A sacrament common to all Christians is Eucharist, also referred to as Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper; a rite celebrated by Christians around the world. The ritual liturgy may vary somewhat between denominations, and even between individual churches, but it is all derived from the same event described in all four Gospels as well as by Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians[1]. That event was the last meal Jesus shared with his disciples before his arrest and crucifixion.
The timing of that gathering, held on and for the day of the Passover ceremonial meal, holds deep symbolic meaning tying the crucifixion of Jesus to the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. Just as the sacrificial lamb saved the people of Israel from death on the night of the first Passover in Egypt, Jesus’ death and resurrection brought the availability of God’s saving grace to all humanity.
During the last supper that Jesus shared with his closest followers, he instituted, by words of instruction and example, a new ceremony of remembrance. The disciples would not fully grasp the significance of that night and Jesus’ words until they witnessed a few days later the resurrection of their teacher, followed some weeks later by the coming of God’s Holy Spirit, a day we refer to as Pentecost.
The event of Pentecost ignited a spiritual fire within the disciple’s hearts that led them to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ far and wide. Their message of redemption and life everlasting found through repentance and acceptance of God’s grace through Jesus Christ ultimately spread throughout the world. Holy Communion provides us with the opportunity to recreate and connect in an intimate way with Jesus and his disciples, experience that last supper with them.
As you prepare for and receive the elements of communion, take time, linger perhaps at the altar or rail, kneel in prayerful reverence and consider the following. In your journey to faith in Jesus Christ, there were people God placed in your life who led you into your faith in Christ. They told you about Jesus and guided and nurtured your relationship with God. They themselves had someone in their own life that had brought them to Christ and built them up in faith; and in turn persons in that preceding generation were ministered to by other Christians.
If you work back in time to preceding generations in the same way we trace our own genealogy back into the past, tracing this Spiritual heredity of yours, you eventually must come to one of the disciples present in that upper room, which then ultimately links to Jesus himself. Just as all humankind can trace their genealogical lineage back in time to a single person, every Christian ultimately has a direct Spiritual relationship and connection with Jesus Christ. We truly are all connected and related Spiritually in Jesus Christ. Ponder on this thought, … and draw closer to God in Jesus.
[1] Bible scriptures for Holy Communion: Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:14-23, John 6:35-40, 49-51, Acts 2:42, 46, 1 Corinthians 10:14-21, 11:23-32