Communion Meditation: Renewing Our Vows

Communion[Prayer for the loaf.]

[Dispensing of the loaf.]

You know, the more I study the Lord’s Supper, and the more I learn about First Century culture, the more amazed I am at how many symbols and images and ideas are packed into this simple ceremony.

Today, our classes studied Ray Vander Laan’s lesson on Jewish marriage practices. And I learned that when a First Century Jewish couple became engaged, the bride and the groom shared a cup of wine. The sharing symbolized a covenant. The groom promised that, if need be, he’d give his life for his bride. The bride promised to honor and be faithful to her husband.

At the same time, the groom’s family paid the bride-price to the bride’s family, and she was then known as one “bought with a price.” She belonged to her groom, even though the marriage itself may be far in the future.

When Jesus shared a cup of wine with his disciples shortly before he gave his life for them, they could not have missed the symbolism. 

Just so, when we take this cup each week, we — the church — are the bride of Christ. And we are renewing our vows. Jesus is among us, you know. And he’s kept his end of the covenant. He’s paid the ultimate price.

We now renew our commitment, our covenant, to be true to Jesus, to be faithful, to honor him, to serve him, and to love him.

[Prayer for the cup]

About Jay F Guin

My name is Jay Guin, and I’m a retired elder. I wrote The Holy Spirit and Revolutionary Grace about 18 years ago. I’ve spoken at the Pepperdine, Lipscomb, ACU, Harding, and Tulsa lectureships and at ElderLink. My wife’s name is Denise, and I have four sons, Chris, Jonathan, Tyler, and Philip. I have two grandchildren. And I practice law.
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5 Responses to Communion Meditation: Renewing Our Vows

  1. Doug Young says:

    Awesome! Thanks for sharing this with your readers.

  2. Lorrie Mackey says:

    I would really like to know the name of the Ray Vander Laan study you were doing. Thanks

  3. Jay Guin says:

    Lorrie,

    "Faith Lessons," published by Zondervan. It's a series of 5 DVDs, with teacher manuals available. They are excellent.

    I post lesson notes as we cover each leasson.

  4. Your work is helpful! Dave

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