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The Lord’s supper

“This is my body which is given to you...
This is my blood which is poured out fir you.” — Luke 22:17-19 13:8

One of the most important sacraments or ordinances (as some groups would call it) of the Christian community is the Holy Eucharist or the Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper. It is supposed to be the point of unity of all Christians the world over, but up to now there are still Christian denominations that could not celebrate this sacrament with their fellow Christians. I had personally experienced this when I attended the Plenary Assembly of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches being a member of this world body. It was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Our Orthodox brothers invited us to celebrate with them the Holy Eucharist, but I was surprised and a little bit embarrassed when the non-Orthodox like myself were not given the elements simply because we do not belong to the Orthodox communion.

The Lord’s Supper is a fulfillment of unity, but at the same time a promise. For while this sacrament is meant to unite believers in Christ, yet people remain divided in understanding as well as in celebrating it. Perhaps, it is good for us to reflect on the words of Jesus when he instituted this sacrament. He said, “This is my body which is given for you… This is my blood which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:17-19).

These words of Jesus have deep theological meanings and serious ethical implications. Apostle Paul had captured it when he affirmed in his First Letter to the Corinthians (Chapter 12) that the Church is the Body of Christ. With this in mind Jesus’ words in the Passover Meal have at least three implications: First of all, it would imply that Christ owns the Church. When Jesus said, “This is my body”, he is in effect saying that the Church belongs to him. The Church belongs to Christ. It is never owned by anyone else, be it the bishop, priest, pastor, or even the Pope. Therefore, our ultimate loyalty is to Christ.

Thus, when people try to fashion the Church according to their own image, they are on their way of making the Body of Christ their own.

Secondly, the words of Jesus would also imply that the Church has to be given or to be broken like the bread. To be broken would mean to be transformed, to be radically changed in order to become an effective instrument for transformation.

Take note, however, that the transformation of the Church is not easy. Oftentimes, the Church refuses to change. For this would mean doing away with all the things the Church considers as the measure of Christian life. This would also mean that the Church must deny itself and stop thinking merely of its own concerns and goodness.

Moreover, it would mean that the Church no longer converts or proselytes people just to increase membership rolls, but rather to manifest God’s love and justice in the midst of our suffering people.

Christian education has a very crucial role to play in this painful and difficult process of transforming the Church to become truly the Body of Christ. The values of the Kingdom of God – the values of love and justice - should be the basic content of our Christian education programs and activities.

Finally, the words of Jesus would also imply that the Church should be given or broken for the world. The Church exists not for itself but for the world. The world’s cry is a cry for peace and reconciliation. There is so much conflict and alienation in our world today. This is one of the reasons why our nation’s progress seems to be very slow. Christian believers are called to be peacemakers and reconcilers. And this is never an easy task.

We can never be reconciled unless we are freed from the evil forces that separated us from one another. As the saying goes, “We cannot achieve reconciliation unless we know the act of stooping down.” To stoop down is one of the hardest things to do. For this would mean to deny our selves, to give up our pride and self-centeredness and embrace the fears, hopes, and struggles of people in this broken world. This is a radical decision that we should make in order to attain genuine peace and reconciliation.

The Lord’s Supper is the very symbol of that act of stooping down. In his attempt to reconcile humanity to God, Jesus Christ our Lord stooped down from the throne of glory and offered his body to be given or broken for the redemption of the world (cf. Phil. 2). This is what we affirm and celebrate in the Lord’s Supper. #

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