Last week we stopped having a musical interlude during communion and began singing Psalm 117 while the eucharistic bread is being distributed and reading Scripture during the distribution of the cup. A few members shared with me over the last few days they found this distracting or that they preferred having an interlude played so they could privately repent, pray, and meditate before partaking. This kind of feedback is understandable and was expected. The elders will continue to listen as we seek to arrange worship in a way that is not only biblical but also conducive to the edification of our congregation. But in the meantime, I wanted to offer some perspective on why we think this kind of change is appropriate.
The modern, American church has been trained to think of the Lord’s Supper as a private moment between me and Jesus with two hundred of my friends sitting quietly in the same room. But that is not how the Supper is to be celebrated. It is not private or personal, though each of us are to be personally engaged in partaking. It is corporate and covenantal. Look at the institution of the Supper in Matthew (26:26-30), Mark (14:22-26), and Luke (22:14-20). Did Jesus instruct his disciples to bow their heads and privately meditate before partaking? No, he blessed and broke the bread, gave it to them, and told them to eat it. Then he did the same with the cup. The Supper is celebrated by action, not reflection. That does not mean we are not to reflect. “Do this in remembrance of me,” the Lord said. But the evangelical church has placed emphasis on remember, while the Bible emphasizes do this. How do we remember? By doing this, i.e. eating the bread and drinking the cup. Not only that, but when Jesus speaks of remembrance in relation to the Supper, he is not talking about reminding ourselves. The Supper is a covenant memorial. It is an objective sign and seal of the covenant, and the remembrance involved is bringing the work of Christ and the promises of the gospel before God (cf. Gen. 9:13-17).
We spend a lot of time preparing for communion at ROPC, as much or more than any church I know. We begin with a preparatory email with spiritual reflection on Saturday evening. We share the order of liturgy so that songs and passages of Scripture can be reviewed in advance. We follow a covenant renewal form of worship in which we confess our sins, hear the gospel, and are assured of God’s pardon. We praise God with joy and thankfulness, reflect on God’s Word as we are taught, sing a prayer of preparation, confess our faith, lift up our hearts, and then get a second (or third?) homily before receiving the bread and wine. I’m genuinely curious, how much more preparation do we need to be ready to partake? We have been praying, singing, and sitting before the Lord for more than an hour by the time we come to the Table, usually an hour and a half. What does a four minute interlude do that hours of prior preparation did not?
We have been conditioned to celebrate the Supper like pietists and gnostics, making the celebration private and spiritual, rather than corporate and physical. But look at the text, all of the relevant texts, in both Old and New Testaments. What is the Supper? How does the Spirit teach us to receive and celebrate the signs and meal of the covenant?
We began singing Psalm 117 because it is part of the Great Hallel, the section of the Psalter sung by the Jews at the conclusion of Passover, the section Jesus and his disciples sang as they concluded the last Passover and the first Supper of the new Messianic kingdom (Matt. 26:30). It is a prayer, calling the nations to come and worship the risen King of glory. It is our plea to God that he would gather the nations to the Table, so that all of God’s chosen might celebrate the glory of his grace together. We are not singing instead of praying. We are praying as we sing.
Two other points to note quickly. First, we replaced the interlude with singing because the Bible commands singing not playing. We have no objection to musical instruments. They are an aid to worship and beautiful by design! But their place in the worship service is as an aid to what is commanded, the singing of the saints, not as background noise or aesthetic performance. Second, you should feel free to abstain from singing Psalm 117 or tune out the reading if you need to do so. If you have a burden of sin or anxiety upon your heart, bow your head and take it before the Lord. We deliberately create a period of silence at the beginning and end of the distribution for this purpose, but if you need more time, please take it. No one should feel rushed or obligated by singing the psalm. If you need to privately pray and meditate, then do so. But my hope is that over time, more of us will discover that we are praying and meditating… as we sing and hear God’s Word. –JME
