I.
Because the Holy Scriptures say so
a. “In the New Testament
there is no mention of Sunday services without a mention of the Lord’s Supper.”[1]
i.
Acts 2:42, 46-47, “and they were continuing steadfastly in
the teaching of the apostles, and the fellowship, and the breaking of the
bread, and the prayers. … Daily also continuing with one accord in
the temple, breaking bread also at every house, they were partaking of
food in gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God, and having favour with
all the people, and the Lord was adding those being saved every day to the
church.” The NT church obeyed Christ’s command as a daily duty.
ii.
Acts 20:7, 11, “And upon the first day of the week
[that is, Sunday], when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul
preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech
until midnight. …When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and
eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.” Notice
that this Sunday celebration of the Lord’s Supper happened “after the Festival
of Unleavened Bread” and that their primary reason for meeting on Sunday was
the Lord’s Supper. That the term “breaking of bread” meant the Lord’s
Supper is explained by S. Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:16, “The cup of blessing
which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread
which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?”
iii.
Furthermore, S. Paul writes that the Lord’s Supper is the
God-given means to acquire the grace of church unity in 1 Cor. 10:17,
“Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we
all partake of the one bread.” True church unity can only be gained by
grace, especially by the grace received in the Lord’s Supper, not by human
works. Later, S. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:20-34, warns against treating the
Lord’s Supper as a normal, regular meal, but as a ritual proclamation of the
Gospel that should be treated solemnly. Notice that S. Paul does NOT
recommend infrequent celebration to promote unity at all!
b.
Our Lord Jesus Christ himself said that it was necessary for
our eternal life, to eat his flesh and drink his blood.
i.
John 6:53So Jesus said to them, "Truly,
truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink
his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever feeds on my
flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on
the last day. 55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true
drink. 56Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in
me, and I in him. 57As the living Father sent me, and I live
because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live
because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from
heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this
bread will live forever."
ii.
Jesus was not telling us to literally eat his flesh, but to
do so spiritually (John 6:63) and has given us the means to do so when he
instituted the Eucharist during the Last Supper, on the night when he was betrayed
took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This
is my body which is given and broken for you. Do this in remembrance of
me." In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you and
for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in
remembrance of me." Then, Jesus later tells his disciples to
abide in him (Jn 15:4-7) and the way to do so is by feeding on his ritual flesh
and blood (Jn 6:56).
iii.
Jesus said, “John 14:15If you love me, you will
obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will
give you another Counselor to be with you forever—17the Spirit of
truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” Christ said this
soon after the Last Supper, where Christ commanded his disciples to break
bread in remembrance of him. AS HAS ALREADY BEEN SEEN, THE NEW TESAMENT CHURCH
II.
Because UMC pastors promised to do so when they were
commissioned/ordained
a. Before UMC pastors are
either commissioned or ordained, they are asked the following questions:
i.
“Have you studied
the doctrines of The United Methodist Church?”
ii.
“After full examination do you believe that our
doctrines are in harmony with the Holy Scriptures?” and
iii.
“Will you preach and maintain them?”
b. According
to the Book of Discipline, “although the language of the first
Restrictive Rule never has been formally defined, Wesley’s Sermons
and Notes were understood specifically to be included in our
present existing and established standards of doctrine (“Doctrinal
Standards in The United Methodist Church,” ¶ 102, p. 58, emphasis and
underscore added).”
i.
John Wesley’s Sermon 101: The Duty Of Constant
Communion, states that, “…it is the duty of every
Christian to receive the Lord’s Supper as often as he can. … if we consider
the Lord’s Supper as a command of Christ, no man can have any pretense to
Christian piety, who does not receive it (not once a month
but) as often as he can,” (“The Duty of Constant
Communion,” 2.21., 1787)”
ii.
So, according to one of the doctrinal standards
of the UMC, the celebration of Holy Communion once
a month IS ALREADY TOO INFREQUENT, that is, a monthly
celebration of the Eucharist is by UMC standards infrequent!
iii.
Furthermore, the Annual Conference, through
the rite of commissioning and ordination, HAS ALREADY AUTHORIZED PASTORS TO
ADMINISTER THE SACRAMENTS AS OFTEN AS REQUIRED, and that means more than
once a month.
c.
Also, the official doctrine of the UMC found in the Articles
of Religion, says:
Article XVI—Of the
Sacraments. Sacraments ordained of Christ are not only badges or tokens of Christian
men's profession, but rather they are certain signs of grace, and God's
good will toward us, by which he [God] doth work invisibly in us,
and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm, our faith in him.
Article XVIII—Of the
Lord's Supper. The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians
ought to have among themselves one to another, but rather is a sacrament of our
redemption by Christ's death; insomuch that, to such as rightly, worthily, and
with faith receive the same, the bread which we break is a partaking of the
body of Christ; and likewise the cup of blessing is a partaking of the
blood of Christ. (italics and emphases added)
i.
Thus, the Lord’s Supper in UMC doctrine is NOT
merely a remembrance of Christ, but also the means whereby God works
invisibly in us and wherein we receive the benefits of Christ’s
death, namely, the grace of unity in the body of Christ and
the forgiveness of sins through Christ’s blood.
ii.
So, UMC pastors have, by answering affirmatively to the
previous questions to have studied the UMC doctrine of the Lord’s
Supper, and under oath said that they believe
that the UMC Eucharistic doctrine is in harmony with the Holy Scriptures,
and promised to preach and maintain the UMC Eucharistic
doctrine, which includes the concept that a once-a-month celebration of the
Lord’s Supper is infrequent. Any pastor who says that he/she studied
the UMC doctrines but has not, says that s/he believes that UMC doctrine is in
harmony with Holy Scriptures but really does not, and who does NOT preach nor
maintain UMC doctrine despite promising to do so is either ignorant or
dishonest, who answered ignorantly or dishonestly when he or she was
commissioned/ordained just so they can be commissioned/ordained.
iii. This is the reason why elders when they are
ordained are asked, “In covenant with other elders, will you be loyal to The
[1] Klemet
Preus, “COMMUNION EVERY SUNDAY: WHY?” http://storage.cloversites.com/gloryofchrist/documents/COMMUNION%20EVERY%20SUNDAY.htm
