COMMEMORATING JESUS ' LAST PASSOVER SEDER (sometimes called Communion, the Eucharist, or Mass)

IMPORTANT SYMBOLS , WHICH MINISTER JOSH RECOMMENDS NOT ALTERING :

 Unleavened Bread (that is, bread without yeast or leaven)  Grape Juice/Wine (in the tradition of the holiness movement, we use only grape juice)

SOME COMMUNION LITURGIES :

SIMPLE READING OF 1 CORINTHIANS 11:23-26

Officiant reads:

23 For 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, 24 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" (NRSV).

Officiant invites participants to partake of the unleavened bread.

Then Officiant reads:

25 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.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (NRSV).

Officiant invites participants to partake of the grape juice.

Officiant prays.

MINISTER JOSH 'S LITURGY (INFORMED BY THE PASSOVER SEDER CONTEXT , AND BASED ON MARVIN WILSON 'S DISCUSSION OF THE LAST SUPPER IN "OUR FATHER ABRAHAM : JEWISH ROOTS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH ":

Officiant says:

On the night that Jesus was betrayed, He celebrated the Passover with His disciples. Among the many traditional elements of the Passover Seder, Jesus highlighted two in His final commemoration of His earthly life: the unleavened bread, and the glasses of wine. Jesus began by explaining the full meaning of the unleavened bread.

Officiant distributes the unleavened bread to each participant. S/He then says:

When God first gave Moses instructions about how the Passover was to be eaten, the people of Israel were on the cusp of being delivered by God from slavery to the Egyptians. (The story is recorded for us in the book of Exodus.) God was to deliver them that very evening, but they did not know the precise moment of their deliverance.

Because of this, God commanded them to eat the meal with their travelling clothes on and their staff in their hand, ready to go at a moments' notice. He further commanded them to make their bread without leaven (yeast) because there was no time for their bread to rise.

So, the unleavened bread represents haste and readiness—the awareness that God could come at any time, and we must be ready.

We pause to remember that Jesus, too, came at an unexpected hour. The bread of haste and readiness points us to Jesus' incarnation—that is, to Jesus' coming to us in human flesh at an unexpected hour.

But, the unleavened bread had also taken on additional significance by the time of Jesus. Yeast (leaven) had come to represent corruption and sin, as well. As a small amount of leaven quickly permeates dough, so sin and rebellion quickly permeates a people. The unleavened bread was a reminder to the people of Israel of their calling to be a holy people, entirely set apart to God. This great hope was fulfilled in Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God who was sacrificed for the sins of the world.

As we eat this bread together, we remember both the innocence of Jesus and the suddenness of His first coming, which prepares us for His promise that when He comes again, it will be, again, at an unexpected hour. In the words of the Gospel of Matthew:

"26 While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body” (Matthew 26:26, NRSV).

Officiant invites participants to eat the bread together.

Then, the officiant distributes the grape juice to all participants. S/He says:

There were four glasses of wine consumed at the Passover. Each glass is named after a verb in Exodus 6:6-7. Two glasses were taken before dinner (the Cup of Deliverance and the Cup of Salvation). One was taken after dinner (the Cup of Redemption). And, one was taken at the end of the meal (the Cup of Consummation).

Jesus calls attention to the third cup—the Cup of Redemption—as the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us that He took the cup after having eaten the bread. The Cup of Redemption represented the price that God was willing to pay to see His people delivered from slavery to the Egyptians. Jesus fills that image even fuller as He associates this cup—the Cup of Redemption—with His blood. Matthew recollects Jesus' words for us:

27 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:27-28, NRSV).

As we drink this cup together we remember the price that God has paid not only for the slavery of our ancestors from the tyranny of Egypt, but the price God has paid to see all humanity delivered from the tyranny of sin and death itself.

But, before we drink it, we remember, that there was a fourth cup in the Passover Seder—the Cup of Consummation. That cup represented the fulfillment of the promises God had made to Israel. Again, the Gospel of Matthew recollects for us Jesus' teachings:

29 I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29, NRSV).

Jesus, as many Jewish people have done during the many years of Israel's exile, left the fourth cup undrunk, promising us that He would finish the Passover Seder with us at the wedding supper of the Lamb in the New Heavens and the New Earth.

As we drink together the Cup of Redemption, remembering the price God has paid for us in Jesus, we also ask Jesus to take up the Cup of Consummation and make all things new. After we have taken this cup together, perhaps you will join me in proclaiming, "Next year in the New Jerusalem!" in the hope that this will be the last time we partake of this meal before Jesus returns to bring all things to completion.

The Officiant recites Matthew 26:27b-28 ("Drink from it all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.") and then invites all to drink.

After drinking the Officiant leads the group in proclaiming:

Next year in the New Jerusalem! Jesus is Lord! Jesus is Coming! Come, Lord Jesus!

Officiant closes in prayer (either the Lord's Prayer, a reading from the Hallel (Psalms 116- 118), or an extemporaneous prayer).

CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE (M ANUAL 2017-2021, PP 260-63)

700. LORD’S SUPPER The administration of the Lord’s Supper may be introduced by an appropriate sermon and the reading of 1 Corinthians 11:23-29; Luke 22:14-20, or some other suitable passage. Let the minister then give the following invitation:

The Communion Supper, instituted by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a sacrament, which proclaims His life, His sufferings, His sacrificial death, and resurrection, and the hope of His coming again. It shows forth the Lord’s death until His return.

The Supper is a means of grace in which Christ is present by the Spirit. It is to be received in reverent appreciation and gratefulness for the work of Christ.

All those who are truly repentant, forsaking their sins, and believing in Christ for salvation are invited to participate in the death and resurrection of Christ. We come to the table that we may be renewed in life and salvation and be made one by the Spirit.

In unity with the Church, we confess our faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. And so we pray:

The minister may offer a prayer of confession and supplication, concluding with the following prayer of consecration:

Holy God, We gather at this, your table, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who by your Spirit was anointed to preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, set at liberty those who are oppressed. Christ healed the sick, fed the hungry, ate with sinners, and established the new covenant for forgiveness of sins. We live in the hope of His coming again.

On the night in which He was betrayed, He took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, gave it to His disciples, and said: “This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

Likewise, when the supper was over, He took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to His disciples, and said: “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me.” Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Matthew 26:27-29, Luke 22:19)

And so, we gather as the Body of Christ to offer ourselves to you in praise and thanksgiving. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on these your gifts. Make them by the power of your Spirit to be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the Body of Christ, redeemed by His blood.

By your Spirit make us one in Christ, one with each other, and one in the ministry of Christ to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.

And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us, let us pray: (Here the congregation may pray the Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Before the partaking of the bread, let the minister say: The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, broken for you, preserve you blameless, unto everlasting life. Eat this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.

Before the partaking of the cup, let the minister say: The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, shed for you, preserve you blameless unto everlasting life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.

After all have partaken, the minister may then offer a concluding prayer of thanksgiving and commitment.

NOTE: Only unfermented wine should be used in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.