Jun 08 2007
On Communion - Is It Wine or Is It Memorex?
Peter linked to an interesting discussion on the nature of the contents of the cup of the Lord’s Supper, or Communion. I think it is a good question to ask - is it important that the bread be bread and the wine be wine? What is the nature of this ritual?
It is easy to draw the line between the transubstantiation and the non-transubstantiation crowd, and I am not going to go into whether it actually physically becomes the body and blood of Christ right now. I am more interested in exploring the contention of the blogger - must communion be done with alcoholic wine?
It’s actually a bit of a challenge to read his original article as he uses some harsh language to describe the typical evangelical Christian viewpoint on the eucharist. Words like, “In place of this God they have created a god in their own image: ”an irascible and judgmental party pooper,” mask a point he is trying to make that may in fact be valid, but put me on the defensive. I don’t like being called an irascible and judgemental party pooper - even though I am sure that he is speaking in generalities, one always tends to take stereotypes of a group with which they identify personally.
Still this point is telling. Do we as evangelicals in general take the eucharist too seriously? What was Jesus’ intention in instituting this custom? Looking carefully at the texts, the Last Supper (Luke 22:7), the date is clearly marked as the feast of the Passover. The passover lamb was to be sacrificed, the bitter herbs were to be eaten, the unleavened bread was served to commemorate God’s work in retrieving the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. It was a pretty somber occasion, with the death of an animal required to redeem the people. The bitter herbs were to remind Israel of the bitterness of 400 years of slavery. This wasn’t a wild party, but a somber occasion.
At the same time, Jesus once again tells them he is going to be killed. I don’t believe the text bears out a jovial Jesus, telling his buddies, “Hey guys! I’m getting killed tomorrow, but don’t sweat it, it’s a great thing! Let’s celebrate by drinking some booze that looks like my blood! You can remember me after I am dead by doing this! Yeah!” While we, looking back on what happened, can view communion with a victorious air and feel like celebrating His victory, this was not the mood of the Last Supper.
Now having said that, I am in agreement with his thought that for us as Christians, the act of communion may very well be a more celebratory one. Certainly, if we are to take Jesus seriously in what has asked of us, we may want to consider closer adherence to the exact forms that Jesus followed. Perhaps the communion should be served with a common meal. Perhaps we should even be considering footwashing to be an element of communion, for John 13:14-15 certainly seems to suggest that Jesus took the act of washing feet to be on the same level as his previously instituted bread and cup.
On whether or not the Bible specifically teaches that alcoholic wine was used by Jesus at the Last Supper, tune in for part 2.
