RESOURCING THE CHURCH FOR ECUMENICAL MINISTRy A ...

The Lord’s Supper and Our
Vision of Christian Unity Today
Dr. Richard L. Harrison is the former pastor of
Seventh Street Christian Church in Richmond, Virginia, and
former President of Lexington Theological Seminary, Lexington,
Kentucky.
When members of the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) speak of themselves as
church, they will almost always go to three issues,
one or all of three ideas: Christian unity, the Lord’s
Supper, and some form of freedom/liberty of
thought and practice. The latter will be tied to
matters of polity, how we do church. We will speak of
the priesthood of all believers, which leads us to
comment on the Lord’s Supper, how we observe the
Lord’s Supper as a rite in which the laity have
significant leadership roles. We talk about an open
table, and that takes us immediately to a commitment
to Christian unity.
For Disciples, the Supper and its Table is the high
spiritual moment in our worship. What we believe
is the Biblical practice, that is, the weekly observance
of the Supper is affirmed by our belief that it is the
Supper that brings us, by the power of the Holy
Spirit, into the presence of the Living, Resurrected
Lord of Life. We believe, and we feel, that the
Supper renews us and ties us both to the Risen Lord
and to the community of faith as we gather together
around that Table. The experience of the
community of faith also gives life and meaning to
the idea that the Church is truly one, it is a gift of
God in Christ. It is not something we achieve, but
Richard L. Harrison
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it is experienced as a spiritual reality.
So Unity, the Supper, and Freedom are closely tied
together as God’s gift, God’s call to us, and God’s
map for living in God’s creation. As Michael
Kinnamon put it so very well recently in his address
at the General Assembly dinner of the Historical
Society and our Council on Christian Unity,
trusting in the words of Saint Peter Ainslie, “Take
Christian unity out of the message of the Disciples
and our existence only adds to the enormity of the
sin of division by making another division.” As
Michael put it, “it is this passion for unity, this sense
of distinctive mandate, this readiness to die for the
sake of our calling, that has given vigor to our
evangelism, an edge to our social witness, and
particular content to our worship and preaching.” 1
In other words, Thomas Campbell two hundred
years ago got it right when he said that “the Church
of Jesus Christ on earth is essentially, intentionally,
and constitutionally one.” 2 And in that essence we
are told by Christ to love one another. We are not
told who may, or who may not, share at the common
Table. Yet this is clear, if any follower of Christ is
denied access to the sacramental feast because of
their understanding of the faith, or their understanding
of Communion itself, then we have
divided the body of Christ. “And division among
Christians is a horrid evil, fraught with many evils.
It is anti-Christian, as it destroys the visible unity
of the body of Christ; as if he were divided against
When members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) speak of themselves as church, they
will almost always go to three issues, one or all of three ideas: Christian unity, the Lord’s Supper,
and some form of freedom/liberty of thought and practice.