Luke 22.14-20
When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”
Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.”
He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.
The Last Supper; why do we remember Jesus?
At the Last Supper (the meal Jesus ate with his disciples on the night before he died), Jesus told them (and us) to remember him through bread and wine.
Jesus said:
The bread represents Jesus’ body which was broken for us.
The wine represents Jesus’ blood. It is a symbol of a new agreement between God and his people. It reminds us that we are forgiven by God for the wrong things that we do.
Holy Communion
We come together in church to celebrate Holy Communion, the time when when we eat and drink bread and wine that has been consecrated (made holy) by the priest.
When we take Holy Communion, we remember that Jesus died for us.
Another meaning for remembering is “coming together” (re-membering). Just as in our families we remember birthdays and special occasions by coming together for a party or a meal, in church we come together to remember that Jesus died for us by eating and drinking the consecrated bread and wine.
Communion is a Greek word that means “fellowship”. Another word we use for communion is Eucharist, which means “thanksgiving”.
Just like Jesus and his friends at the Last Supper, we:
- Share a meal at a table (the altar)
- Before we share, we exchange the Peace – so that we are reconciled to each other and can come to God in friendship and fellowship
