I grew up in the Episcopal Church which celebrates the Eucharist every Sunday and often holds Holy Communion (a.k.a. Eucharist) services during the week as well.  There are 3 main denominations which are called “liturgical” i.e.  they hold Eucharistic services:   Roman Catholic;  Lutheran; and Anglican or Episcopal.  The east Orthodox churches are also liturgical.

My Mom loves liturgy, the rite that celebrates Eucharist.   Eucharist means thanksgiving.  She considers other churches which do not celebrate Eucharist regularly as depriving their members of one of the most important Sacraments in the Church, by omitting what Our Lord clearly stated we should do.  The Lord’s Prayer petitions God for daily Bread and the Eucharist is the symbolic and spiritual Bread offered through Jesus Christ, when He established a New Covenant, at the Last Supper, for the forgiveness of sins.

Mass simply means a gathering of people.  My Mom considers herself a Catholic, or a member of the universal Holy Church i.e. all true followers of Jesus Christ.  This is how the liturgical creed, written centuries ago states it:  “One Catholic and Apostolic Church.”

When I receive Holy Communion, I receive the Holy Spirit, which testifies to Jesus Christ directly.   I am reconnected to Jesus Christ,   re – membered to the Body of Christ,  receiving forgiveness of my sins, healing, and the comforting Presence and council of the Holy Spirit.  There is joy and Shalom i.e. the peace of GOD and wholeness.

I’ve never personally felt anything, when I take communion, but that doesn’t mean something doesn’t happen. I’m committed to not allowing my beliefs to be formed by my experiences alone, but rooted and grounded in God’s truth, the word. I consciously take the elements in remembrance of Christ.

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My Mom, Deborah Meleski

Something is indeed happening when people receive the Eucharist in faith.  The Gospels testify to the Last Supper and we participate in the Presence of Jesus Christ literally through the power of the Holy Spirit.   The Church describes Eucharist as a “mystery” and it is.   We cannot use the science of mortals to define GOD.  Baptism is another Holy Sacrament which defies the science of mortals.   These are Sacraments of faith.  Our creed says we believe in the visible and invisible.  And we do.  What is visible are the fruits of the spirit: kindness, love, patience etc..

People need physical actions because they are physical beings.   Jesus established the eating of bread and drinking of wine as a physical action with spiritual results to not only remember His life, teachings and sacrifice; but to literally unite our very lives to Himself, spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically.   It is total, just like the Shema.  Old Testament laws required the celebration of Passover.   Jesus requires the celebration of Eucharist.

Moses was GOD’s servant to rescue the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.   This is a physical rescue.  GOD established laws for spiritual conduct – the Ten Commandments, Deuteronomy and Leviticus.   But Moses was not the Savior spiritually.  Jesus, GOD’s Son, came to set all people, spiritual slaves, free.  He came to teach us that spiritual slavery prevents us from receiving eternal life; a much bigger deal than physical slavery, in fact THE DEAL.   And this is predicated on our repentance and His forgiveness of our sins as well as our forgiving others, who sin against us.  Eucharist is about our spiritual growth toward holiness and purity before GOD by lining up our will with His in the example of His Son, Jesus Christ.  It is about the New Covenant Jesus established for the forgiveness of sins, at the Last Supper.

How do gentiles relate to all of this?   Because the Ten Commandments and the nature of GOD in the Old Testament are completely relevant to the New Testament and the teaching of Jesus Christ.   It’s all about the Shema and the Second Greatest Commandment.   It’s all about the Original intentions of GOD with our Creation in Genesis.  This means EVERYONE.   Jesus does for us what we cannot do for ourselves, because without Him, we are slaves to sin and death.  Only Jesus can free us.

A Covenant is a promise but it has conditions for the recipients.  The Covenant Jesus established through Eucharist places requirements on the participants and that is obedience to GOD.   Jesus considers His family to be comprised of those who obey GOD, those who do the will of His Father, Our Father in Heaven.  We must always be striving to serve GOD; listening to GOD, choosing GOD and repenting as quickly as possible when we sin.  Jesus invites us to be part of His family and that is why Good Friday is GOOD.  That is why the Gospel is the GOOD News.
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My Take + Scripture

The Passover meal is mentioned in all four gospels, and throughout the epistles.

Luke 22:15-19
15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood

I am in love with God and want to take a part in (or consume) Him. I also want God to consume me. I personally experience God’s presence when I worship in song, so that’s my priority in church, and I respect the different flavors of churches’ worship such as Liturgy, contemplative, demonstrative, rock bands, etc. I know that encountering God happens in a myriad of ways.

One major way of encountering God is communion. Communion is a practice created for God’s children to experience union with God. Catholics and Protestants argue about the elements actually being Christ’s body and blood. Catholics claim it is the literal body and blood of Jesus. While, protestants claim it is a representation.

What does all this mean? Can the Catholics and Protestants unite when something so foundational such as communion, or eucharist, is debated? I believe as the church becomes grounded in Spirit and Truth there will be no division. Let’s dive in…

 

History of Communion

We gain so much understanding when we study history. This section is based on the book Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Eucharist, by Brant Pitre. Pitre, a catholic, dives into Jewish mindsets in Christ’s days, and their thoughts surrounding the coming messiah.

He says four key events will indicate the messiah:

1) the coming of a new Moses
2) the making of a new covenant
3) the building of a new Temple
4) the journey to a new promised land

I stopped in my tracks when I read that. Jesus fulfilled each of these points.
Pitre further expounds the first point that Jesus is the new Moses (The Messiah is the new deliverer), then there is also a new Exodus unlocking the mystery of the Last Supper’s elements:
the Passover, the Manna, and the Bread of the Presence.

I pause here to say – this is so meaty, I’m not sure I’ll do it justice. Read Pitre’s book for a thorough understanding. I’m going to attempt to simplify… Here I go:

1. Moses was the Jews’  deliverer, who brought them from bondage in Egypt by means of miracles. (Exodus 7-15) Jesus is our new deliverer and has life of miracles. (Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.)
2. Moses established first covenant at Mount Sinai bringing the Jews into a sacred relationship with God, sealed by blood, ending with banquet (exodus 24:5-11). Jesus established a new covenant with his children by his life and shedding of His blood, and culminates into eating and drinking His body and blood. (Matthew 26:28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.)
3. The permanent place of worship for the Jews is first the Tabernacle of Moses, then the Temple of Solomon. The Babylonian empire destroyed Solomon’s temple, then King Cyrus of Persia allowed the Jews to rebuild in Ezra 1, but its glory couldn’t compare. The prophets of the Old Testament often spoke of a new Temple for all peoples. Ezekiel 37:24-28. Jesus establishes the new temple as a believer’s body. (1 Cor 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,)
4. The original promised land was Canaan, which God promised Abraham and his descendants. Exodus brought the Jews out of Egypt and into this territory flowing with milk and Honey, Canaan. (Exodus 3:8) The Jews did not remain there forever due to being overthrown by empires, but the new promised land would gather Israel and Gentiles and they’d possess this land forever. The new promise land is where God “makes all things new.” (Isaiah 60:21)

That concludes the elements of a new Messiah, who is a new Moses leading Jews into a new Exodus.

The Passover
If there is going to be a new exodus, there would have to be a new Passover. Exodus 12 outlines the main elements of the ritual Passover meal to include:

1. Choose an unblemished male lamb.
   2. Sacrifice the male lamb.
   3. Spread the blood of the lamb over the entryway of homes as sign of sacrifice.
   4. Eat the flesh of the Lamb with unleavened bread.
   5. Keep the Passover as a day of remembrance.

The Manna
The Manna is the bread from Heaven. Quail was the flesh from heaven in Exodus 16.
Jesus’s sermon where he directed his audience to eat and drink his flesh and blood is found in John’s gospel chapter 6:

John 6:48-59

48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.’ 52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ 53 So Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live for ever.’

The Bread of the Presence
The Bread of the Presence, less known to many Christians, is the holy bread found in the tabernacle (Exodus 25), where lay 12 cakes for the 12 tribes of Israel (Leviticus 25). This bread is mentioned many times in Jewish scriptures. And the Hebrew word for presence is actually the word face (panim). So the bread is literally the Bread of the Face. The bread itself is a visible sign of the Face of God.  The Bread is also a sign of the covenant between God and Israel. This section is so rich in Brant Pitre’s book, here are the parallels he draws:

 

Bread of the Presence	The Last Supper
1.       Twelve Cakes for Twelve Tribes	1. Twelve Disciples for Twelve Tribes
2.       Bread and Wine of God’s Presence	2. Bread and Wine of Jesus’ Presence
3.       An “Everlasting Covenant” (diatheke)	3. A New “Covenant” (diatheke)
4.       As a “Remembrance” (anamnesis)	4. In “Remembrance” (anamnesis)
5.       Offered by High Priest and eaten by Priests.	5. Offered by Jesus and eaten by the disciples.
6.       Eaten at the Golden “Table” in Jerusalem Temple. (Exodus 25: 23-30; Leviticus 24:5-9)	6. Jesus’ “Table” in the Kingdom of the Father    (Luke 22:19-20)

Today

The history and the parallels are profound between Jewish Tradition and Jesus’s last supper. Praise be to God. The catholic theology that Eucharist, or communion, is the true Body and Blood of Christ makes sense to me. It is Christ’s presence or the Holy Spirit and when you partake of the elements you are consuming Jesus. Protestants claim it’s all symbolism, that works for me too. I wonder if it is both? Symbolic and also the Bread of the Presence or Face of God, God himself.