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 Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouvert (French Naturalist painter, 1852-1929), The Last Supper, oil on canvas, private collection. Larger image. |
If you're new to the Christian faith, let me provide a simple explanation of the Last Supper.
The night before Jesus was crucified, Jesus had a last meal, called the Last Supper, with his twelve disciples. On that night Jesus compared bread to his body given as a sacrifice. He spoke of wine as his blood poured out for forgiveness of sins. Then he invited his disciples to partake of the bread and wine that night. Since that time Christians have partaken of the Lord's Supper, a commemoration of the Last Supper instituted by Jesus.
Different branches of the Christian Church have different practices and historical beliefs about the Lord's Supper. Roman Catholics hold a daily Mass. Many groups, including Episcopalians (Anglicans) and Lutherans, Christian Churches, partake weekly. Others, such as Baptists, Presbyterians, and Pentecostals, partake monthly. A few groups partake only once or twice a year.
Scholars are not agreed whether the Last Supper took place on Passover (which seems likely according to the Synoptic Gospels -- Matthew, Mark, and Luke), or the day before Passover (which can be inferred from John's Gospel). To me it makes the most sense that Last Supper took place on Passover, probably Thursday evening. Several details of the accounts seem to correspond with a Passover Seder.
Whether the Lord's Supper occurred on Passover or the day before, the bread they used would have been unleavened bread, since all leaven had been purged from Jewish houses for a week prior to Passover -- the week-long feast of Unleavened Bread which culminated on Passover. In the Roman Catholic Church, altar breads must be made from wheat flour and water only (Code of Canon Law, Canon 924). Eastern Catholic and Orthodox churches use leavened bread made from wheat flour. Most Protestant churches don't have a rule about what kind of bread must be used for communion.
It wasn't until Dr. Thomas Bramwell Welch invented a way of pasteurizing and bottling grape juice in 1869 that it was possible to preserve grape juice without it fermenting. Since the grape harvest in Bible times would have taken place in September or October, wine drunk in March or April would have been fermented. Some Protestant denominations that had been part of the Temperance Movement in the early 20th century use grape juice for communion. Today it is often explained as a way not to tempt recovering alcoholics.
Let me lay out the main theological differences at the outset and then leave them for more fruitful meditations. The differences occur in how a person interprets Jesus' words: "This is my body." Is the "is" literal or figurative? Is Jesus teaching an exact correspondence between the bread and his body, or a metaphorical relationship between the two?
I'll support the third position in chapter 1, but I'll try to do so gently, since I know that many of my Christian brothers and sisters sincerely believe differently.
Most organized Christian churches have rather firm rules about the words and prayers to be said at communion, who can preside or administer the Lord's Supper, who can distribute it, who can receive it, preparation necessary for communicants (those who receive communion), how it should be consecrated, handled, and disposed of, and a multitude of other details. Most of these -- originally, at least -- were designed to protect the Lord's Supper from common and careless use. While many such practices are alive and well, I won't spend any time on them here. Different families of believers do things somewhat differently out of respect for the Holy Communion.
In this study it is not my intention to prescribe any right way or correct practice. The tradition of your own congregation can guide you in your practice. It's the meaning of the Lord's Supper that we'll look at together from the Scriptures. What we find, I believe, will unite us and help us together to appreciate the wonder of the Lord's Supper.
One more caution. As I've researched the Lord's Supper, I've become aware as never before of the centrality of the Lord's Supper in Christianity. I'm also aware that we Christians may understand and experience the Lord's Supper differently depending on our particular traditions. I call on you to join me in being humble in our study, ready to learn from Scripture and from others, ready to broaden our own experience of communion. For ultimately we are probing together what is a mystery to all of us, the mystery of Christ in our midst whenever we break bread together in the Christian community.
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Father, we thank you for all our Christians brothers and sisters around the world. Though we differ in some of our worship practices, we are one in you, our God and Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Open our hearts to one another and to your Word, which we will be studying. And give us a deep appreciation for being included in your Table. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
Copyright © 1985-2009 Ralph F. Wilson. <pastor
joyfulheart.com> All rights reserved. A single copy of this article is free. Do not put this on a website. See legal, copyright, and reprint information.
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