We have in the New Testament four separate accounts of the institution of the Sacraments of the Lord's Supper. The earliest written record of the event is contained in St. Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians, chapter I 1, verses 23-34. The other three are contained in the first three Gospels of the New Testament (see Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14-22-26; Luke 22:14-23). Although there are slight variations among the passages cited above, the actions of Jesus in instituting the Sacrament are described in language substantially the same - "He took bread", "He gave thanks" , "He blessed it" When our Lord blessed the elements, He thereby changed them, not in substance, not in quality or quantity, but in use, in purpose, and in sanctity, so that what before was common, now becomes the Sacrament of His blood and body.

Relation to the Passover

On the night when Jesus was betrayed, He was celebrating with His disciples the Jewish Festival of the Passover. We read in Matthew 26:17 that "On the first clay of the Feast of Unleavened Brewad, the disciples come to Jesus and askecl, 'Where c/o you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?"' Elaborate preparations had to be made by every family for this national event, which commemorated their protection from the destroying angel, and their freedom from slavery in Egypt.

The following is a very brief account of the preparation and observance of the Passover:

On the tenth day of the first month of the year, a male lamb or a kid, a year old and without blemish was chosen, and on the fourteenth day of the same month, it was killed in the evening. The blood was taken in a vessel to the house and sprinkled on the doorposts and lintel of the house with a bunch of hyssop. The lamb was afterwards roasted whole and eaten. Unleavened bread and bitter herbs were also eaten. The uncircumcised could not join the company. The Passover was to be eaten in haste, with loins girt, staff in hand and shoes on the feet.
There are three concepts, which stand out from the celebration of the Passover, which point to the close connection between the Jewish Passover and the Christian - in terms of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper:
0 Representation: The innocent lamb or 'kid' represents what is owed to God by the offerer; so that the lamb/kid having been sacrificed, the offerer goes free.
a Safety Under the Blood: The first-born children were in danger from the destroying angel before the blood was sprinkled on the doorposts and linters of the house. After the blood was sprinkled they were protected and made safe under the sprinkled blood.

9 Nourishment: The accepted offerer was now nourished and strengthened by the food provided by the roasted lamb/kid.

Therefore, in a more spiritual sense, and with a more glorious inheritance, all that the Passover was to the Jews of ancient times, the Lord's Supper is to believers. So Jesus says, "this is my body, given for you" (Luke 22:1 9) "this is my blood .... which is poured out for many" (Matthew 26-28) and St. Paul recommends "...Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed: therefore, let us keep the festival" (I Cor. 5:7-8).

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NAMES OF THE LORD'S SUPPER

The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper has a special place in our Christian life and worship. It may be called the most holy of all the things with which God has endowed His Church and has been celebrated under many different names by the Christian Church. It is known in some Churches as the Lord's Supper, or the Holy Communion, or the Holy Eucharist. In the Roman Catholic Church it is call the 'Mass' and in the Eastern Orthodox Church it is called the Divine Liturgy. Each designation has its own emphasis, but it is the same service. The Lord's Supper makes it quite clear that our Lord is the host. Holy Communion stresses sharing or participation in the gifts bestowed in Christ and in fellowship with Him and all His people. Eucharist -denotes thanksgiving for what God has done and is doing for us in Jesus Christ. The Mass points to the perfect sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. These themes do not exclude but rather complement and enrich one another. Through the bread and wine, this one table of our Lord proclaims the reconciliation accomplished by His death and resurrection, and the 'oneness' of the redeemed community.

Nature and Purpose: In considering this section of the subject it is most important that we take note of the care with which the Reformed Churches have guarded against two extreme views, relating to one feature of the Doctrine of the Lord's Supper. On the one hand there is the extreme of "Transubstantiation" and on the other there is what is usually called The "Reactionary Extreme".

• Transubstantiation is the theory which is the official theory of the Roman Catholic Church, and is defined as follows: by the consecration of the bread and wine a conversion is made of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ, our Lord, and the whole substance of the wine into the substance of His blood. This conversion is fittingly and properly called by the Roman Catholic Church 'Transubstantiation'. This is accomplished by the performance of the priest. Transubstantiation occurs, however, only of the substance, not of the accidents (such as colour, shape, taste, smell etc.) all of which remain unchanged.

• The Reactionary Extreme position was advocated by Zwingli, a Swiss reforrner. In his disputation with Luther he declared that the Lord's Supper was primarily a bare memorial of the redemption won through the death of Christ, and a rededication to the Christian life. He protested in the dispute that "is" of the words of the institution (This is my body) means "signifies". So that the bread and wine are mere symbols to remind us of His body and blood.

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Consubstantiation is the name by which the doctrine of Luther and the Lutherans is known. It is stated in the words of Luther's Larger Catechism, that "the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is IN AND UNDER the bread and wine, through Christ's word appointed for us Christians to eat and drink". Luther rejected the doctrine of Transubstantiation mainly because it made the presence of Christ dependent on the consecration prayer, which could be uttered only by a priest. In this way the Sacrament became the work of man and not solely on the divine act.

John Calvin and the Reformed Churches influenced by him, rejected strongly the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Zwinglian theories and asserted no less strongly that the Real Presence of Christ is a spiritual presence, a Real Presence not in the material elements (carnal presence), but in the heart of the believing recipient to whom Christ truly gives Himself at the Communion. Calvin also added that "the office of the Sacraments does not differ from the Word of God and that this is to hold forth and to offer Christ to us." (inst. 4,14, 1,1 7).

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SOME ESSENTIAL ASPECTS OF THE LORD'S SUPPER

The action of the Church in the celebration of the Lord's Supper is at once an act and sign of Remembrance, of Present Communion, of Thanksgiving, of Consecration, and of hope anticipating the future consummation.

Remembrance: In the Lord's Supper the Church offers to God the Memorial which Christ Himself commanded, "Do this in remembrance of me, " (Luke 22:1 9). Here it is quite clear that the Sacrament is to be regarded as a remembrance of Christ Himself; when we recall His whole earthly life with all His works of teaching and miracles. We are reminded also in a very special sense that it is the memorial of His death for us: "This is my body which is given for you ", "This cup is the New Testament in my blood"'It is His death that is brought before us in these words. The Christian way of remembering our Lord's redeeming work is not only by thinking about it, but also by repeating the actions of taking, breaking, blessing, giving as Christ did at the Last Supper in the Upper Room. Then the past is remembered, recalled as past events, but also remembered by being represented in the present as now operative and powerful.

Communion: The word translated as 'communion' is in several biblical passages rendered "fellowship" and means sharing or joint partaking. The thought is that of 'oneness' for all believers through union with Jesus Christ. "We, who are many, are one body" (I Corinthians I 0: 1 7),
... and we were all given the one spirit to drink" (I Corinthians 12:13). The Lord's Table is therefore a testimony of our Christian fellowship with all who are of the household of faith.
We dare not speak of an Anglican, or a Baptist, or a United Church communion table. There is only one Table, The Lord's Table, and from that table we may not exclude any who are His.

Consecration: Our Lord, Jesus Christ made with His people a New Covenant, which is clearly expressed in the words of the institution, "This cup is the New Covenant in my blood" (I Corinthians 11:25) "This is my blooci of the Covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28). These words immediately remind us of the occasion when Moses in the wilderness took the book of the covenant read from it to the people, and the people replied "we will c/o everything the Lord has said; we will obey". Then Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said: "This is the blooci of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words" (Exodus 24:7-8). But the people were unfaithful to this covenant. Then the prophets announced that God will make a new covenant with His people. "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel ... This is the covenant that I will make with the House of Isrciel ... I will put my low in their minces, and write it on their hearts, anci I will be their Goci, and they will be my people" (Jeremiah 31:31, 33).

This new covenant has been ratified to us by the blood of Christ who offered Himself without spot or blemish to God (Hebrews 9:1 2, 1 4). This new covenant is sealed in the Lord's Supper, and implies an obligation on both sides. God on His part says "I am your God" and we on our part say "we are your people". Therefore when we receive the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper, we not only renew our baptismal dedication, but also consecrate ourselves anew to God's service.

Thanksgiving: The Lord's Supper is also the Eucharist (Greek 'Eucharisteo' - I give thanks). It is the same word that is used in the accounts of the institution of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper (Matthew 27:27; 1 Corinthians 11:24). Therefore we, receiving Christ, give thanks for the grace, which has renewed us, and make to Him afresh the offering of our lives. It is a service of thanksgiving. It is not a sad service, but a joyous gathering of Christians who say with St. Paul: "Thanks be to Goci for His indescribable gift" (I I Corinthians 9:15).

Points To The Future: In the Lord's Supper, we celebrate the Presence of Christ who has come, who comes to His people, and who will come in glory: "For whenever you eat this breaci and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes" (I Corinthians 1 1:26). It is the anticipation and foretaste of the heavenly banquet when the redeemed people of God will eat and drink with their crucified and risen Lord in His Kingdom.- "I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until I drink of it new with you in my Father's Kingdom " (Matthew 26:29).

Clearly, these words direct us towards the future to some new and glorious feast in the Kingdom of God. These words also give to all believers the assurance of:-
• their final and complete Salvation,
• their reunion with all believers in the heavenly life, and
• eternal communion with Christ Himself.

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Celebration of the Lord's Supper

I The Lord's Supper shall be celebrated in such manner as to include the use of Christ's words of institution, and of the elements of bread and wine ordained by Him. The service is usually presided over by an ordained minister. It is also desirable that deacons/elders, and other suitable persons be selected to assist in the service in appropriate ways, since all of Christ's people are co-celebrants of the Lord's Supper.

The liturgy is derived from both the Synagogue and the Upper Room in which the first part of the service is centered around the reading and exposition of scripture surrounded and interspersed with hymns and prayers. The sermon is a constant part of the service. The second part of the service seeks to perpetuate the experience of the Last Supper in the upper room. Thus its liturgy falls into four actions, stated in the narrative of the institution: He took, he gave thanks and blessed, He brake, and He gave. After all have communicated, brief prayers are said and the service is brought to an end by the dismissal and blessing.

2. A Christian who is a member of a Church other than the United Church, and who is eligible to receive Holy Communion in this Church, is welcome to participate in the communion of the United Church.

HOW OFTEN TO BE OBSERVED? There is no express command in the words of the institution or elsewhere in the New Testament. The words of as often" as expressed by Jesus Christ do suggest a continued observance, but they offer no definite guidance on the subject (see I Corinthians 11:26). We note, however, the practice of the early Church, while under the rule of the Apostles, to observe the "breaking of bread" on every Lord's Day (Acts 2:42-46; 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:20). We note, also, the vivid description of an early Church Service on "the first day called Sunday", given by Justin Martyr: "Worship", he wrote "included prayer preaching and The Lord's Supper on the day called Sunday".

It is also well known that Calvin strongly advocated that "The Lord's Table should be spread at least once a week for the assembly of Christians". In 1 555 he wrote to the magistrates at Berne stating that the practice of celebrating Holy Communion only once or twice a year is wrongly continued in many Reformed Churches. He urged them to allow Holy Communion to be celebrated more often. "We must confess", he said, "that it is a defect on our part not to follow the example of the Apostles".

Calvin, however, was not successful in his efforts to make the Holy Communion the chief Sunday service every week in each Church in Geneva. He continued, however, to suggest a monthly observance in every Parish, and further proposed to arrange it so that each week there would be one celebration somewhere in the city. There followed such a heated and unpleasant debate of the matter, that, as Calvin himself says, "for the sake of peace" he agreed to a quarterly celebration. This compromise was adopted, and has remained in some Reformed Churches to the present day.

There are, however, churches in Scotland and elsewhere that observe this sacrament only twice annually. Strong efforts have been made in recent times to encourage more frequent celebrations, in consequence of which, many Reformed Churches are now firmly fixed on a monthly observance. But, even here, it is quite apparent that the practice of monthly Communions is a departure from the practice of the Church under the Apostles.

It should be our concern, therefore, that when the Lord's Supper is observed only a few times in the year, its value as a means of spiritual nourishment may be greatly diminished.

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