FR ANDREW BEESTON WRITES:

BREAKING OF BREAD -
The Meal that Unites

On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus used a Passover meal with his disciples to institute a memorial of himself. From the very first days after Pentecost, his followers began to do what he had commanded, using a simple meal which they called the breaking of bread - to remember him. They devoted themselves to the apostles, teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

As one follows the emerging life of the Christian Church, this meal becomes the central act of worship. In his first letter to the Corinthians Paul reprimands them for misusing it, and reminds them of its origin and purpose: 'I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes". Much of the significance of the breaking of bread lay in its connection with the Jewish Passover. In that event, Jews remembered the wonderful act of God by which their forefathers were brought out of slavery in Egypt. The meal not only commemorated the event, but brought it into the present, as a permanent reminder that they were a people in a special relationship - a covenant - with God.

For the early Christians the breaking of bread fulfilled a similar purpose. It commemorated the special event by which God had brought them out of darkness into his marvellous light. It also brought the death of Jesus into the present, reminding them of who they now were as God's people of the new covenant, proclaiming the Lord's death until he comes.

But it was even more than that. It was to be the sign of a new relationship with God and one another - a sharing in the body and blood of Christ, a holy communion. It was to be the central act of their praise and thanksgiving, a Eucharist - thanksgiving in Greek. And it was, of course, the Lord's Supper, because he instituted it and commanded them to go on doing it in memory of him. So each of the familiar names by which this service later became known have biblical roots: The Lord's Supper, Holy Communion, The Eucharist, and the Breaking of Bread. All through history Christians have obeyed Christ's command. They have met at his table and shared bread and wine. And as they have done so, like the Jewish Passover, they have brought the past into the present and made it part of their continuing life of love and service. When Christians gather to remember Jesus, they do not just look at the bread and the wine. They give thanks, they break the bread, they pour out the wine - and then they receive them. What Jesus did 2000 years ago in that way becomes part of their lives now. They live in him and he continues to live in them.