Communion Song - Rememberance

Like many worship leaders I'm always on the lookout for good worship songs. While checking out Matt Maher's site (writer of "Your Grace is Enough"), I discovered that he and Matt Redman had written a communion song together called "Remembrance." What's interesting about this collaboration is that Matt Maher is Roman Catholic and Matt Redman is Protestant (as far as I know). Communion is one of those big fighting points between Catholics and Protestants, so it is exciting to see an act of unity in the body of Christ through this songwriting effort.

Thanks to the two different perspectives of the writers, I think this song stays away from false teachings in Roman Catholicism regarding the Eucharist, but also fills in many gaps that Protestant communion tends to have. As one reviewer said, “The song puts quite a bit of meaning behind a service at church that many often disregard.” Take a listen to this and then I’ll share just a brief analysis of what I appreciate about this song's content.

Verse 1 marvels in the mystery of God's invitation to commune with Him. It doesn't say that the bread and wine literally become Jesus' body, but does assert that the ordinary elements become Holy, physical elements set apart for a spiritual purpose.

The pre-chorus reminds us that it is God's mercy that invites us to His table, apart from that we couldn't come (don't we need that humbling reminder sometimes?). It also recognizes that communion is part of how God's grace nurtures/grows our faith.

The chorus makes a case for how remembrance fuels worship. I take the use of the word "communion" in this section to mean that worship through the Lord's Supper leads to a shared experience not only with other believers, but with God Himself.

The bridge quotes from the Roman Catholic Memorial Acclamation, which reminds us not only of Christ's death and resurrection, but of what they accomplished. It's easy to get hung up on the death part and not "remember" the resurrection that followed. Like Paul said, without the resurrection, our faith is futile, so I'm thankful for the inclusion of this acclamation to remind us of the resurrection and to anticipate Christ's coming again.

What are your thoughts on this song?