By George “Chip” Hammond

The once-in-century pandemic that we now find ourselves in has thrown the world into fear and confusion which manifest themselves in two extremes. On the one hand there are those who despair that things will ever be as they were before and are mourning over what they believe will be the forever “new normal.” On the other hand, there are those who childishly deny the seriousness of the disease and bemoan that they are called upon to make sacrifices.

From my vantage point, the church (broadly speaking) has in the main acquitted herself well amid this pandemic. Many churches have sought to maintain a continuity of worship, and of care for their people and for those in need. It has been heartening to see.

Modern technologies such as video conferencing and livestreaming have made the continuity of worship possible. In earlier times when pandemics caused churches to suspend services to check the spread of disease, people were essentially on their own. The blessing of modern technology allows us to “attend” worship, and worship “together” in a way that was simply impossible in earlier times.

A regular part of Christian worship is the sacraments. While baptism is the occasionally observed sacrament, the breaking the bread and sharing the cup of the Lord’s Supper is regular, done at a set interval. But what do we do about the sacraments when we can’t meet in person?

Some churches have determined to practice a “virtual” communion. They have invited people in their virtual worship services to bring with them some of their own bread and some of their own beverage, and to eat and drink at the pastor’s direction. While this may seem consistent with live-stream worship it is in fact contrary to the very nature of the sacrament. At best, such a practice is sentimental. At worst it is superstitious.

The nature of the Lord’s Supper is indicated in 1 Corinthians, specifically in two passages. The first passage is 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.” Paul sees great significance in the church partaking of the supper from one loaf of bread. His reason for this is displayed in the other passage: “Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God by humiliating those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? Certainly not in this matter! For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me’” (1 Corinthians 11:22-24, ff).

For Paul, a meal celebrated at home, regardless of how formally it might mimic the Lord’s Supper, cannot be the Supper. Although addressing a different set of circumstances, the statements of the Westminster Confession of Faith are nonetheless applicable: “The Lord Jesus hath, in his ordinance, appointed His ministers to declare His word of institution to the people; to pray, and bless the elements of bread and wine, and thereby to set them apart from a common to an holy use; and to take and break bread, to take the cup and (they communicating also themselves) to give both to the communicants; but to none who are not then present in the congregation” (29:3). “Private masses, or receiving this sacrament by a priest, or any other, alone [is] contrary to the nature of this sacrament, and to the institution of Christ” (29:4).

So what should the church do regarding the sacraments in this unique modern time of pandemic when we can in some sense participate in worship via livestream?

Dr. Scott R. Swain from Reformed Theological Seminary has recently written about this issue. He shows sympathy for those who lament that forgoing the Lord’s Supper will mean that a means of grace is lost. Swain writes, “It is a great loss, perhaps the greatest loss among many other losses that follow from our inability to assemble in God’s presence . . .” He goes on to explain that our response to this loss ought not to be to try to “livestream” the Lord’s Supper, but rather it is a time for fasting rather than feasting; a time to learn to lament our loss, a course of action that is quite contrary to our culture’s (and many in our churches’) expectation of instant gratification.

This is a time to lament and grieve our interdict and exile with emotions and words such as those found in Psalm 137, and to long for our restoration to the house of God (Psalm 63, 143). Dr. Swain notes, “Our present fast is also an opportunity to cultivate a single-minded longing for the Lord and for his people that will make our feasting at the Lord’s table all the more joyous when the time of our fast comes to an end.”

How many months will we need to forgo the Lord’s table? I cannot say. But in this time, let us fast and pray, let us grieve our loss of intimate fellowship in the Lord’s presence and long for its restoration. Let us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt us at the proper time (1 Peter 5:6).