Taste the good life

“But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:9, English Standard Version)

One Sunday, as a church prepared to receive the Lord's Supper, the pastor was talking about communion during the Children’s Sermon. He told the kids the Bible talks about Holy Communion being a "joyful feast". Then he asked: "What does that mean? Well, "joyful" means happy, right? And a feast is a meal, right? So a "joyful feast" is a Happy, Meal. And what are the three things we need for a happy meal?"

He never got to finish the Children's Sermon because one little boy sitting in front hollered out, "Hamburger, fries, and a regular soft drink?"

There is much in our experience of the Lord’s Supper that should make us happy!

The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus, the very essence and reflection of God, came to us as a human being, so that by the grace of God, he might taste death for everyone. The Lord’s Supper is a taste of the good life of grace.

The Greek word that is translated as “taste” is a figurative word. It means literally, “come to know.” So a rewording of the verse would be “so that by the grace of God, Jesus might come to know death for everyone.” Jesus came to know death so that we would not have to taste death ourselves. That is, because of Jesus’ willingness to suffer on the cross, we do not have to suffer the consequences of our sin. Jesus removed that cross from us by going to the cross himself. We get to taste the good life of grace because of Jesus’ sacrifice.

Because Jesus tasted death for us we can live the good life of freedom!

• We can be free from the guilt and shame of our past mistakes.

• We can be free from the discouraging sense that we are unloved.

• We can be free from the cynicism that grips so many because we have an assurance that God is present and ultimately in control.

• We can be free from our fears about the future because we have tasted the life of hope that assures us of a never-ending relationship with the Lord.

Jesus tasted death . . . came to know death . . . by God’s grace so that we would not have to taste the power of death in our own lives. Jesus tasted death so that we might come to know the good life of freedom, no longer weighed down by guilt or shame. Jesus tasted death so that we would have the good life of hope based on Christ’s presence with us now and an assurance that we will never, ever be separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

The taste of communion is tasting the good life Christ our brother gave us though his suffering, death, and his glorious resurrection. That makes our communion meal a happy one! Come to worship for your taste of the good life!