The traditional model is that the welcome to share in the bread and wine of Holy Communion is for those who have sufficiently repented. All are sinners, but the enormity of our personal sin must be confessed. It is only when we turn in faith to believe Jesus has died for us that we are forgiven. There must then be a commitment to improve one’s behavior.
On this view the function of ministers is to steer a congregation into penitence and faith. In traditional Roman Catholic theology individuals should not take communion till they have confessed to a properly ordained priest. He would hear what the sinner felt were his or her outstanding sins, and then pronounce absolution in the name of God. Hopefully this continual sequence of self-examination, confession, and assurance of forgiveness would in due course improve the sinner’s behavior.
Since the Reformation the need for confession to a Roman Catholic priest has been replaced by preachers whose task is to bring sinners to their knees, confession of faith, and assurance of salvation. When I was trained for this task it was as simple as A B C. I had to explain you have to ADMIT you are a sinner and cannot earn your own forgiveness. This was followed by the need to BELIEVE that Jesus has paid the penalty of our sin on the cross. Then there had to be a step to COMMIT oneself to the acceptance of this transaction. This could be done privately in one’s own home, but evangelists suggested it was better to make a personal declaration by coming forward in a public meeting , or at least by holding up a hand to declare that personal acceptance.
The A B C of new model theology is quite different. The individual is encouraged to ADMIT that he or she can never overcome the inclination and stubbornness of their human flesh. Our instincts are given to us by the genes of our parents, but they have no interest in producing the fruit of the Spirit. Faith is to BELIEVE that the Holy Spirit can create the changes needed in the human heart. C is to stop trying to effect change by one’s own efforts and to COMMIT oneself to let the Holy Spirit do what is needed for perfect love and the creativity needed for recreation in the image of God. Forgiveness for past failure is guaranteed by the unconditional love of God , but the emphasis is not on groveling in one’s sinfulness but in the wonderful changes the Holy Spirit promises to effect in due course.
The resultant change in the joy and worship of a communion service is quite different. In the old model the hymns and preaching were centered on the Father’s wrath and the agony of his Son on the cross. There was the fear of eternal damnation for those who failed to accept the sacrificial death of the Son. At its worst communion gave the sense of being in the lifeboat of the saved while the whole world outside was lost. It was only in the previous century that the work of the Holy Spirit began to change this awesome model.
A new model communion service is a family gathering. The Father loves every person in the whole world, but he delights in those who want to gather to celebrate that love. The worst of sinners are invited to share in the banquet of heaven. The death and resurrection of the Son is a victory over all the forces of evil. The hymns and preaching rejoice in the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Instead of being limited to members of that denomination, the work of the Spirit is recognized as working powerfully among all nations.