It’s Sunday again. We are traveling again. Another Sunday away from our home church family. Another Sunday away from normal routines, worshiping with part of our extended spiritual family. We love meeting and knowing other Christians, but it is not the same as being “at home.”
It’s Sunday again–a good time to reflect upon why we assemble. Yes, we enjoy fellowship. Yes, we enjoy our horizontal, interpersonal relationships. But, these are not the primary reason for assembly. If these were the reason for assembly, we could assemble at times other than Sunday. The early church spent time together daily, but they assembled on the first day of the week for a special purpose. The purpose of the Sunday assembly was not fulfilled at any other time on any other day. Today–on the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week, Resurrection Day, Sunday–of first importance, we assemble to remember Jesus’ death and promised coming. We celebrate the One who is our Passover, the blood on our spiritual doorpost, rescuing us and redeeming us from sin’s death.
If we focus too much on the horizontal aspects of assembly, we are tempted to overlook the vertical. We may begin to think that assembly doesn’t matter. When we are away from home, on vacation, or traveling, the temptation is to forsake the assembly. If we do not keep clearly in mind that the reason for the Sunday assembly is to remember Jesus, we may come to think that a person can be a faithful Christian without celebrating the Supper.
Sunday is not only about surrounding the Table, but it is first about surrounding the Table. It is first about remembering. It is first about celebrating what we have received and continue to receive from Jesus. Jesus opened a new a better way to the heavens for us. In that good news, we find our encouragement and the power to go on. It’s Sunday again–let us remember what God has done for us through Jesus. As we declare his death, let us remember that we also declare that he is coming again.