Sacrament of Holy Eucharist

Sacraments are Christian rites which signify the grace of God in an outwardly observable way. In other words, these are “outward signs of inward grace”. Therefore, the practice of sacraments stands as an open visible testimony of our inner faith and the grace we received from the LORD. One of these sacraments is the Holy Eucharist, where we commemorate the Last Supper and consume consecrated bread and wine as instructed to us by Jesus Christ in remembrance of Him.

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you. Luke 22:19,20

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Mark 14:22-26

It is crucial to think about the proper way in taking part in this sacrament. As Paul states in his epistle to Corinthians, we shouldn’t take the Holy Communion lightly. We ought to examine and judge ourselves; being extremely careful that we are not unworthy and bring judgment on ourselves. For it is Christ’s flesh and blood.

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 1 Corinthians 11:28-32

With this in mind, there are a few things we are to remember whilst we partake in the Holy Communion. Firstly, it reminds us about our unity and fellowship with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:3

We are given this fellowship through the cleansing of our sins by the blood of Jesus Christ, which required Jesus to suffer on the cross. We ought to remember that all this was for us all, individually.

For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Matthew 26:28

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 1 Peter 3:18

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

By remembering the suffering of Jesus Christ, we are also reminded of the love of the Father and Jesus.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16-17

It is through this love we are saved. Thus, the communion also reminds us about our salvation and the eternal life which is kept for us.

For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." John 6:33,35,48-51

Further, the Holy Communion also builds fellowship among ourselves.

that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. John 17:21-23

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. 1 Corinthians 10:16-17

not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25

Finally, the Holy Communion is a proclamation of Jesus Christ’s death, resurrection, ascension and His return.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. 1 Corinthians 11:26

Often it is easy to overlook the importance and the meaning of things we traditionally do and follow. It is up to us to take our time to meditate the Word of God and understand the purpose of the establishment of various sacraments. In regards to the Holy Communion, let us remember that we commemorate the Last Supper as instituted by Jesus Christ. We do this in remembrance of Him. By which we remind ourselves of this wonderful fellowship we have with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, which we obtained through Christ being an atonement for our sins, which required Him to suffer and die on the cross. All these were done only because of the incomprehensible love of the LORD for us mere humans. We who are washed by his blood and forgiven of our sins and are granted eternal life. The Holy Communion also brings the church together in union, establishing a fellowship among us humans in alignment with the prayer of Jesus. Finally, we ought to do this until the return of Jesus Christ, by which we remind ourselves and the rest of the world that the time is nigh and we need to be watchful. May the LORD strengthen us and may we be reminded of all these and more by the Holy Spirit in us each time we partake in the Holy Communion.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13:14