Death defying optimism
Mark 14:22-25 (also Matthew 26:26-29; Luke 22:17-20)
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body."
Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.
"This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. "I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God."
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
We often think of baptism as the practice by which we declare our identity with Christ, because Jesus authorized his disciples to be baptized and the Apostle Paul described baptism as identification with Christ. But water baptism is a one-time event, and identification with Christ should be an ongoing process. I think what we now call Communion or the Lord's Supper was intended, in part, to provide an ongoing invitation to renew our commitment to Christ. In contemporary terms you might even think of it as a "pledge of allegiance" ceremony.
When I take communion I'm always impressed with Jesus' genius in creating such a simple yet profoundly meaningful ritual. When my teeth crush the bread that represents his body, I symbolically reenact causing him to suffer on my behalf. Forgiveness is best understood as withholding all claims for justified retaliation against others for wrongs they have committed against you, despite the harm and grief they may have caused. In chewing the bread I am reminded of my guilt. One way of thinking of what God through Christ did in bearing our sins on the cross was demonstrate his total forgiveness in order to convince us that God is not going to retaliate against us for what we have done to mess up the world he created (actions which Jesus taught begin in the thoughts and motives of our hearts).
I acknowledge the objective side of redemption - including that Jesus suffered the consequences and penalty of sin on our behalf. But for me, it is his supreme example of forgiveness and self-giving that is most prominent when taking communion. My sin keeps piling it on; but his sacrifice is sufficient. There are a number of dimensions to the atonement; emphasizing these interior aspects of the communion experience does not eliminate the validity of the other more objective-oriented aspects of the atonement.
When I drink the cup that represents Jesus' blood - blood seemed to represent death when it was outside the body, but life when it was inside the body for the ancients - I am reminded that Jesus not only died for me but that I am given the same Spirit he received, which is symbolized by drinking the wine. My focus is not on the blood that was shed, but on the spiritual life it represents, which I have received so that God's purposes can be fulfilled in me, or as the Apostle Paul puts it, "in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit."
For me, the communion cup symbolizes the blood of Christ both as death and as life, but the emphasis is on life because I receive it into me. The cup may symbolize death because his blood was shed; but the emphasis is not on the blood that fell to the ground, but rather on his same spiritual life that enters into me. This seems consistent with Jesus' explanation that, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you," which suggests that Jesus' death would begin the fulfillment of God's then longstanding promise of a "new covenant" in which God would someday "put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."
Furthermore, it seems likely that by selecting the elements he did (bread and wine), Jesus intended this ritual to give his followers a greater sense of continuity with our historical identity as a people of faith than we in our time and culture might at first recognize, since these same elements mark the priestly service of Melchizedek (who is understood as symbolizing Christ in Hebrews 7) when he served Abraham, the one through whom God promised to bless all peoples of the earth:
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine.
He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying,
"Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.
And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand."
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything. Genesis 14:18-20 (TNIV)
All this multi-layered imagery merges together in the Lord's Supper in two themes: (1) acknowledgment of the seriousness of our sin and (2) anticipation of freedom and fulfillment. Jesus initiated what we now call the Lord's Supper while celebrating the joyful Passover banquet with his disciples, using elements from that meal and knowing that he was facing crucifixion the next day. But he pointed beyond his impending suffering when he 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." The Apostle Paul reinforces this forward look: "whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."
The basic elements of the Lord's Supper allow it to be practiced as a simple ritual of two elements (as described in Didache, chapter 9) or as part of a larger meal (as pictured in the New Testament). It can be practiced whenever Christians decide they want it, even daily if that is their choice: how often would likely be influenced by their circumstances. The context in which it is practiced can be almost any occasion spanning the full range of human experience: from hardship, to exhilaration, to the humdrum. Whatever the circumstance, the practice allows a person to refocus their thoughts on God, to identify with Christ in the life situation before them, and to look forward to the fulfilment of God's will in the future.
Despite how long it takes to express all these ideas in words, these concepts congeal quite quickly in the imagination and do not require much contemplation. Only a little quietness is needed to express thankfulness during the Lord 's Supper.
I think this ritual ultimately captures the essence of Jesus' answer to the challenge of the human condition. He is saying we have to know our identity - where we've been, who we are, and where we're heading. Jesus made it clear: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." At the same time he was saying, "I have come into the world as a light... I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world." The writer of Hebrews explained what this means for us today...
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (TNIV)
The more I think about it, the more it seems to me that Jesus has made what we now call the Lord's Supper an opportunity to renew our allegiance to him until we finally participate in his fully established kingdom. I am identifying myself with Jesus when I voluntarily "take" these elements that represent him and then ingest them. But it is also as if Jesus is saying again, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
There is then a sense that when I participate in communion I am affirming that I am willing to suffer, if need be, to do God's will for the good of others, even as Jesus was willing to suffer to do God's will for our good. "Proclaiming his death until he comes" suggests that if I am following his example, I might also experience at least a few obstacles along the way, as well.
It seems to me these conclusions follow every bit as much as Jesus' teaching that only those who forgive others are themselves truly forgiven - those who know they are forgiven will forgive. And Jesus said he was sending us into the world with the same mission that he was given; and he said that the timing of the future kingdom he and we are looking for is only known to the Father. It therefore follows that when I accept the forgiveness and the empowerment symbolized in the Lord 's Supper, I am recommitting myself to follow Christ's example as his disciple, regardless of the personal cost, while at the same time embracing his death defying optimism.
