All-You-Can-Eat

Originally scheduled for August 2

In certain parts of the country you will find a particular type of restaurant: the Chinese buffet. It is customary in these restaurants to organize the food in the buffet line in a particular way. The method is designed to attract customers who might be walking by. As they come to the doors, they see the salad section. As they walk on further they can see the main entrées in the back, but not particularly clearly. What they will see is the buffet line bending back to the front again, loaded with desserts. The idea is to attract them either with the salads or the desserts. Judging by the number of restaurants that use it, this is an effective technique.

Communion, innocence, shares this technique. It is clear from the symbolic language in the book of Revelation that the return of Christ will occasion a grand feast. Communion, like the salad bar, is a hint of things to come. Revelation describes “the marriage supper of the Lamb.” To a Christian of the first century this was a been a feast indeed. Because there was no refrigeration, you got invited to the feast, then were told what it happens as it happens. Moral of the story: be ready at any time. In the meanwhile, communion stands as the entryway to the great wedding feast. We may note 2 important things about it:

* The feast is provided by God, freely given to those who are his followers.
* It is provided to the faithful, those who persist till the end and following what the Lord commands.

Until he returns, we have these things. We have the bread of communion, which symbolizes the body of Christ, sacrifice for us on the cross. We have the cup, which symbolizes the blood of Christ. We know that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. At the entryway to God’s great feast is salvation and forgiveness.

Communion is the entryway to the great feast, the marriage supper of the Lamb. Enter, Pilgrim, and be welcomed at the table of the Lord. Here you encounter the Christ, your salvation.