BREAKING BREAD OR HOLY COMMUNION

 BREAKING BREAD or HOLY COMMUNION

BY.DR. MERVYN ABREO

I realize as I came here to dine,

I’m only human but You’re Divine.

But as I partake of this bread and wine,

I am Yours and You are mine.

                                          

DON’T MAKE A RITUAL OUT OF COMMUNION/BREAKING BREAD:

          Every Sunday morning many Christians go religiously to ‘Church’, to take part in the Mass and receive Holy Communion, or go to a Service and  partake in breaking of Bread.

           What we need to realize is that we are the Church (and it’s not a structure) and that Communion/Breaking Bread is not a ritual.

 IT’S ORIGIN:

          It all began with Jesus, Who at the Last Supper: took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to His disciples saying, “This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”

          In the same way, after the supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22: 19, 20). (1Cor. 11: 22-26).

WE ARE PARTICIPANTS WITH JESUS:

           Paul speaking “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we gave thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Cor. 10:16).

AN ONGOING SUPPER

                                                                  

           The key words we have just come across are ‘remembrance’ and ‘participation’. So keeping this in mind, is it right for us to finish off our 'Sunday obligation', and forget about the Lord for the rest of the week, or till the next Service or Mass?

          We humans are made up of: a body, a soul and a spirit. And all three need to be continuously fed and kept healthy.

          And the only way to do this is to feed the spirit each time we feed the body, which we never forget to feed and pamper.

          And therefore what is expected from us by the Lord is a continuous process of remembrance and participation every time we eat or drink something.

THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS:

                                                           

                                                                            

          Jesus was really hungry! Actually he was famished, because He hadn't eaten anything for forty days and forty nights. And Satan tempts Him.

           “But He replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” (Mt. 4:4). (The New Amplified Bible).

          Jesus has claimed: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never go thirsty.” (John 6:35).

          Therefore, whenever we imbibe anything and think of Jesus, we are actually ‘imbibing’ the Lord spiritually.

          And again in the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us today our daily bread.” (Mt.6:11).

          We definitely need our daily sustenance for our physical upkeep. But then, what about our daily spiritual requirement?

JESUS DID NOT PERFORM A RITUAL:

          He blessed what was normally eaten and drunk at that time.

AN OLD TESTAMENT 'TYPE': Bread and wine are mentioned as normal daily food for men, women and even for children!
  IN LAMENTATIONS 2:12 of the New Internation Version we see: 
            They said to their mothers, 'Where is bread and wine? as they faint like the wounded in the streets of the city, as their lives ebb away in their mothers' arms.
ACCORDING TO THE PROPHET ZECHARIAH: 
             The Ephramites will become like mighty men, and their heart's will be glad as with wine. (Zech. 10:7).
               How attractive and beautiful they will be! Grain will make the young men thrive, and wine the young women. (Zech. 9:17).
                So we see that wine, like bread, was part of a normal meal!
         

MULTIPLICATION OF THE LOAVES AND FISHES: (John 6: 1-15).

                                                               

           Jesus did this not just to fill their bellies. When all eyes were on him, He took the loaves, gave thanks, and then they were distributed. He did this because, after His death and resurrection, His followers would remember the bread He had fed them with and its significance as Him being the bread of life.

          For the same reason He changed water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana. (John 2: 1-11).

          So the next time you have a sandwich or a hamburger, or a Coke or are dining at home or in a five hotel, having a seven course meal with the best wines, think of Him.

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Dear friend,

          I look forward to getting your feedback. Do write in to me at:

                                        drmervynabreo@gmail.com

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