The Eucharist

Since we are approaching October and will be partaking in the Eucharist (otherwise known as
communion or the Lord’s Supper) on Sunday, I thought it would be fitting to discuss the Eucharist and
what it means for our lives. Why do we celebrate it? Where did it come from and how has it changed
throughout history?

Growing up in the church, all I knew was that the first Sunday of every month we
would take communion, which meant eating those gross wafers. If I had to take it more than once a
month I would often get annoyed because that meant the service was going to be long. Since I have
started my studies at IWS I have found a renewed interest in the Eucharist. It has become more personal
and has a deeper meaning than simply eating bread and drinking juice. Let’s talk a little about the
history of the Eucharist.

We all know about the Last Supper. It happened on the night before Jesus was going to be
crucified. Jesus took the bread and broke it, and the cup and drank it. The language used by the pastors
during the Eucharist comes directly from this scripture. That is they say things like “On the night Jesus
was to be betrayed, Jesus took the bread and broke it and said ‘This is my body which is broken for you,
do this in remembrance of me’” and so on with the cup.

Throughout history, the way the Eucharist was celebrated has changed. Jews and Gentiles
continued the celebration after Jesus ascended to Heaven and, in 1 Corinthians 10, Paul mentions the
bread and the cup which is actually the first time the Eucharist is referred to apart from the gospel accounts. These suppers used to be giant meals where large groups of people would come and eat
together. In the 6th- 8th century the Lord’s Supper became removed from the people. The Monks were
performing it but were not educating about what it meant and so the people were watching with no
knowledge of what was happening. At one point in history, the Eucharist was only being taken once a
year because people were afraid they were hurting Jesus by literally eating his body and drinking His
blood. Today in our tradition we usually celebrate the Eucharist once a month and everyone partakes
together.

So now that we have a little background, let’s talk about what the Eucharist should mean for us
today. Is it just another thing we have to do at church or does it have personal meaning for our lives? The
word Eucharist actually means Thanksgiving. When we partake in the Eucharist we are literally thanking
God for his sacrifice and remembering that sacrifice through the taking of the elements (the bread and
cup). Therefore as we prepare our hearts for the celebration we should thank God for his sacrifice and
all he has done for us. This point alludes back to last my last blog about Christ Centered worship. The
Eucharist and all language surrounding it should be fully centered on honoring God. We do it so that we
can be connected with Christians throughout the ages and around the world who are honoring God but
also to simply magnify the name of the Lord.

Lastly, through the Eucharist God works to make us holy and bring us closer to Himself. But what if on
Communion Sunday you don’t feel like you should partake because of a sin you committed during the
week? God asks us to come as we are. If you had to be sinless to take communion, no one would be able
to. However, that time of confession is there for a reason. Before we take communion we should make
our confessions to God and get as much off our shoulders as possible beforehand. Not because God will
not accept us if we don’t, but because it will help us to engage more deeply with Christ. A phrase I heard
during my studies that has stayed with me is “You cannot be holy enough for the Eucharist, the
Eucharist makes you holy.”

Eating the bread and drinking the cup is a sacred ritual that should not be  taken lightly. We are coming before the Almighty God and communicating with Him through the taking of the elements. This week, in preparation for Communion, take time to center your thoughts on God, confess anything you need to Him, and enter into a mindset of thanksgiving. The Lord deserves reverence when we come to Him. Let’s prepare ourselves to receive Him and worship Him this Sunday.

- Kendra Mikols