This morning, in prayer, I was thinking about Communion or the Eucharist, also known as the Lord's Supper. Growing up in a Protestant family, we celebrated the Lord's Supper in our church at least once a month, with foot-washing following. Unlike many Protestants, we used real wine and drank from one cup or goblet, versus the traditional single mini-cups.
I know of many people who are offended or disgusted by this use of a single cup for an entire congregation. However, this is the pattern we see in the Bible times and continues this day among the Orthodox Jewish people.
When a groom takes his vows under the wedding canopy, he first drinks from a goblet of wine and then lifts the veil of his bride and offers her a drink of the wine. They are, by this ceremony, becoming one.
In Matthew 26:26-29, when Jesus took the bread and blessed it, He then broke it and gave it to the disciples. His commandment was to “Take it and eat it, this is My body.” For centuries, many Christians have believed that He was speaking of the bread being His body. However, I believe a better understanding of this is, that His body is the believers.
Whenever a man eats bread, his body breaks down that bread and distributes it throughout the body. How is it carried to the parts of the body where it is most needed? By the blood. This is exactly what Jesus said in the next part, when He took the cup and said, “This is the New Covenant IN MY BLOOD”
In our modern society, we have an aversion to drinking after others, because science has explained to us how germs are passed from one person to the next, especially by drinking or eating after others. However, most of us would not think twice about drinking after our own family or possibly even close friend. When Jesus shared that cup with His disciples, He was telling them, "You are My family and family one with another. You share My blood."
The Apostle Paul often used the analogy of the body to talk about the "church". But what is the church? Is it a building with wood or stone, or is it the people that make up the congregation. The original understanding of the church was the people. And those people were a community of faith or "family".
So then, when Jesus said, "This is My body" I believe He was referring not only to the bread, but even more so, to the disciples and those who would believe on Him through their words. We are His body.
