St. Boniface House

Last week as we considered the blessing of the Lord’s Supper we were reminded that when we come to the table we are declaring Jesus King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and that any ruler who claims to rule apart from or above the authority of King Jesus does so at his own peril. This morning let us remember the other side of the coin, so to speak—that the Lord’s Table, precisely because it forms us into this community separate from the world in submission to the Lord Jesus, is not only a judgment upon them but also a blessing for them.

When Yahweh appeared to Abram, he told him that he would make him a great nation, and that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed. In the chapters that follow, Abram comes to the rescue of some people who are being terrorized by the already wicked Canaanite kings and their armies. After this Melchizedek, the King of Salem and a priest of God Most High, comes out to meet Abram and in the midst of a fellowship meal that consisted of bread and wine, he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed by Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” Abram has already begun to be a blessing to the nations, and in doing so he receives a greater blessing, that he may bless the nations still more.

When we come to the Lord’s Table, our doing so stands, as we saw last week, as a judgment upon all those who resist the rightful rule of the King of the Universe. But we also come precisely because as the seed of Abraham we would be a blessing to the nations. Jesus said that we are the salt of the earth, and the light of the world. Our presence in the world is to be a blessing to the world—is to move the world toward the City on the Hill, the New Jerusalem, the City of Peace, to which the nations shall flock and are flocking to worship Yahweh through his Son the Lord Jesus. And so when we eat this bread and drink this wine in a fellowship meal with him who is the Great High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, we do so not just because it is a great blessing for us (though it certainly is) but because in blessing us the Lord is blessing the world through us. If we are to believe in common grace—that in some sense God’s grace is extended to all, not just the church—we must understand that we as God’s priestly people are that common grace—we are the means by which the Lord blesses all the peoples and draws them to himself. That’s what it means for us to be the salt and light of the world. And so in this meal we receive comfort and strength and nourishment and assurance and grace, so that we may let our light shine before men, that they may see our good works, and glorify our Father in heaven. The Lord’s Supper is a missionary meal, and when we come to this table, we come bringing the world with us, asking the Lord to use us to grow his Kingdom to include them.

This is the Lord’s table…