思量此杯

On the night, while sharing the Passover feast with His disciples, Jesus broke the bread and said, “This is my body, given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)

After the feast, He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:28)

Today, we not only remember His suffering and His death, we also proclaim the eternal life in heaven the Lord Jesus Christ prepared for us through His death and resurrection, for Jesus also said, “I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (Luke 22:14–18) As we drink from the cup and eat of the bread, we also eagerly await the day where we will eat at the Lord’s table with Jesus Himself!

When we observe the Communion, we also show our participation in the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 10:17 says, “Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” The cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks is a participation in the blood of Christ and the bread that we break is a participation in the body of Christ. In this way, through the partaking of the Communion, we also acknowledge that we are members of each other.

Passion Week always stirs up bittersweet affections. Sorrowful joy, joyful sorrow...