This Holy Mystery
A United Methodist
Understanding of
Holy Communion
Names of the Sacrament
• The Lord’s supper – reminds us that Jesus
Christ is the host and that we participate at
his invitation
• Holy Communion - invites us to focus on
the self-giving of the Holy God, which
makes the sacrament an occasion of grace
and on the holiness of our communion with
God and one another.
• Eucharist – the Greek word for thanksgiving,
reminds us that the sacrament is thanksgiving
to God for the gifts of creation and salvation.
• Mass – derived from the Latin word missio
meaning “sending forth” and indicates that
this celebration brings the worship service to a
close by sending forth the congregation with
God’s blessing to live as God’s people in the
world.
• Divine Liturgy – Used most by Orthodox
Christianity.
• All the names are for the same practice.
United Methodist Heritage
• The Methodist Movement in the eighteenth
century was an evangelical movement that
included a revival of emphasis on the
sacraments.
• The Wesleys recognized the power of God
available in the Lord’s Supper and urged
their followers to draw on that power by
frequent participation.
The grace available in and
through the sacrament was active
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In conviction
In repentance and conversion
In forgiveness
In sanctification
John Wesley described the Lord’s Supper as
“The grand channel whereby the grace of
his Spirit was conveyed to the souls of all
the children of God”
The Multifaceted Nature
of the Lord’s Supper
• It expressed God’s love, grace, sacrifice and
forgiveness.
• It was the presence of Christ, a Mystery
• It was a source of healing, nourishment,
holiness
• It was a pledge of heaven.
• The Wesleys wrote 166 hymns for meditation
and singing about Holy Communion.
Evangelical and United Brethren
Roots
• Albright, Otterbein and Boehn left little
written material, so there are few references
to their theology and practice of Holy
Communion.
• The Journal of Christian Newcomer shows
that the sacrament had a significant place in
the life of the church.
• Early Methodists received communion in
Anglican Churches.
• When that source was lost after the
Revolutionary war.
• The need for ordained clergy to provide the
sacrament was a major reason Wesley
provided ordained elders for America.
• Because of a shortage of elders, communion
was often served only on a quarterly basis.
• Even after more elders became available the
habit of quarterly communion was difficult
to change.
• Holy Communion was considered a sacred
and solemn event.
• The tone of the ritual was deeply
penitential, calling on people to repent and
having less emphasis on celebration of
God’s grace.
• During the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries the rich Wesleyan understandings
of Eucharist were largely lost, and the
sacrament became understood only as a
memorial of the death of Christ.
• In many churches attendance on
communion Sundays became low.
• A revitalization of the sacrament started in
the mid-twentieth century.
Communion within the context
of United Methodist Theology
• We are sinners.
• We are constantly in need of divine grace.
• God is gracious and loving, always making
available the grace we need.
• Grace is God’s love towards us, God’s free
and undeserved gift.
• All grace is prevenient.
• The grace of God is made available through
the life, death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ and works in our lives through the
presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
• God has designated certain means or
channels through which grace is most
surely and immediately available.
• These channels convey to us preventing,
justifying and sanctifying grace.
The Theology of Sacraments
• The Greek word used by the early church for
the sacrament is mysterion, translated mystery.
• In Latin the word used is sacramentum,
meaning a vow or promise.
• The sacraments were instituted by Christ and
give to the church.
• Jesus Christ himself is the ultimate
manifestation of a sacrament.
• Holy Communion is the sacrament that
sustains and nourishes us in our journey of
salvation.
• God uses tangible, material things as
vehicles or instruments of grace.
• “An outward sign of inward grace, and a
means whereby we receive the same.”
The Meaning of
Holy Communion
• Holy Communion is Eucharist, an act of
thanksgiving
• Holy Communion is the communion of the church –
the gathering community of the faithful, both local
and universal.
• Holy Communion is remembrance, commemoration,
and memorial, but this remembrance is much more
than simply intellectual retelling.
• Holy Communion is a type of sacrifice. It is a representation, not a repetition of the sacrifice of
Christ.
• Holy Communion is eschatological, meaning that
it has to do with the end of history, the outcome of
God’s purpose for the world
• Holy Communion is a vehicle of God’s grace
through the action of the Holy Spirit
Who can receive communion?
Is Communion Jesus’ body?
Can children receive communion?
Can non-UM members receive?
How often should we have it?
Who can serve communion?
Who consecrates communion?
How is the table extended?
What is the role of the Deacon?
Wine or grape juice?
What do you do with left-overs?
How does communion
express unity?