What do we say during the Lord's Supper?

For more than twenty centuries, churches have borne witness to the pastoral wisdom of the following elements of the Lord's Supper liturgy.

Words of institution and invitation

A declaration of God's invitation and promises surrounding the Lord's Supper through the words of institution and instruction from scripture. This declaration reinforces both that the Lord's Supper is an act of obedience and that it conveys God's promises to us. We are able to celebrate the Lord's Supper only because of God's prior love for us.

• Psalm 34:8, "O taste and see that the Lord is good"
• Matthew 11:28–29, "Come to me, . . . and I will give you rest"
• Luke 13:29, from all places people will come and eat in the kingdom of God
• Luke 22:15–20, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer"
• Luke 24:30–31, the road to Emmaus
• John 6:35, "I am the bread of life"
• 1 Corinthians 11:23–26, "The Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed . . ."

Prayer of thanksgiving

A prayer of thanksgiving and a petition for the work of the Holy Spirit in and through the Lord's Supper. The prayer of thanksgiving makes the celebration a memorial that recalls God's specific action in history. The prayer for the Holy Spirit's action emphasizes that the power in the Lord's Supper does not come from the bread and cup itself but from the Holy Spirit, who unites us with Christ through the celebration.

Preparing the elements

We can physically demonstarte and remember the last supper with the preparation of the elements: breaking the bread and pouring the wine (or juice).

Partaking of the meal

We receive the elements of the Lord's Supper, partaking of the supper as the gathered body of Christ.

• Psalm 118:26, blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord
• Matthew 5:6, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
• Matthew 11:28–29, "Come to me, all you that are weary"
• John 6:35, Jesus said, "I am the bread of life"

Responses of praise and prayer

After partaking of the meal, we respond in praise and prayer.

• Psalm 103:1–4, "Bless the Lord, O my soul"
• Ephesians 3:20–21, "Now to him who is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine"
• Revelation 1:5–6, to Jesus Christ be the glory and dominion forever
• Revelation 5:12, worthy is the Lamb

What is the meaning of the meal?

Through the Lord's Supper, or communion, we focus on different elements and meanings of the meal.

Meal of remembrance

An important feature of the Lord's Supper is the fact that it is a meal of remembrance—"Do this in remembrance of me." However, it's crucial to understand that this remembrance was not merely an act of recalling a past event. In scripture, remembrance is identifying oneself with that particular act. The Passover feast was meant not just to recall the event, but "so that all the days of your life you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 16:3). It was an act not only of recalling, but of participating in that exodus community. So too, the remembrance of Lord's Supper means that participants identify themselves as those redeemed through the shed blood and broken body of the Lord. When we call this meal the "Lord's Supper" we signal the memory of Jesus himself as host of the supper and our call to celebrate the meal in obedience to Christ.

A meal of unity in Christ

Paul's extensive discussion of the Lord's Supper in 1 Corinthians 11 revolves around its abuse. While meant to be a meal that united them in Christ (1 Corinthians 10:17), it had become a meal of disunity (1 Corinthians 11:17–22). The participants must discern the body of Christ (particularly its unity) so as not to "eat and drink judgment" on themselves (1 Corinthians 11:29). When we call the meal "Communion" we signal the intimate union we have between believers from all times and all places.

Celebration

When we call this meal the "Eucharist" (based on the Greek word for "thanksgiving"), we are signaling that this meal is a mealof gratitude, just as the last supper was, for Jesus and his disciples, a meal of thanksgiving. We are thankful for the forgiveness given to us on the cross through Christ's suffering and death.

Where do we find the Lord's Supper in the Bible?

While the Lord's Supper is, of course, not mentioned in the Old Testament, Jesus inaugurated it at a Passover feast (Seder) (Luke 22:7). It was meant to fulfill and therefore replace that old covenant meal. The connections are clear. Just as the Passover was a sacramental remembrance of and participation in the Exodus, the Lord's Supper is a remembrance of and participation in Christ's ultimate liberation from sin and death. Also, just as the Passover lamb was sacrificed to free Israelites from the angel of death, so Christ's death and resurrection, remembered and received in the sacrament, free us from sin and death.

The three synoptic gospels give similar accounts of the Last Supper (John has no such scene, but many believe his teaching on the Supper is given in John 6:32–59). The important features are its Passover setting, its placement on the night of Jesus' betrayal and arrest, and the use of the bread and wine.

It's clear from Acts and from Paul's epistles that the Lord's Supper became a central and regular feature of Christian worship (Acts 2:42, 46; Acts 20:7, 11; 1 Corinthians 10–11).

Worship ideas for World Communion Sunday