By Al Stoltzfus
“This is my body,” Jesus said to his disciples on the day of the festival of unleavened bread when the Passover lamb was sacrificed. Jesus was about to give himself to be the sacrificial lamb.
Mathew, Mark and Luke all contain a Last Supper narrative (Mt 26:17-30; Mk 14:12-26; Lk 22:7-23) in which Jesus, in the context of the Passover meal, took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and passed it to his disciples saying, “This is my body. Take and eat.” He did the same with the cup, with reference to his body given and his blood shed.
John’s gospel records Jesus saying, “I am the bread of life come down from heaven,” which anyone may eat for eternal life. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” (Jn 6:54). For John, eating and drinking represents believing in Jesus. Jesus is the one we must “take and eat” for life.
In the book of Acts, the remnant of God’s people became the Spirit-filled body of Christ. Pentecost believers who were baptized, “devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of [the] bread, and to prayer.” (Ac 2:42) The definite article (the bread) suggests the early church observed the Lord’s Supper as part of a larger meal in community together.
The name, “Lord’s Supper,” comes from 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 where Paul repeats the words of Jesus, “This is my body, which is for you;” (v. 25) and “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (v. 26). In the development of the church as the community of Christ-followers, the Last Supper in the Gospels became the Lord’s Supper in the epistles, to be taken in community in obedience to the words of Jesus.
The biblical record leaves many of our questions unanswered. For example, “How often should the Lord’s Supper be observed?” and “Who should preside at the Lord’s Supper?” and “What is the relationship between foot washing and the Lord’s Supper?”
What is clear, however, are Jesus words, “This is my body.” “This is my blood.” In the 16th century, these words generated many ideas of Christ’s special presence in the bread and the cup. Each reforming faction insisted on their own competing and conflicting views against that of the Catholic Mass. The Anabaptists adherence to the literal words of Jesus created a third way of understanding and practicing the Lord’s Supper as a memorial meal.
The Confession of Faith in Mennonite Perspective (1995), Article 12 refers to The Lord’s Supper as a sign and a communion meal. The bread and the cup are a sign which points to Jesus, who said, “This is my body. This is my blood. Take. Eat and drink.” Rejecting the idea that the bread and the cup confer salvation by the practice of it, Anabaptists understand the bread and the cup to be a sign pointing to Jesus, whom we must receive by faith and in whom the community of faith thankfully partakes, remembering the new covenant inaugurated in his life, death, and resurrection (Je 31:31-34; 1 Co 10:16). The Lord’s Supper is a meal in which the community of faith participates by faith in the life and death of Jesus until he comes. (1Co 11:26; Lk 22:15-20; 28-30)
Anabaptists refused to kneel before the morsel of bread. From scripture, they understood and insisted the efficacy of the Lord’s Supper is not in the hands of the priest but rather in the heart of the one who receives the bread and the cup in a worthy manner. Receiving the bread and the cup in a worthy manner is to receive Jesus in faith and obedience, to ‘take and eat.’ The Anabaptists take the New Testament teaching at face value. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God” (Ro 10:17 NKJV). In many Anabaptist congregations, the Lord’s Supper is celebrated in a three-fold manner: communion, foot washing and a fellowship meal. The celebration of the Lord’s Supper may be preceded by Relationship Sunday for the purpose of spiritual examination, inviting counsel from the community, and examining one’s posture with God and with one another. These practices serve as a vital reminder in the faith community that the bread and the cup of the Lord’s Supper are to be taken individually by faith together in the community of committed Jesus followers on mission until Jesus comes.
Al Stoltzfus serves as Pastor of Discipleship and Outreach at Weaverland Anabaptist Faith Community. A native of Lancaster County, Al grew up in Germany. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Cairn University and a Master of Arts in Christian Education from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Al and his wife Kim, are parents of four adult children and enjoy spending time together at the beach.