Homonyms
Originally scheduled for October 6
One of
the things which confuses the English language learner is that we
often have words which are pronounced in the same way but mean
things which are very different. We shall look at a fortunate
confluence of three such homonyms today and consider how God reins,
God rains and God reigns in Communion.
God reins
The word for this homonym comes from the days
of the horse and the buggy. Horses are controlled by reins, and we
often speak of somebody being reined in. How is this related to
Communion? We are taught to examine ourselves before we partake.
This self-examination should reveal to us the various sins which we
need to correct. So, in the presence of the body and blood of
Christ, examine your self and repent. You will be making promises to
change; remember that the Lord Almighty hears these and will hold
you to them. There is a reason we pray, “lead us not into
temptation.” We are asking the Almighty to rein us in so that we
might not need repentance.
God rains
Older Christians will remember the hymn,
“Showers of Blessing.” God rains down upon his people his many
blessings. In Communion we see the greatest of those blessings:
forgiveness and salvation. He is reminding you of what he has given
you, for we are to take Communion in memory of him.
There is another sense to this. You will recall
the Sermon on the Mount:
"But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in
heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and
sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
(Matthew 5:44-45 NASB)
God sends his rains to the just and the unjust;
you should be like him and therefore love your enemies. How can we
do this? We can remind those enemies that God does just exactly
this, and wants everyone to repent. Communion is open to the
repentant sinner; it is a measure of God’s love. God wants everyone
to be saved; spread the word.
God reigns
Communion also reminds us that the resurrection
was not an afterthought by God. It was the plan from the very
beginning of time. Ultimately, the will of God will prevail, even in
the face of the greatest of evils. The resurrection shows God’s
supremacy in all things. But with regard to Communion, I would
remind you that we are to celebrate communion “until he comes.”
Communion is a constant reminder that Christ will return. As the old
King James Version put it:
And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the
voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings,
saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
(Revelation 19:6 KJV)
At the return of Christ we will see that the
Lord God omnipotent indeed does reign. As you partake this morning,
consider that the Lord God reins you in, rains blessings upon you
and ultimately will show that he reigns in omnipotence. Ponder these
things in your heart.
