This is My Body           1 Corinthians 11.23-26

Good Day~

It was late in the afternoon, and a few of the disciples had gone ahead to prepare the room and the table for the Passover meal.  John and Peter did not know how different this Passover experience was going to be!  None of the disciples had any idea it was the last time they would share the observance with Jesus.  You can picture them around probably a low table, sitting almost elbow to elbow. Jesus begins talking about things that seemed so very foreign to his men; they could not know that the arrest of their Messiah was imminent.  Later, they would remember the significance of what he had said to them that night.

Paul writes, “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you:  The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, [picture Jesus looking around the table and into the eyes of the men he knew so well and loved so much] took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”  1 Cor. 11.23-26

The Lord’s Supper, also called Communion,1 and the Eucharist, (which means ‘the giving of thanks’), is meant to be a remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and also a proclamation of the Lord who will return for his own.  The ceremony is intended to bring unity to Christ followers as well; ironically, for centuries, Christians have divided over it. 

Roman Catholics developed the doctrine of transubstantiation, believing the bread and wine literally, though invisibly, turn into Christ’s body and blood.  Luther introduced the doctrine of consubstantiation, that the bread and wine coexist with the body and blood, but do not become either—the doctrine still held by Lutherans and Anglicans.  Radical Protestant Reformers like the Calvinists and Methodists broke with these practices, instead believing that the elements (bread and wine) do not undergo any kind of transformation, but are meant to be powerfully symbolic, and the ceremony is meant to be a remembrance.   Then there are others, like the Quakers, who do not practice communion at all--they believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit and in communion with that Spirit. If the believer experiences such spiritual baptism and communion, then no rite or ritual is necessary. The Quaker ideal is to make every meal at every table a Lord's Supper.  Hmmm . . .

No one would dare deny what the bread was to symbolize; Jesus told his disciples before his death, This is my body, then he broke the bread and passed it around the table.  And then he took the wine, and said, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.  How apropos to study this after we have just studied the excruciating death to which Jesus subjected himself on the cross!  ‘Yes, Lord, we can see how the bread memorializes your body, the wine your blood.’  Jesus’ reference to the new covenant is the one between he and his followers who were no longer under the covenant of the law, but under grace, after his death.

Friends, remember that the forgiveness of sins had always required the shedding of innocent blood2—hence the Jewish rite of sacrificing a lamb.  It is the reason Jesus who was sinless was the perfect sacrifice, once and for all time, and the reason his blood had to be poured out for the atonement for our sins. 

It is true that no two people come to the Table with the same mindsets, beliefs or emotions; but it is meant to be a sacred time spent in the presence of the Savior.  It is God’s intention that we allow him to search us and cleanse us--a quiet, private moment—yet, in the company of fellow believers.  It is meant to be a time for individuals to reflect and be renewed.  More on this beautiful spiritual experience tomorrow . . .

Until then...may you be aware of his work around you!

Christine

1 1 Corinthians 10.16

2 Deuteronomy 12.23, the blood is the life