One Body
The sermon emphasizes the significance of taking the broken body of Christ in communion, which is a remembrance of His sacrifice and a way to truly remember Him.
G.W. North emphasizes the significance of communion, illustrating how Jesus, in the upper room, broke bread to symbolize His broken body given for humanity. He highlights that while the body is broken, it is still wholly given to us, and through communion, we partake in this sacred act of remembrance. North insists that to truly remember Jesus, we must actively engage in this practice, as it allows us to connect with the essence of His sacrifice. The act of eating the broken body signifies our acceptance of His gift and the unity of the Church as His body. Ultimately, through this communion, we find wholeness in Christ despite the brokenness of His body.
Text
Yet that night in the upper room He took bread and deliberately broke it. In the event, He offered Himself to God whole, but to us He gives Himself broken. He did it knowingly -- they saw Him do it; He broke Himself for us. The broken body is given to us; the body is ours. We are His body, His broken yet mysteriously whole body. 'Take', He says; 'eat'; He insists that we make it ours. 'This is my body', and Luke adds, 'which is given for you, this do in remembrance of me'. O sacred Covenant!
Whenever we take the elements of the communion, we must enter afresh by understanding into the Communion. The body, though broken, is still wholly given with thankfulness on Jesus' part; blessed and broken as it is we must take it; more, we must eat it, we must do it -- in remembrance of Him.
He wants us to do exactly that; He does not want us to try and remember Him. How can we remember a person we have not seen? We can only recall what others have said of Him. But if we love Him we will do this, for by repeating His action we commemorate what He did. This is the remembrance: He wants the Church to receive the gift of the body. It was only broken for us to eat it. It did not need to be broken for God to eat it -- He took it unbroken. God eats God whole, man eats God broken, and feeding on the fragments finds a whole God.
Sermon Outline
- The Broken Body
- The Communion
- The Remembrance
- Love and repeat
- Commemorate what He did
- Do in remembrance of Him
Key Quotes
“He did it knowingly -- they saw Him do it; He broke Himself for us.” — G.W. North
“This is my body', and Luke adds, 'which is given for you, this do in remembrance of me'.” — G.W. North
“God eats God whole, man eats God broken, and feeding on the fragments finds a whole God.” — G.W. North
Application Points
- We must enter into the Communion by understanding and participating in the sacrifice of Christ.
- By taking the broken body of Christ, we commemorate what He did and receive the gift of His body.
- We must love and repeat the action of Christ to truly remember Him.