Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 10:21; Ephesians 4:4–6; Acts 2:42; Luke 22:19–20
Introduction: Longing for Belonging
Can you remember a time when you were included—welcomed in? For me, it was at age ten when I finally pulled on a maroon, white, and grey Transcona Nationals football jersey with the number 5 on the back. I had grown up watching tackle football from the sidelines, and suddenly I belonged.
On the other hand, can you also remember a time when you were excluded—left out? I think of Bible college. One evening, a couple of friends decided to head to the cheap-seats theatre. I just needed to grab my jacket, but when I came back downstairs, they were gone. Later, one admitted he had been pressured to leave me behind. It wasn’t devastating, but I still remember being deliberately left out.
In small ways, we all know that ache. Human life is full of moments of inclusion and exclusion, belonging and rejection. We long for a table where we are known, welcomed, and loved. And yet, in our world, belonging is fragile—often conditional, often disappointing. That is why the Lord’s Supper matters. From the beginning, God made us for fellowship, but sin fractured that fellowship. Jesus restored table fellowship—eating with sinners, welcoming outsiders, and giving us bread and cup as a covenant meal of grace. And the Anabaptists of Schleitheim recognized that in a divided world, the table had to mean more than ritual. It had to declare the true unity of Christ’s people.
Why the Breaking of Bread Mattered
In 1527, the early Anabaptists gathered at Schleitheim to clarify what it meant to be Christ’s church. Communion was one of many theological issues debated during the Reformation.
- The Catholic Church taught that in the Mass, bread and wine became the body and blood of Christ. Participation was expected of all citizens, making communion as much a civic marker as a spiritual one.
- The Magisterial Reformers (Luther, Zwingli, Calvin) broke from Rome on how to interpret Christ’s presence, but still tied communion to parish life—meaning many who took it were nominal Christians by birth.
- The Anabaptists said no. The Lord’s Supper is not a cultural duty or civic ritual. It is a covenant meal for those who truly belong to Christ.
Article 3 of the confession declares:
“All those who wish to break one bread in remembrance of the broken body of Christ, and all who wish to drink of one drink as a remembrance of the shed blood of Christ, shall be united beforehand by baptism in one body of Christ which is the church of God and whose Head is Christ.”
Communion, in other words, is for baptized believers—those who have confessed Christ and entered his body through repentance and faith. It is not a vague expression of civic unity but a visible sign of spiritual unity.
The confession continues: “For we cannot at the same time be partakers of the Lord’s table and the table of devils; we cannot at the same time drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of the devil” (1 Cor. 10:21). To share the table is to declare allegiance: I belong to Christ and no other.
They also turned to Ephesians 4:4–6: “There is one body and one Spirit… one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all.” Communion, then, proclaims not a false unity of everyone by default, but the true unity of believers bound together by Christ’s Spirit.
Application: The Table in a Divided World
So, what does this mean for us today? We live in a culture that promises connection but delivers division. Disagreement often leads to outrage. We may be the most technologically “connected” generation in history, but loneliness is rampant.
At the Lord’s Table, something different happens. Here, we find belonging—not because we think alike, or vote alike, or share the same background, but because we share one Lord, one faith, one baptism. Here we declare that our deepest allegiance is not to nation, culture, or ideology, but to Christ.
At first glance, restricting communion to baptized believers may sound exclusive. Wouldn’t it be more welcoming to open it to everyone? But in reality, a table that includes everyone without condition loses its meaning. By tying communion to faith, baptism, and discipleship, the Anabaptists preserved its radical inclusivity—because the only condition is grace. Wealth, status, education, or ethnicity do not matter. What matters is belonging to Christ.
Gospel Invitation: Christ’s Welcome at the Table
And here is the heart of it: none of us comes to the table worthy. We are divided people. We carry grudges, we compromise with sin. But Jesus lived in perfect obedience. On the cross he was cast out so that we could be welcomed in. The bread and cup do not proclaim our goodness, but his grace. They are not about our unity, but about Christ’s sacrifice that makes us one.
So here is the invitation:
- If you are not yet a believer, the table calls you: “There is a place for you—through Christ.” The doorway is surrender, faith, and baptism into his body.
- If you are a believer, the table calls you to examine yourself—not to see if you are flawless, but to see if you are resting in Christ alone. Confess sin, reconcile, and come.
The world’s tables divide us, but Christ’s table unites us. And when we gather, we offer the world a glimpse of God’s kingdom—a people made one by grace, a family of belonging, pointing forward to the great feast to come.
Prayer of Response
Lord Jesus,
Thank You for welcoming us to Your table.
Thank You for breaking down every wall of division.
Help us to live as one body, united in Your Spirit,
faithful in our confession, and generous in our love.
As we share the bread and cup,
let us proclaim not our worthiness, but Yours—
until the day we share the feast with You in glory.
Amen.