An Anabaptist understanding of the Lord’s Supper, Easter 2007

According to Luke, Jesus eagerly desired to eat the Passover with his disciples before he suffered. He is eager to eat the Passover, but he is also going to suffer. There is this contrast set up between thanksgiving and sadness, a good time and a hard time. Meals can be a fragile affair, they can be pleasant, or thy can be tense, in the case of the Last Supper, it was both.

Jesus was eager to eat the Passover with his disciples. He had selected a room within the city of Jerusalem to meet and eat. It was the custom to share Passover within the walls of the city. Selecting the room had been a covert operation, done in secrecy out of fear of being hassled by the authorities. Peter and John were told to go into the city and be on the lookout for a guy carrying a water jar. Usually it was women who carried water jars, so when they see a man carrying a jar of water, wouldn’t be many, they were to follow him and he would lead them to a secure room where they could gather and share the Passover meal.

Luke writes, “Jesus took his place at the table, and the disciples with him.” Matthew, Mark, and Luke affirm that the Last Supper was a Passover Meal, but according to John, the meal was an ordinary meal they shared, perhaps on Thursday night rather than on Friday, which would be Passover. Some have even suggested that Jesus moved the Passover up one day because he figured his time was short, or maybe there were no rooms left for the Friday Passover, so they had it on Thursday. Let’s assume it was Passover, an extended meal that might occupy the best part of the evening.

At some point during the supper, in John’s version, Jesus got up from the table and washed his disciple’s feet. He was teaching them the value and practice of humility. He told them that just as he washed their feet, they would be blessed if they did the same to each other.” He was setting them an example of cooperation and service rather than rivalry and competition. At first Peter resisted allowing Jesus to wash his feet, but Jesus insisted, because all those who lead must learn to receive the grace of Jesus.

During this foot washing part of the Last Supper, Jesus gives his disciples THE LOVE COMMAND. Jesus says, ‘Love each other as I have loved you.” Jesus is teaching then the way of peace and non-violence. The word Maundy [Thursday] comes from the Latin ‘mandatum, meaning ‘to love another. We cannot separate the foot-washing from the supper. The foot-washing clarifies what we are called to do, love, while the Supper provides us with what Divine Grace and power.

The meal is ready. Jesus acting as host invites his friends to sit together to eat. He extends a traditional welcome to the Passover meal, ‘[hands in the air] ‘Let everyone who hungers come and eat; let everyone who is needy come and eat the Passover meal.” He leads them in the traditional prayer thanking God for food; “Praised be Thou, O Lord, Sovereign of the world, who causes bread to come forth from the earth.” They sit and begin to eat.

Not long into the meal Jesus drops a bombshell in the room. In Matthews account, they had hardly started to eat when Jesus makes an accusation, ‘Someone here, within our community, is going to betray me.” His disciples take turns saying, “well it’s not me.” The mood of the meal is sinks. Matthew writes, the disciples were ‘greatly distressed.’

Things get worst. Jesus has harsh words to say to Peter as well, says he is going to deny him as well, says that all the disciples are going to desert him. The mood of the meal is somber, distressing.

Things get worse. A rivalry among the disciples that had been brewing for some time breaks out into an open argument among them over “who was the greatest.” The conflict escalates. I can imagine people shouting, red faced, and angry, pointing fingers. “It was my place to sit next to Jesus, and you put me at the end of the table.”

The last supper is often referred to as ‘Eucharist’ meaning ‘to give thanks.’ Jesus gave thanks to God for the bread and the wine; he was grateful and eager to share the Passover with his disciples. The meal was set in an incredible stressful moment, so it is not surprising that the mood of the Last Supper was distressing, somber, being the occasion for harsh words, accusation, arguments, denials, open conflict. They are stomping on each others toes rather than washing each others feet.

Someone brings in from the kitchen loafs of hot bread; the aroma of the baked grain fills the room. Jesus stands and holds up the unleavened bread and says according to the words of the tradition, “This is the bread of affliction which our fathers and mothers ate in the land of Egypt. The bread was a yearly reminder to the afflictions of their ancestors, the difficult and bitter years of slavery in Egypt.

Jesus pulls off a piece of the bread of affliction and passes it to Peter, Peter takes some bread and passes it to Judas, and so on around the table until all of them are holding a piece of the bread of affliction in their hand. Perhaps the disciple are still hot over their argument…they are waiting for the host to say the traditional words, ‘take and eat. Jesus adds a twist. He adds the words, ‘this is my body’ and then he says ‘take and eat.”

Holding the bread in one hand, is Jesus pointing to his body with the other hand. Are there tears in his eyes. It is time for him to eat the bread of affliction, to walk the path of suffering. He is going to be broken. He tells his disciples, ‘We eat the bread of affliction.”

The meal continues. There may have been up to four occasions when the host invites guests to drink wine together. Jesus holds up a cup wine and once again he gives thanks to God. “Thank you God for the fruit of the vine.” Once more, before he tells the disciples to drink together, he adds a twist to the tradition, says ‘this is my blood of the [new] covenant.” Then he invites them to drink together.

Understanding the elements of the supper

This is my blood of the new covenant [occurs in all four passages]

Jesus is using this occasion to announce the inauguration of a Covenant, an agreement or promise. Holding up the wine, Jesus lifts up a toast to the new covenant.

In the past God made a covenant with Noah, when God promised never again to destroy the earth with flood. [Gen 9] God made a covenant with Abraham, when God promised to give land to Abraham’s descendents. [Genesis 12] Jeremiah had spoken of a new covenant [Jer. 31:31]: “…I will make a new covenant… with Israel…not like the one I made with your ancestors when I took them by the hand and lead them out of the land of Egypt…in the new covenant I will put my law within them and I will write it on their hearts; I will be their God , and they shall be my people…I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.’ Ezekiel spoke of a new covenant:[37:24ff] ‘I will make a covenant of peace, an everlasting covenant, and I will bless them and multiply them…and I will be their God and they shall be my people…my sanctuary will be among them forevermore.

Jesus announces God’s Covenant of Peace during the last supper. This is the new Covenant that Jeremiah and Ezekiel were hoping for. This covenant of peace is signed in blood; it will take effect with this death. The last supper becomes the First Supper celebrating the covenant of peace. When Jesus says, ‘this is the blood of the new covenant” he is announcing God’s covenant of peace, established through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Lord’s Supper is a peace treaty, announcing peace between God and God’s creation, in hope that this peace will come to life within and among us.

“Eat the bread and drink the cup”

1. Horizontal/social/ethical element.

Eating the bread and drinking the cup shows our willingness to follow Jesus. It is an ethical summons to imitate Jesus self donation, to ‘participate’ in the blood of Christ. [1 Cor 10:16] To eat and drink means we reaffirm God’s covenant of peace and renew our commitment to live in peace with others. The Lord’s Supper is a time to renew our pledge to love to God and awaken our heart to care for others.

Do this in memory of me: interpreted with an emphasis on ‘do this’

When Jesus said ‘do this’ he was referring to more than ‘do the supper’ but having love for people. Do this means washing each others feet. Eat together, have frequent potlucks, pledge your love for each other, serve others, share your food and goods with those who do not have as much, make sure no one goes home lonely or hungry following the Lord’s Supper, share the gospel of peace with others, practice non violence. Swartley writes, ‘we cannot drink the cup and lift the sword at the same time.”

Alan Krieder says that the Lord’s Supper promotes a ‘culture of peace.’ Elenore Kreider writes, ‘the communion service with its prayers, the kiss of peace, the symbolic feast comprises what we refer to as ‘unitive rites’ of the church. [pg 186] The Lord’s Supper is a community building practice; it forms the character of the beloved community

Vertical/spiritual element: Do this in memory of me

The Lord’s Supper is an ethical summons to love, but it is also the promise of the presence of Jesus in life. Jesus is made present to us in the sharing of the bread and wine. Jesus promise to be present with us even after, in death. On the one hand, in the Lord’s Supper we give our ‘pledge of love.’ [Hudmaier] On the other hand, in the Lord’s Sipper we receive God’s pledge of presence.

The Passover celebrated God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery. Jesus is refiguring Passover. No longer is just a nation being set free, now all of creation is being set free from bondage to sin and death and evil. In Jesus, death will pass over us. Thomas Finger [pg 38 Vision] writes, ‘Despite strong horizontal dimension, the Supper’s main agent is not he congregation but he risen Jesus.’

He died ‘for us’, he poured out his life, ‘for the forgiveness of sin.’ Communion is a sign of human faith; it is also a source of divine strength. Lord’s Supper is a source of spiritual strength, spiritual food, divine medicine of immortality, source of energy, healing, awakening, power for life.

In doing this we “Proclaim the Lord’s death till he comes.”

To ‘proclaim the death of Jesus’ is to preach, share the benefits of Jesus life and death. The forgiveness of sins, a covenant of peace, our salvation, our redemption, eternal life. Jesus is the objective source of this hope, that what happened to him will happen to us. In Jesus there has occurred a fundamental reconstitution of our universe, a conversion, a restructuring of matter and energy which immediate effect is seen only in Jesus, but like a seed that is planted, the life of Jesus will in time restore creation. Jesus says he will drink wine with us in the Kingdom of God. This is his hope and we trust his word.

To ‘Proclaim the death of Jesus” is to share the elements and to preach the word, but also in the words of Peter Lampe, ‘to give ourselves up to others. Peter Lampe, [Eucharist, 44-45] ‘What then, does it mean to ‘proclaim’ Christ’s death in the Eucharist? …the death of Christ is not…proclaimed only by sacramental acts…In the Eucharist; Christ’s death is proclaimed and made present by means of our giving ourselves up to others. Our love for others represents Christ death to other human beings. Only by actively loving and caring for others odes the participant in the Eucharist ‘proclaim’ Christ death as something that happened for others.”

Pass over: Yes, we may eat the bread of our affliction and drink the cup of death, but God will raise us from this death. How to make sense of the old song, ‘there is power in the blood’

Communion Service

Mark 14:22 While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’ ²³Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. ²⁴He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. ²⁵Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’

Invitation:

Jesus invites to his table all who love him and who earnestly repent of their sins and seek to live in peace with one another.

Please come forward and take a place at the table. Pass the bread to each person, and then together say their words written on the table. Take the cup and together say the words written on the table and then drink together.

Prayer before communion:

God, may you bless this bread and juice that they may be for us divine grace so that we may walk in the power of the resurrection.

Prayer following communion:

Eternal God, you have graciously accepted us as living members of your son, sour savior, Jesus Christ, and you have fed us with spiritual food in the sacrament of his body and blood. Now send us into the world in peace, and grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart, through Christ our Lord.

Benediction for the meeting:

Hebrews 13:20 Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, ²¹make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us^* that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.