: “Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.” But that examination doesn’t disqualify us because we find sin; it draws us to repentance and back to the very grace the cup offers.
And 1 Corinthians 11:25 reminds us why we come: “In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’” The new covenant is not about us getting it all right first, it’s about what He already did for us.
The most important part of communion is not the bread or the cup in themselves, or the rules we bring to it. It’s the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice and the unity we have with Him because of it. In that moment, we remember that His body was broken for our healing, His blood was poured out for our forgiveness, and His invitation to the table is for all who believe. Communion is where Gods grace meets our deepest needs, and we are reminded that we are one with Him because He made a way.
Prayer | Jesus, thank You for thinking of us that night in the upper room. Thank You for taking the bread and the cup and creating a way for us to be one with You after Your death and resurrection. Thank You that You invite us to come as we are, broken and in need, and that You meet us with grace every time. May every time we take communion be a holy moment where we remember Your sacrifice, Your love, and Your victory. Amen.
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