‘ Praise to you, Lord, King of the universe who causes bread to come to earth’.
The lamb, bitter herbs and bread are eaten, and the meal ends with the blessing and drinking of the third cup. The fourth and final part is the conclusion. The meal finishes with the singing of the second part of the Hallel Psalms. After the celebration, the final gesture is the sharing of the fourth cup of wine.
The Last Supper started when Jesus sent his disciples with instructions to prepare the Passover meal. While they were eating, Jesus took a piece of bread gave a prayer of thanks, broke it gave it to his disciples and said, ‘ This is my body’. Then he took a cup, gave thanks to god, handed it to them, and they all drank from it. Jesus then said, ‘This is my blood which is poured out for many, my blood which seals God’s covenant.
By saying these things Jesus had changed the meanings of the foods at the Passover meal, also by saying the bread is his body and breaking it, he is talking about the fate of his own body. This is given in sacrifice In sharing out the bread and wine in this way, Jesus was showing the disciples that his body would be broken and his blood would be shed just like the bread which he had broken and passed round and the wine had been poured out at the table.
Jesus made it clear that his body and blood would be the new covenant of God with his people. The sacrifice of his life for the forgiveness of sin only took place on Calvary, when Jesus was crucified, but like the Jews, the priest at Mass repeats the offering, which Jesus made as though the moment is present again. The Jewish festival of Passover is a great help in understanding the Christian celebration of the Eucharist. The Disciples were confused, as they didn’t understand why he was saying these things, when Jesus made the accusation that one of the disciples would betray him they all said, ‘you don’t mean me’ which meant they were unsure of there faith towards Jesus. The Last Supper was a celebration of the Passover only Jesus changed the meaning of some of the foods.
Christians today have different names and meanings for the Last Supper. The different names for this celebration are Eucharist, Holy Communion, the Lords Supper and the Mass. The word Eucharist means thanksgiving. Christians give thanks, as Jesus did, for the bread and wine, and the work of mankind. This spiritual thanksgiving is much better in the Orthodox Liturgy. It gives God thanks for what he has done for his people in rescuing them from sin.
Holy Communion is the sharing of bread and wine, which emphasis the Christian believing in Jesus as saviour and Lord. This service brings Christ’s followers together in unity. The Lords Super is a way of saying that Christians unite and obey what Jesus said at the Last Supper. The Roman Catholic Chuch uses the name The Mass. It is Latin and means ended or finished. To Christians the word Mass symbolises the special meaning given by the Roman Catholic Church to its central act of worship.
Some Christians don’t celebrate the Eucharist very often. Jehovah’s Witnesses celebrate it once a year. Presbyterians Churches used to hold the service about four times a year and Congregational Churches twice a month, but after the joined form of the United Reformed Church they asjusted the amount of times of the service.
The Methodist Church has a Sunday Service which allows the sacrament with or without the sacred meal. The Church of England celebrates once a week. The Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Church celebrate daily. The different was that Christians celebrate the Eucharist depends on the way they understand the meal. Different names they have tend to hint what the emphasis that is given.
Churches that have altar-centred worship, have a priest or minister, to carry out the service. In some churches only priests have the authority to consecrate the bread and the wine. In these churches there is usually a three-part service. Worship the word; worship the Eucharist and Communion service. In churches representing the Church of England (Anglian Church) the people come to the altar and receive the bread then the wine from one cup. It is nearly the same in the Roman Catholic Church only the cup is not given out at all Masses.
Christians of the Roman Catholic and eastern Orthodox churches believe that the bread and wine used in the Eucharist actually become the body and blood of Jesus. When the church celebrates mass it is not offering a new sacrifice, there was only one sacrifice and that was the death of Jesus on the cross. When the people receive the bread and wine they believe that they are really receiving the body and blood of Jesus.
The Protestant belief is that Jesus is really present in the bread and wine of the Eucharist, as it is consumed in a special way. Most Christians agree that they all should unite as soon as possible, to look at the Eucharist as no in terms of disagreement but in terms of where there is agreement, this would be a positive way forward. The Orthodox Church gives communion in a spoon, where the blessed bread has been dropped into the blessed wine. Some groups prefer a non-alcoholic juice instead of wine.
In the Baptist Church the people decide on the order of their service, but there is a familiar pattern of worship in their churches. Free Churches have a more improvised pattern of worship and do not have set prayer books like other churches.
Evaluation#
For the Catholic Church the Eucharist is the source and the summit of Christian Life. They believe that the Last Supper is the foundation of their religion. Protestant Churches don’t believe that the last supper is the most important event of Jesus life. The Christian Churches disagree about the meaning and the way the Eucharist is carried out. This is one reason why churches can’t unite. This celebration, which should have been the unifying factor within Christianity, became a matter or quarrel. The three problems that they tend to disagree on are: The interpretation of the words of Jesus, the interpretation of what happens to the bread and wine and the meaning of the service by whatever name it is called.
Of course there is some agreement Christian Churches agreed that Jesus instituted the meal out the Last Supper. Also when the Church meets to celebrate the Eucharist, Jesus is present in the whole celebration, and is received by faith. That the Eucharist remembers the death and resurrection of Jesus. That the celebrating of the Eucharist is a means of communion with Jesus and each other. Also that through the Eucharist, the church looks forward to the time when Jesus will come again and establish the kingdom of God on earth.
Christians hope that form these agreements, they can look for ways to unit their faith, so that one day all Christians will be able to celebrate the Eucharist is important if you are of that faith. I believe it should only be celebrated once a year, like Christmas, this would bring more importance to it as more Christians would all celebrate it on the same day. Due to different people having different beliefs there will never be one Christian united church.
Bibliography
Dimensions of Christianity ---- Sister Anne Burke
Mark’s Gospel, An Interpretation for Today ---- Robin Cooper
Teaching RE: Judaism ---- CEM 1996
Religion for Living 2 ---- Connie Duffy
St Mark’s Gospel ---- David Adshead
A Journey through St Mark’s Gospel ---- Marjorie Farrell Morley
St Mark’s Gospel, A Commentary ---- Norman Price
Passover ---- Living Festival Series, CEM
According to Mark ---- Clare Richards
Catholic Christianity today ---- M. Elson & V. W. Watton
