April 6, 2023

“I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

Every time you walk up the aisle toward the altar rail, every time you kneel with hands open, every time you eat the bread given to you and drink the wine you have taken to your lips, you are saying, “Christ died for the sins of the world. Christ died for my sins. Christ died for me.”

That is what Maundy Thursday is all about. That is what communion is all about. Really, that is what Christianity itself is all about.

“Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.” (Maundy Thursday – BCP)