Should We Enlarge The Lord’s Supper? (Part 1)
Many years ago, some folks among the churches of Christ suggested that the church was neglecting the Lord’s Supper. I have heard this criticism recently. They assert that “pinching a cracker and sipping a cup” was not the way that the Lord’s Supper was originally practiced. They say that we need reform in worship. Their solution? They want to enlarge the Lord’s Supper into a meal. The congregation would assemble around the table where sat large portions of bread and fruit-of-the-vine. Each would take as he desired until he had received his fill. The participants would “visit” with each other while they ate together. Is this really what Jesus wanted?
In Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22- 25 and Luke 22:19,20 we read about this memorial meal. In these accounts, Jesus personally distributed the elements to the disciples. He did not throw a basket of bread at them and say, “Here, have your fill!” He did not keep refilling the cup until they had enough to drink. This supper was not about the quantity but the quality. The amount of food in the Lord’s Supper is not what is important; it’s the amount of meaning that we attach to it.
The inauguration of the Lord’s Supper occurred at the end of the Passover feast. They did not need to eat another meal together. They had just eaten one. Instead, Jesus used two elements from the Passover to initiate something new and make a connection to His new covenant. He appropriates the unleavened bread and fruit of the vine to illustrate His body and blood. He wanted the disciples to regularly and frequently (weekly, Acts 20:7) remember Him and His sacrifice. This does not require much material, just enough to do the job. We do not need to enlarge the Lord’s Supper to do this.
God bless you, and I love you.
Kevin Cauley