communion...is it more than a miniature meal?

for a long time i have been wondering if there's more to this thing called communion. why do we do it? isn't there something more to it than taking a few minutes and church to eat a cardboard-like piece of cracker and a tiny cup of grape juice?

its interesting that Jesus decided to get rid of the old covenant with all of its ceremonies and sacrifices and just leave us with two things to practice: baptism and communion. we take communion on occasion, but i'm convinced that its often misunderstood. we don't really know what it means, and none of us think about it very often.

what is the point of communion? i grew up being instructed that communion was pretty much a time to "get right with God" and "examine yourself." i have been taught that if i wasn't "right with God" then i shouldn't "partake." but, when i look at the Bible, it becomes more and more clear that this isn't a very biblical approach to communion. 

can we ever "get right with God?" where does this phrase appear in the Bible? we have already been made right in Christ, and repenting of sin is a part of our lives, but we don't need to do it in order to be in the presence of God. Hebrews talks about how we have confidence to approach Jesus because of his sacrifice, not our confessing. 

communion isn't about confessing our sins because we are already right with God through what Jesus did on the cross. we have already been completely forgiven through Christ's death in our place. he has freed us from sin and given us the joy of serving him.

communion isn't something that we do for God. rather it's something that he has given us to remind us of how much he loves us. when we take communion, Jesus wants to remember how he demonstrated his love for us. his body was broken like the bread we eat on our behalf. his blood was poured out to cover over our sins. communion should be something that's full of joy and liberation as we think about Jesus.

if you want to look at what the bible has to say about communion, check out luke 22:14-20 and 1 corinthians 11:27-32

there's much more to say on this, but i'd like to hear some feedback...what do you think?