[Second OT reading: 2 Chronicles 35:1-19] [Sung Psalm: 150]
Some might prefer the more intimate household setting as in Egyot – but God had commanded Israel to celebrate the Passover in the temple.
In the same way, people nowadays often wax nostalgic for the more intimate setting of Jesus and 12 disciples having a meal around a table.
Some churches have even instituted the practice of having each family partake of the Lord’s Supper in its own little grouping. They do this because they think that they are being faithful to the Passover idea. But Matthew 26 makes it clear that such a practice is not what Jesus and his disciples did. You do not see James and John (the sons of Zebedee) off with their father at Passover. They are with Jesus.
The Twelve have left their families in order to follow Jesus. And in Jesus they have found a new family.
Paul also makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 11 that having a meal together is not the point – “Don’t you have homes for that?â€
So, just like with the Passover, we should not try to reproduce the Last Supper in Holy Communion.
The liturgical celebration is not going to look identical to the original event. What is necessary? “He took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’â€
So let’s look at how Jesus establishes the Lord’s Supper as the New Covenant meal.
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