All Christians of every kind agree that what Jesus commanded for the Memorial of His death on our behalf is a particular Meal. That is what He wanted to enable our recollection of Him and His sacrifice. Is that Memorial the same as all the others. Does it have the same function?
One of the favorite things my father liked to do was go out to restaurants. Sometimes, when we are out to eat as a family, I recall him- the experience will often make me think of him. But of course, Father did not command us to eat at a restaurant as His memorial.
The meal Jesus commanded was a specific meal. He planned the menu. There were to be no changes or substitutions of any kind. He even commanded exactly what was to be said and done during this Memorial Meal and even who was to participate in it. Again, no exceptions. All of it- the words, the food and the actions of His memorial Meal were instituted by Him. None of that is true of any meal I have eaten that reminded me of my father. It is also not true of any sculptured monument, parades, flags or concerts and songs we use to remember our war dead on this Holiday.
The menu: a loaf of unleavened bread and a cup of the fruit of the vine
The words: [Jesus/Celebrant] This is my Body, given for you. This is my Blood, the Blood of the new Covenant, which is poured out many for the forgiveness of sins
The participants: Disciples alone. Later, Paul reported that only those who examine themselves first to be sure they recognize the bread and wine to be the Body and Blood of Jesus may participate.
The action: [Jesus/Celebrant] took, blessed and broke the bread, likewise, he took the cup and distributed each with the command to take and eat/drink.
There is something else that makes this meal unique. Except in my memory, my father is not present at the table in the restaurant. The deceased soldiers are not present in the parade or at the cemetery except in the thoughts of observers standing there.
As a Reformed Catholic, I do not believe Jesus is physically present in the bread and wine (these elements are not changed into the literal Body and Blood of Jesus nor are the literal Body and Blood received with the Elements) However, the Bread and Wine are more than mere symbols. They do more than represent the Body and Blood of Jesus, which is the Baptist (Zwinglian) point of view. I was led to this conclusion by what Paul says in 1 Cor 10:16- when we chew the bread and drink from the cup we are literally “partaking” or participating in the Body and Blood of Jesus. And in 1 Cor 11:29 Paul teaches that eating and drinking improperly is to be guilty of sinning against the Body and Blood and to bring judgment upon ones self with physical consequences. Surely, more than mere symbols are involved. Surely there is more than pieces of bread and cups of grape juice involved in the Lord’s Supper. I have come to believe Jesus, is truly present in the words and actions of His Meal. The words and actions of the Meal communicate the person of Jesus. This is what makes the Eucharist a very different kind of Memorial.
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