The Ultimate Embodied Practice

As I walk through the doors, the music swells, my heart aflame with anticipation. Do this in remembrance of me... Communion Sunday is as close to heaven as I will come this side of glory, a foretaste of the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-9). As we prepare for glory, have you ever considered the Lord’s Supper as the ultimate embodied practice?

For better or for worse, the counseling world buzzes with talk about embodied practices. This is understandable. God has made us body and soul. The body matters, and often what is going on in the body can be helpful to soul care. Does a person lack sleep? Are they under stress? Are they regularly running on high adrenaline? Do they have a thyroid issue? Vitamin D deficiency, lack of oxygen, need more exercise? The list could go on! These issues will have a tremendous impact on the body. To the Biblical counselor, it may look like depression, anxiety, panic attacks and even forms of psychosis. Because body and soul are so intricately connected, sometimes it is hard to know when it is a soul issue and when a body issue. Both? Specifically, when someone is prone to panic attacks, oxygen is good and even suggesting box-breathing[1] can do wonders for calming someone’s nervous system. Sleep, reducing stress, vitamin D, exercise, and even seeing a doctor for potential thyroid issues can be helpful when working with suffering people.

But have you ever considered the ultimate embodied practice? Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me...” (Lk. 22:19) Where else in Scripture do we see our Savior proclaim the words, “Do this...”? Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, a tangible, corporate means of grace for his blood-bought people, and He says, “Do this...” The Gospel comes to the heart in tangible form. It is the ultimate embodied practice!

Consider the five senses.

Hear: God’s people have heard the Word preached with power, the Holy Spirit having worked through a feeble preacher. We have heard the good news again, and the Holy Spirit has done His work in our hearts. We have heard the joyful sound...Jesus saves![2] Then the pastor reminds us that the table “tangibly and dramatically displays God’s covenant with his people.”[3] The audible reminders are heart-felt, stirring the emotions before God. The warnings are given, and the preacher declares that “the table is for sinners.” The bread is passed out, as the song “O, Savior, Precious Savior”[4] plays in the background, a beautiful auditory experience. We have heard, and Jesus said, “...those who hear the word of God and keep it are blessed!” (Lk. 11:28)

Touch: The Lord’s Supper is a tactile experience. We hold the bread in hand. “This is my body broken for you” (Luke 22:19). As we partake, the feeling of the bread touching our tongue is rough. We remember Christ. His body broken, roughed up for us. Holding the cup, the wine hits our tongue, smooth in substance. “Then Jesus said to Thomas, ‘Place your finger here, and see My hands; and take your hand and put it into My side; and do not continue in disbelief but be a believer.’” (Jn. 20:27)

See: See the bread, a reminder of a body broken for me, broken for you. See the wine glistening in the cup. His blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins. See the saints gathered, remembering, and experiencing the spiritual presence of Jesus in this communion.[5] It’s your blood that cleanses me; it’s your blood that gives me life.[6] Behold the man upon the cross, my sin upon His shoulders...”[7] See what Christ has done!

Smell and taste: The bread smells plain. A reminder that “He had no stately form or majesty” (Is. 53:2). He was a common man, yet the “God man.” The bread is plain, yet it is of infinite value. Jesus’s body was broken for me. Smell the wine. Sweet to the smell, yet bitter to the taste. The wine represents Jesus’s blood poured out for the forgiveness of my sins. What a reminder of the bitter-sweet sacrifice of my Lord! “O, taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!” (Ps. 34:8)

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. — 1 John 1:1

The experience of the Lord’s Supper is the ultimate embodied practice, using all five senses as a means of grace, invigorating our faith, reminding us of what Jesus did in our stead. And He is there at the table, spiritually present, the One who gave all to save sinners. This sacrament is never meant to happen in isolation. As God’s children, we cry “Our Father...” In Christ, we live and move and have our being as members of the family of God, the body of Christ. The Lord’s Supper is corporate in nature. It declares to me body and soul that I am not alone in the need for forgiveness. The Lord is with me, and with me are other believers who share in the fight against the world, the flesh, and the devil. I am not alone.

How does this affect our walk with suffering people? A goal for every faithful Biblical counselor is to make sure that the suffering person is connected to a faithful New Testament church, where they practice the Lord’s Supper regularly. There are people who have been deeply wounded by the church. If that is the case, we want to gently lead them to healing in time and a reconnection to the body of Christ. We want to connect saints, sufferers, and sinners[8] to Jesus, but connection to Jesus also means connection to his people. As faithful counselors, our goal should be to work ourselves out of a job, because the suffering person is robustly connected to the body of Christ, where comfort and spiritual care are found. The means of grace – the preached Word, corporate prayer, the Lord’s Supper, and the fellowship of the saints - are vital for the growth of the child of God. Is it possible that this person’s suffering is compounded by isolation and a neglect of the means of grace? We die alone, for on its own each member loses fire. Yet, joined in one the flame burns on, to give warmth and light and to inspire.[9] If a person is not connected to a solid, local church, it should be one of the earliest priorities of spiritual care. How is it that saints, sufferers, and sinners will grow in the grace and knowledge of God apart from the church? It is impossible! In addition to the other means of grace, the Lord’s Supper will be a regular, tangible reminder of what the Lord has done for them – living the perfect life, dying the death that they deserve for the forgiveness of their sins, and rising to newness of life, securing victory over sin and the grave. Pastor Joel Ellis gives a case from the Scriptures for the weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper[10] for the edification of the saints. However, I would encourage a counselee to be in a church where they practice the table at least once a month.

The Lord’s Supper is indeed the ultimate embodied practice. It engages all five senses in the worship of God and in remembering what Christ has done. The corporate nature of the Lord’s Supper testifies that I am not alone. There are others who need forgiveness too. Growth happens in community. “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). May we find great delight in the observance of the Lord’s Supper and gently press people to experience this means of grace as the ultimate embodied practice.

If we at Burke Care can help you in a time of suffering to grow in your connection to Christ and to his body, please reach out to us. We would love to walk with you in this season.

[1] https://www.calm.com/blog/box-breathing

[2] https://hymnary.org/text/we_have_heard_the_joyful_sound

[3] Dr. Eric Watkins, Harvest OPC, August 6, 2023.

[4] Frances Havergal, “O, Savior, Precious Savior,” Trinity Hymnal, (Suwanee, GA: Great Commission Publications, Inc., 1990), no. 159.

[5] 1689 London Baptist Confession, 30:7.

[6] Michael Christ. Vineyard Music. “It’s Your Blood.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLoXae0kQQI

[7] Stuart Townend. “How Deep the Father’s Love.” https://www.stuarttownend.co.uk/song/how-deep-the-fathers-love-for-us/

[8] Michael Emlet, “Saints, Sufferers, and Sinners,” (Greensboro, NC: New Growth Press, 2021).

[9] Bryan Jeffery Leech. “We Are God’s People.” https://hymnary.org/text/we_are_gods_people_the_chosen_of_the_lo

[10] Joel Ellis, https://kuyperian.com/author/joelellis/

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