Dining with Christ
“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.” (1 Corinthians 11:24-25 )
In order to understand, in part, how Mennonite view communion, you need to know a little Anabaptist history. Mennonites emerged out of the Anabaptist movement which took issue with the Roman Catholic church over several issues, one of which was the Lord’s Supper or communion. [Another was baptism, but I will say more about that when we look at baptism again.]
Catholicism held that the bread and the wine became the body and blood of Christ, a theology called “transubstantiation” . Anabaptists said this is not so – that it is simply a remembrance of what Christ did and what he stood for and not an actual/literal nor metaphor/image of eating Christ’s body.
The confession of faith says, “The Lord’s Supper points to Jesus Christ, whose body was given for us and whose shed blood established the new covenant .” By re-enacting the Last Supper we are remembering and reliving that moment when Christ told his disciples what his death would mean. And that Christ’s death and resurrection would usher in a new way and a new church. During communion we ask for Christ’s presence – not in the bread and the wine – but with us/amongst us.
A hymn that I remember from communion services both as a child and as an adult is “Be present at our table, Lord.”
Be present at our table Lord,
Be here and everywhere adored.
These mercies bless and grant that we
May live in fellowship with Thee.
[Other last lines: ]
May live in harmony with Thee
May feast in Paradise with Thee.
May strengthened for Thy service be.
May spend our lives in serving Thee.
There is more that can be said about the Mennonite perspective on the Lord’s Supper. But not being sure how often scripture attached to this article of faith will be listed/used, I am inclined to reserve some commentary on this article of faith for another time. However, I invite you to look over this article of faith Article on the Lord's Supper and the other articles of faith in the confession.
May you gentle reader share many meals with our Lord Christ and with fellow believers. Selah!
