"You (all) Proclaim the Lord's Death ... "

To understand our regular observance of the Lord's Supper it is important to pay attention to words used and their meaning.  Simple words often have important implications.

In 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 the Apostle Paul gave us the earliest written record of what Jesus said at the Last Supper.  He handed on the tradition that had been given to him, that Jesus spoke about the bread as his body, the cup as the new covenant in his blood, and asked that they do this "in remembrance of me."  Then Paul added an explanation in verse 26 in which two very important words appear: "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."

The first word that claims our attention is "proclaim," a word often used with words like "proclaim Christ," or "proclaim the good news."  It refers to the act of preaching.  Here Paul speaks about proclaiming the Lord's death, an action that he stressed in the first and second chapters of this letter.  The word also includes the idea of celebrating, commending, or openly praising.

By simply communing, therefore, we all are preachers of the good news that Jesus died for us.  It is a Visible Word, a Seen Sermon.  The pronoun, "you" is plural.  It isn't just the preacher, or a presiding elder that does it -- you all preach this sermon.  And all are needed.  When one or more are absent the Visible Word is diminished to that extent.

It is done with others.  The Lord's Supper was not meant to be an individual, private exercise.  Our gathering together is necessary for the Lord's Supper to be what it is meant to be.  When we come together we serve notice to the world that the death of Christ is real in our lives, that it impacts our lives in some mysterious yet very real way.  Our gathering and observing the Lord's Supper is evidence of the continuing power of the death and resurrection of Christ.  In this act we tell the world about the death of Christ.

The grammatical form of the word "proclaim" (present active indicative) means that it is a continuing action.  Thus, Paul adds a second important word or phrase when he writes, "until he comes."  It has the implication of doing something repeatedly until the goal is reached.  It presents the picture of a group of people who are persistent against all odds, faithful in all circumstances, and determined that come hell or high water they are going to see this through to the end.

Later in 1 Corinthians 15:58 Paul summarizes all of this by saying, "Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord."  Let us, therefore, continue in this good work of proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes.