Lord’s Supper, a Bond of Union – Charles Spurgeon

THERE is something painful, but pleasing, when the father dies, for the children to come together at the funeral, and to go together to his grave. Many family heart-burnings have been healed when they have joined in a memorial. The poor man’s grave, especially, has much charm in it to me. There come the sons and daughters, and club together their shillings to buy the grave and to buy the coffin. Often over the rich man’s grave there is a squabble as to who shall share his wealth; but there is not any in this case. The man has died penniless, and John, and Mary, and Thomas, all come; and they all see who can do the most in providing the patriarch’s grave; and if there be a tombstone, it is not one that pays for it, but they all put their moneys together, so that father’s memorial may be shared in by them all. How I like that thought! We being many are one bread, and we being many are one cup. Brethren, I cannot do without you. If I want to celebrate the Lord’s death, I cannot go into my chamber, and take the piece of bread and the cup, and celebrate the ordinance alone. I cannot do it. I must have you; I cannot do without you. And you, the most spiritual minded of you, if you shut yourselves up in a cell, and try to play the monk and the super-excellent, cannot keep this ordinance. You must have fellowship; you must come down among the saints; for our Savior has put this as a memorial which cannot be celebrated except jointly, by the whole together. You must come together to break this bread. This do you, as oft as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” Did the Master know that we should be so apt to split up into sections! Did he know that we should be so apt to be individualized until we forgot to bear one another’s burdens? And did he, therefore, while he made baptism the personal, solitary confession of faith, make this communion to be a united joint memorial in order that we might be compelled to come together—might by sweet constraint be driven to meet in the same place with one accord, or else be unable to make a memorial of his death? It is a joint memorial.