Monday, June 4, 2018

Eucharist



"On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, Jesus . . .  sent two of His disciples and said to them, 'Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. . . . Then the master of the house will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.'  The disciples. . . found it just as He had told them. While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, 'Take it; this is my body.' Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, 'This is the blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.' " - [ Mark 14: 12-16, 22-26.]

The word "Eucharistia" means Thanksgiving in Greek, but this nomenclature does not appear in the New Testament. Some versions of 1 Peter call the Sunday meal of the Lord, "love-feast". - [Allan J. McNicol.]

Many denominations also call this Communion.

Most Christians perhaps do not realize that The Last Supper of the Lord was the very first Communion. Or that the very first Communion occurred on the last day before Jesus' Crucifixion, and at the eve of Passover.

Passover was connected to the Israelites' Feast of Unleavened Bread, a feast prescribed by God, to Moses [Exodus 23]. The Unleavened Bread was the first sheaf of wheat presented at the harvest.

Passover refers to the Israelites' practice, again prescribed by God, to splash the blood of a sacrificial lamb over the family's doorway, to protect against the final plague of the murder of the firstborn son. The Israelites believed that this sacrifice protected them from the shadow of the Angel of Death passing over their household.

When the Israelites finally made it to the Promised Land of Canaan, it was at the time of the celebration of their Passover. The next day, the Israelites joyfully began to eat of the bountiful harvest of the land!

So many implications flow from a Christian celebration of the Eucharist. We eat this meal on Sunday, the Lord's Day. How natural it is, therefore, to understand how one ought not sully the sacredness of the day with physical labors, frivolity or indulgence in misdeeds. Sunday truly IS the day which the Lord has made!

The Eucharist or Communion is a family meal and a "Love-Feast". No wonder we say "Peace be with you", before receiving the Host.

The Eucharist is a Communion. The church service is a "family reunion". We are all brothers and sisters. We cannot deny one another. We ALL belong to each other. We cannot be Christian and believe otherwise. We cannot say, I will fraternize with THIS person but not that one. Even our Jewish brothers and sisters are our beloved ancestors.

At the Eucharist, we all eat from the same Host and we all drink wine from the same cup. We are all one body, and we all share in Christ's body and blood.

The Eucharist is Thanksgiving, love-feast, family meal, and sacrifice, all bound into one Divine event. With the coming of Christ, there is no longer a need to sacrifice the blood of animals yearly to protect from the Angel of Death. Jesus, God's First-Born and Only Son, made that sacrifice once and for all. We all now share in His Death and Resurrection. Jesus died and rose to Heaven, so that now we, very imperfect, humans have that possibility, as well.

In the Eucharist, we share the characteristics of Jesus. We consume and embody His Peace that passes all understanding, His unconditional Love, His will to love and to serve others. Each week, after Communion, I exit church feeling so at peace, ready and willing and able to confront any struggles that arise in my daily life.

In the Eucharist, we do not celebrate an empty ritual. Instead, as at the Jewish Passover, we gather with  family and friends to RETELL and to REMEMBER our being set free by the grace and Love of God.

I think back to my own family and how they raised me. My best understanding is that their feeble faith was like John 14: 17: "The World cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him".

After I received my First Holy Communion, my family ceased taking me to church. I had "graduated" from the requirements and was told to move on. My family considered me a "Christian" - and yet, how was I such, if I could not join in weekly Communion with my Christian family?

My family told me that I was set apart, better than others, amongst the privileged few. But, there can be no true Communion without all equally present and sharing in the one meal.

My family told me that I owed no one any special respect or help. Their attitude was, "Let them help themselves." But, in the Eucharist, we are all brothers and sisters. As one family, we cannot disown any members. Even if we unilaterally declare that some groups do not "belong", the One Body of Christ declares otherwise.

IF we dare to call ourselves Christians, IF we partake in the Communion supper, IF we take on the characteristics of Jesus in the Host and the wine, IF we consume and embody the capacity to love everyone unconditionally, THEN there can be no racism, no sexism, no poverty, no class divisions, no abuse, no estrangement, no jealousy, no division, no violence, no greed, no war.

(c) Spiritual Devotional 2018. All Rights Reserved.









 

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