EucharistCup.jpgThe Eucharist, whether you celebrate and participate daily, weekly, monthly or otherwise, needs to be seen as a Table instead of an Altar. The apostle Paul calls it the “Lord’s Table” in 1 Cor 10:1 and on the table food was served.

At the altar, blood was spilled or poured out; what was sacrificed in the Temple was then eaten at the Table. The Altar for the Christian is the Cross; the Table is for the Lord’s Supper.
At the Altar, the sinner is forgiven; at the Table the forgiven sinner communes with God.
The cross is a place of sorrow; the Table a place for joy.
So, if you today are celebrating Eucharist, ponder the difference between Altar and Table, and imagine yourself at the Lord’s Table to give thanksgiving for the joy of communing with God in the forgiveness of sins.
I base this first in a series on John Mark Hicks, Come to the Table: Revisioning the Lord’s Supper
.
More from Beliefnet and our partners