Ep 76: In Remembrance of Me (w/ Wes McAdams)

0:00 Well, good morning and welcome to the show. I'm Daniel Dalp and this is for your Sunday Morning drive, the short podcast with the goal of providing some motivation, some drive, and some encouragement on your way to worship and helping you recenter your mind on those spiritual things on a hectic Sunday morning. This morning we have a special guest joining us, fellow podcaster and brother in Christ, Wes McAdams. Wes is the preaching minister at the McDermott Rd. Congregation in Plano, TX and he hosts a a fantastic show, The Radically Christian Podcast. I'm a long time listener and I can tell you that you will benefit greatly from checking it out. And personally, I, and our little show here by extension, owe a lot to Wes McAdams. You see, when I was first launching for your Sunday morning drive, I wanted to get feedback and advice from who I considered to be the best in the biz. And for me, Wes was on the top of that list. So I sent him my trailer.

0:56 I didn't even have a full episode recorded yet, and he gave me some kind encouragement and then offered to have me on his show. That really helped get the word out. And it just solidified in my mind that Wes means what he says in each of his podcast episodes when he says that he just wants to help all of us learn to love like Jesus. Anyway, all of that to say, Wes, thank you for joining us this morning. This is episode 76. In remembrance of me, let's go to church. My mom often cried during communion when I was a kid and all the adults were eating the bread and drinking from the little communion cups.

1:53 I sat there on my Pew, looking around at all the faces and wondering what are they thinking about? Some were reading from their Bibles or just sitting there silently looking at the floor. My mom was almost always crying. She didn't seem sad. In fact, she was often smiling, her eyes closed, her face tilted upward toward the ceiling, big tears streaming down her cheeks. What was she so emotional about? What was going through her mind right then? Was she feeling guilty? Was she feeling thankful? After I was baptized and I committed my life to Jesus, I began participating in this weekly ceremony. The plate of bread and the tray of cups was passed to me. I ate and drank with everyone else. But now I was wondering, what am I supposed to think about?

2:35 Does it matter what I think about? Do I ruin communion by not thinking about the right things? Am I sinning if my mind wanders and I start thinking about what we're having for lunch? Should I be as as emotional as my mom? Am I not as spiritual or godly if I don't cry during communion? There's a passage in First Corinthians 11 that gives us an idea about what we should be thinking about during communion. However, it doesn't say what a lot of people think it says. It actually might surprise you. What should be on our minds. The apostle Paul is writing to the church in Corinth to address some problems going on there. One of the problems was with the way they were taking communion, what he calls the Lord's Supper. But Paul actually says to them, when you come together, it's not the Lord's Supper that you eat.

3:19 The way they were eating, communion was so wrong that Paul says it's not even the Lord's Supper anymore. Why, What were they doing? Paul goes on to say, for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. What, do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the Church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. The problem in Corinth was that they weren't sharing the bread and cup together. They weren't eating it as a family. Paul went on to remind them that Jesus said, do this in remembrance of me.

4:00 So we might think, Oh well, that's the answer to the question. We're supposed to be thinking about Jesus on the cross. Yes, that's a good thing to be thinking about. However, Paul means more than simply picture Jesus hanging on the cross when you take communion. He means we're eating this meal to remember why Jesus died, what Jesus was accomplishing with his death. Paul also warned them whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Now obviously that's serious, but don't worry, he isn't warning them about what will happen if they accidentally get distracted or their mind wanders during communion.

4:41 Because he goes on to say that we should discern the body while we eat and drink. So what does that mean? Discern the body. This phrase is also translated honor the body or evaluate the body. It means recognize the importance of the body. I think Paul has two meanings here. The body of Christ that was nailed to the cross, but also the church as the body of Christ that we are a part of. He's telling these Christians that while they eat and drink these representations of Jesus body and blood, they should be honoring the church, the body of Christ. It occurs to me that when I was a kid, looking around at the other people in the room, my mom, my dad, and the other adults, as they were sharing the bread in the cup, I was thinking about them. I was learning from them.

5:29 I was curious about what was going on in their heart and mind. And that was actually very appropriate. I didn't think I knew what to think about, but I actually did. When we take communion, we should think about Jesus, about how he died, but also why he died. He died so that we could be a forgiven family, so that we could be together, share this meal, and share our lives with one another. So today when you eat and drink, think about Jesus and think about his body. Wes shared some great thoughts with us this morning, and I hope that you'll carry those with you to worship today. But now it's time to hear yours. Our discussion questions for this week are, what do you normally think about during communion?

6:12 Have you ever been in a communion service that was particularly moving? And how can you think about the importance of the body while we take communion this week?