Dear Family at Christ Community,

     We will hear Simeon and Anna bear witness to Christ’s first coming in Luke 2:22-40 this Sunday. Simeon and Anna both spent their lives waiting upon the Lord to bring consolation and redemption to His people. At long last, they got to behold God’s salvation in Christ’s first coming (2:30)! Although Christ has come once already, we join Simeon and Anna in waiting for His return. When Christ returns, He will bring us to the great marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-10). At that feast, we will rejoice forever in the Lord’s presence and goodness!

     In the meantime, we often grow impatient and distracted as we wait upon the return of our King. But God does not neglect us in our waiting. He ministers to our impatient and distracted hearts through the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is a foretaste of the wedding supper of the Lamb. Through the bread and cup, the Holy Spirit brings our hoped-for future into the tangible present. Ponder how Robert Letham describes the connection between the two Suppers in The Lord’s Supper: Eternal Word in Broken Bread: 

“[W]e have a foretaste of that great banquet already. Christ promises to have supper with us here and now (cf. Rev 3:20)…. The Lord’s Supper and the Lamb’s Supper are two sides of the same reality.” (62-63)

     As you prepare to come to the Lord’s Table, thank the Father for sustaining us in our waiting through the means of grace. Praise Jesus for giving His body and blood so that we now get to feast with God forever. Finally, ask the Holy Spirit to use the Supper to help you become more intentional as you wait upon Christ’s return. May God fill us with joy and peace as we feast with Him on Sunday!

Yours in Christ,
Matt O’Sullivan