“For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 NLT
It is very significant that the Apostle Paul picked up this Maundy Thursday practice and now sacrament that would live on in every church and every believer. This event was huge in Judaism, because Jesus was celebrating a Super Passover, a Year of Jubilee Passover with all the elements except for the main course, the lamb. But in fact the lamb wasn’t missing at all, it was there at that Passover. However, it wasn’t sacrificed and eaten completely that night, it would be sacrificed about 24 hrs later and very much consumed within three days. The Passover lamb was Jesus and that night was the final Passover necessary for the whole world. That night, the remembrance of the very old story Moses recorded about the death angel passing over when he saw the blood applied on the doorposts of the people who believed and obeyed. But also God commanding that the Jewish people celebrate that memory up until this very night when Christ himself completed the object lesson! For the Jewish person, this was a final celebration in its original form. However for the gentile it would be a brand new practice going forward.
This final Passover was the handoff, the bridge between the Jews and Gentiles who ALL celebrate a different kind of Passover, a communion.
Did you think about the fact that Paul was the only one who restated the story and commented on some of the abuses of the Corinth church concerning communion? I am so thankful he did! Did you know that the abuse of what was considered a “Love Feast,” continued to cause churches problems for several hundred years! Did you know that one of the early Bishop’s tried to shut it all down and basically NOT ALLOW communion to be served to fake believers and it could only be administered through an approved Bishop? This was all before the highly structured Eucharist system in the Catholic church. Paul just said “stop the abuses.” However, the church clamped down the “celebration” part so severely and reduced it to a authoritative top-down experience that we never recovered the joy of remembering or the hope of Christ’s coming. Now, the church still thinks that communion can only be served a certain way and that it must be done by professional clergy in a very controlled, almost mechanical way. This very holy object lesson or ceremony needs the fresh breath of the Holy Spirit to bring us back to reality. The body of Christ gathers, we commune, we celebrate and remember the sacrifice Jesus made and CHEER his second coming.
PRAYER:
Dad,
I have always enjoyed communion! I have always thought and felt deeply about that night so long ago. I have always loved the rich, deep historical and theological significance of the Passover. However, I’ve always wanted to be much more celebratory about the whole thing. I’m thankful Paul wrote about it, even if it was a correction to the church. I would also love to bring back a sense of a love feast, gathering in joy and telling the stories of your great grace.