Communion pt. 2

WARNING: GAME OF THRONES SPOILERS AHEAD

At the end of the finale of this past season on Game of Thrones, Jon Snow got stabbed. A lot. All the major sources are saying, "Yes, he's dead. As sure as Winter is coming, he is dead." Everyone is freaking out, thinking that the true hero is gone, but throughout the show we've seen resurrection. 

A note that I've made on some forums about Jon Snow's death is this: You cannot have resurrection without death. This I got from 2 Corinthians 4.10: Always carrying in [our] body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

We carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that we can carry his life as well. But how can we carry both life and death? Doesn't death come after life and death is final? No. Because we have the resurrection. And you cannot have resurrection, a permanent state, without death, turned from a permanent state into an non-permanent state because of the resurrection.

What does this have to do with communion?

Monday we looked at where Communion came from, and we ended with Paul writing in 1 Corinthians 11.26: For as often as you eat of this bread and drink of this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Connecting this back to what was said on Monday, We proclaim the death of an innocent, a firstborn, we remember the sacrifice made, so that we could have life and freedom from slavery. 

But it's more than that. The Passover celebration is a meal, a feast! Think Thanksgiving for Jews, but kosher, and with lamb. For the Jew's it's a time of celebration and anticipation; celebrating their deliverance, but also looking forward to the coming Messiah. For us, Christians, we take part in the feast every week now, and it's an act of remembrance of the sacrifice made for our deliverance, but ti's also a victory meal, still looking back at our deliverance and Jesus' triumph over sin!

So while we proclaim his death each time we take communion, we also celebrate his resurrection and his victory. Today I read 1 Corinthians 15. There are four distinct passages there. Three over resurrection proving that one, Christ is risen, we too shall rise with him, and that we will be given new bodies that will not perish. The final passage is about the victory over sin and death, which comes from the resurrection, from Christ's resurrection. If you truly believe in the Risen Christ then this is a cause for celebration! If you truly believe that you were completely condemned to death because of your sin this is cause for celebration! The resurrection of Christ opened the door for us to life! 

And this is what we proclaim every time we take communion. 

We remember where we were in our slavery to sin. We remember the sacrifice and death of Christ, which we proclaim by taking the bread which was broken like his body, and drinking the juice which was poured out like his blood. But we also celebrate the resurrection of Christ, which brings new life to us.