1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Amplified Bible
The Lord’s Supper
23 [a]For I received from the Lord Himself that [instruction] which I passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is (represents) My body, which is [offered as a sacrifice] for you. Do this in [affectionate] remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in [affectionate] remembrance of Me.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are [symbolically] proclaiming [the fact of] the Lord’s death until He comes [again].
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
A Time for Silent Recall, for Proclaiming the Sacrifice
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Disciples’ Literal New Testament
The Lord’s Supper Is a Remembrance of What He Did For Us
23 For I received from the Lord what I also handed-over[a] to you— that the Lord Jesus, in the night on which He was being handed-over, took bread. 24 And having given-thanks, He broke it and said “This is My body, the one being given[b] for you. Be doing this for My remembrance”. 25 Similarly also the cup after the dining[c], saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Be doing this, as-often-as you drink it, for My remembrance”. 26 For as-often-as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you are proclaiming the death of the Lord, until which time He comes.
Today is Sunday, and if you attend a worship service today, you might celebrate the Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion. Many churches around the world will gather and focus on the simple loaf of bread and cup and hear these powerful words: “This is my body, given for you. . . . This is my blood, shed for you.”
In a way, the tangible elements of bread and grape juice (or wine) bear witness to the limitless love of Jesus shown in his sacrifice on the cross. We are invited to take and eat so that we may remember and believe that in Jesus’ death and resurrection we find forgiveness and new life. We are also reminded that when we participate in communion, we “recall and proclaim the Lord’s death” until he returns. Communion itself is a witness unto Jesus and all he has done for us.
I remember an enormously powerful experience of communion many years ago.
It was on the day of my wife’s and mine wedding.
As the Clergy proceeded through the liturgy of Marriage, in the background was the Bread and the Cup of Communion waiting for the moment of consecration.
In the modest sized Methodist Church where we were Married, the wife and I were both excited for each other, profoundly humbled before the Lord our God.
For the Wife and I what mattered the most was not just the moment of joining but the above and beyond all other things, celebrating, recalling Jesus’ place in our lives, in this holy moment of marriage – God #1 Jesus #1 Holy Spirit #1.
Love and sacrifice and service unto God first and foremost, then our neighbors and then each other. (Mark 12:28-34 Complete Jewish Bible)
28 One of the Torah-teachers came up and heard them engaged in this discussion. Seeing that Yeshua answered them well, he asked him, “Which is the most important mitzvah of them all?” 29 Yeshua answered, “The most important is,
‘Sh’ma Yisra’el, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad [Hear, O Isra’el, the Lord our God, the Lord is one], 30 and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your understanding and with all your strength.’[a]
31 The second is this:
‘You are to love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]
There is no other mitzvah greater than these.” 32 The Torah-teacher said to him, “Well said, Rabbi; you speak the truth when you say that he is one, and that there is no other besides him; 33 and that loving him with all one’s heart, understanding and strength, and loving one’s neighbor as oneself, mean more than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Yeshua saw that he responded sensibly, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared put to him another sh’eilah.
*sh’eilah* The word in Hebrew means simply “question,” but among Jews speaking English it means “a question about Torah or halakhah” …
Halakhah, in Judaism, the totality of laws and ordinances that have evolved since biblical times to regulate religious observances and the daily life and conduct of the Jewish people.
As my Wife and I held those symbols of Jesus’ death in our hands, we saw with fresh eyes how his sacrifice brings life. We had both brought our “baggage,” and we placed them upon His Altar, sacrificing them as Christ sacrificed for us.
As we served the Elements, as we first served God, as we served the assembled wedding guests and officiants, we prayed that we set an example for the guests of the absolute primacy of God, the Father and God the Son and God Holy Spirit in our wedded lives and by divine extension into wedded lives of the assembled.
We decided God alone brought us together. God had decided that our purpose here wasn’t finished. In life in the primacy of service to God, our neighbors and ourselves, and in death, we all belong to him—the one who gave his all for us.
As you each proceed to receive holy Communion, recall first and foremost, in and echelons above all that we our ever so flawed and finite selves hold being primary, having all or nothing primacy in our day to day lives, Jesus, you are the bread of life. As we worship you, may we experience close communion with you and our brothers and sisters in faith. Thank you for the gift of your life. Alleluia! Amen.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 23 Complete Jewish Bible
23 (0) A psalm of David:
(1) Adonai is my shepherd; I lack nothing.
2 He has me lie down in grassy pastures,
he leads me by quiet water,
3 he restores my inner person.
He guides me in right paths
for the sake of his own name.
4 Even if I pass through death-dark ravines,
I will fear no disaster; for you are with me;
your rod and staff reassure me.
5 You prepare a table for me,
even as my enemies watch;
you anoint my head with oil
from an overflowing cup.
6 Goodness and grace will pursue me
every day of my life;
and I will live in the house of Adonai
for years and years to come.
Tehillim 23 Orthodox Jewish Bible
23 (Mizmor of Dovid). Hashem is my Ro’eh (Shepherd); I shall not lack.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the mei menuchot (tranquil waters).
3 He restoreth my nefesh; He guideth me in the paths of tzedek l’ma’an Shmo (righteousness for the sake of His Name).
4 Yea, though I walk through the Gey Tzalmavet (Valley of the Shadow of Death), I will fear no rah (evil); for Thou art with me; Thy shevet (rod) and Thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a shulchan before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with shemen (olive oil); my kos runneth over.
6 Surely tov and chesed shall follow me kol y’mei chaiyyai (all the days of my life): and I will dwell in the Bais Hashem l’orech yamim (for length of days, whole life.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 