“Do this in remembrance of me.” In the ancient world, “remembering” was more than cognitive recall of events. “Remembering” could extend to a participation in those events. As Paul writes, “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16). If we pay attention to the liturgy of the Lord’s Supper, the dimensions of that participation experience are verbalized for us. The following seven phases of the rite make up our practice at Charleston Presbyterian Church:
1) Eucharistic Prayer
2) Confession of Sin
3) Consecration of the Elements
4) Words of Institution
5) Invitation
6) Distribution of the Elements
7) Doxology.
In practice, we may sometimes seem to rush through these thoughtlessly; so let us slow down and dwell in each of the seven dimensions:
1) Eucharistic Prayer: we begin with a prayer of thanksgiving: “The Lord be with you . . . Lift up your hearts . . . Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.”
2) Confession of Sin: “We do not presume to come to this thy table trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies.”
3) Consecration of the Elements: the minister petitions God, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, “that these gifts of bread and wine may be to us his body and his blood.” This prayer sets the elements aside from common to holy usage.
4) Words of Institution: we rehearse the Gospel narrative of the Last Supper—“On the night he was betrayed, he took bread . . .”
5) Invitation: “Let us remember that Christ died for us, and feed on him in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving.”
6) Distribution of the Elements: our new practice, of the congregation remaining seated, symbolizes Christ serving his guests through the ministry of the elders who distribute the elements.
7) Doxology: what better response is there to the privilege of participation in Christ? “Praise God from whom all blessings
flow . . .”
I hope that these brief reflections will enrich your participation in the Lord’s Supper!