Scholars are not in agreement about whether Jesus’ Last Supper was a Passover meal, but in any case, bread and wine would have been part of the meal. Bread and wine were offered at most meals at the time of Jesus. Bread was a staple made from wheat or barley. Wine was drunk more often than water as water was not always available or potable. People also ate fish, fruits, and vegetables. Meat was a luxury.
Scripture tells us these familiar words from St Paul: For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-25
Could Jesus have used something other than bread and wine to symbolize his body and blood? Yes, he could have, but bread and wine, these ordinary items, are rich in meaning and common throughout cultures. They are both made through a process. God provides the seed, the soil, the water, and the sun. We work to plant the seeds, nurture the plants and harvest them. We make wheat and grapes into bread and wine, again through a process with a number of steps. Then, in our worship, God makes them into something new: the Body and Blood of Christ. We receive the Body and Blood of Christ, and we become something new, the Body and Blood of Christ in the world. God has taken ordinary things and made them extraordinary.
There is a rich history of bread and wine in the Old Testament. Bread and wine are among the first fruits offered to God in sacrifice. Bread reminds us of the manna that God fed the Israelites in the desert. Bread represents being sustained physically by God and also nourished by God’s word: “[God] therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your ancestors, so you might know that it is not by bread alone that people live, but by all that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.” Deuteronomy 8:3 Sacrifices included blood sprinkled on the altar and the people. Blood is the sign of the Covenant God made with the Israelites. Wine represents the blood of the new Covenant in Jesus.
We receive the Body of Christ which was broken, suffering and dying for us. We receive the Blood of Christ which was poured out as an offering for us. We are becoming the Body and Blood of Christ but not in a static way. We are the broken Body and the poured-out Blood. We are signifying our willingness to be broken and poured out for others. Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ strengthens us to live as Christ in the world.
Reflection Questions
For what do you hunger? For what do you thirst?
What does it mean to you to receive the Body and Blood of Christ?
What is your place in the Body of Christ? How has this church community enriched your life?
What is your responsibility to the Body of Christ?
.jpg)
