Divine Intervention at the Table - Encountering Christ in Communion
In a meditation, on these words from John’s letter, what follows is more or less how they relate to me personally - or, perhaps better said, what I believe God sees I need to know in this moment. Over the past few days, I’ve found myself returning again and again to these words from John’s letter:
“If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:4-5
There is something about this passage that captures the heart of why we gather on the Lord’s Day. We don’t come together merely out of routine or obligation. We come because there is a reality deeper than ourselves at work - a divine intervention breaking into ordinary time.
When we gather, we come as brothers and sisters in Christ, sharing in Him and with Him. At the centre of our worship is the table - communion - where we remember His sacrifice and share the bread and the wine, symbols of His body and His blood. It is by His blood, as John reminds us, that we are cleansed from all sin.
Everything else we do when we come together has value - the songs of worship, the sermons, the prayers, the announcements, the testimonies. They are good and necessary. But they are not the centre. They are like the glass of a lens, gathering and focusing and intensifying the light. All of the service draws us to one point of convergence: Christ Himself as the bread and wine – Communion.
It is here that we meet in the light of God, reflected ine the community - the light in which there is no darkness at all. It is here that we encounter the fire of the Refiner, who purges and purifies, not through our striving but through His mercy. At this table, divine intervention becomes tangible. Eternity touches time.
In communion, we are reminded of who we are and whose we are. We come not as individuals with our own achievements, failures, and divisions, but as the Body of Christ, one people joined by one bread and one cup. Here, we are united not by tradition, denomination, or understanding, but by Him — the One who gave Himself for us.
This is why we gather.
This is why we come.
Because at this table, God meets us.
And here, in His light, all else fades away
Part 2
Communion is more than remembering that He died for us. It is more than anticipating the great wedding feast to come. It is belonging - right here, right now - to Christ and to one another.
We come to this table as different people, carrying different stories, wounds, and traditions. And yet, here, something remarkable happens: we lay those differences down. As Henri Nouwen once wrote, it is at this table that we discover our unity, because there is only one bread. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.”In breaking this bread, we are reminded that we are one body.
The Body of Christ is so much bigger than our labels or denominations. It reaches beyond the walls we’ve built, beyond the lines we’ve drawn, and beyond the limits of our understanding. It’s the Baptist down the street, the Anglican across the road, the Pentecostal we meet at work, and yes - even the Catholic we may have been taught to despise.
This table stretches across time and space. It connects us not only with those present here today but also with those who came before us and those yet to come. When we gather for Communion, we are joined to the disciples in the Upper Room, to the martyrs in Rome, to those who endured the Inquisition and the Reformation, to the first evangelicals, and even to believers who have not yet been born.
Communion is not just a moment in time. It is eternity touching us here and now. When we break the bread, we are not only remembering Him - we are recognising Him. We see Him in the bread. Just as the disciples on the road to Emmaus recognised Jesus in the breaking of bread (Luke 24), we too encounter Him in this sacred act.
The bread is holy because Christ is present in our remembrance, and it is complete because we, His body, are present too. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus sat at tables and broke bread. He welcomed the outsider. He invited the sinner. He made room for everyone - and still does. God and humanity together at table: this has always been His heart.
So today, we do not simply remember Him. We encounter Him. We belong - to Christ and to each other.
This is His table. And at His table, all are welcome.
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