The Mystical Supper

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? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all participate in the one loaf. (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)

For I received [paralambano] from the Lord what I also handed over [paradidomi] to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over [paradidomi], took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance [anamnesis] of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance [anamnesis] of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

St. Paul tells us about the Last Supper, the Mystical Supper, in his Letter to the Church at Corinth. This Supper is a participation in the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, it is a participation in Christ himself, and so, in the Body of Christ. For the Cup of Thanksgiving (Eucharist) is a participation in the Blood of Christ. That is, it partakes of the Blood of Christ, takes part in its reality, making it present. Likewise the Bread we break in Eucharist partakes of the Body of Christ, takes part in its reality, making it present. And we who participate in the One Bread become the One Body, the Body of Christ. Eucharist is where we become the Church.

This is not some doctrine Paul devised. It was something that was handed down to him (paradidomi), something he received (paralambano), and he in turn handed it on. This language of handing down, and receiving, and handing on, is language of tradition. It is precisely what tradition is. And so it has been handed down to us, generation after generation, in the Church.

Paul tells us about the night Lord Jesus was handed over and betrayed. At the Last Supper, our Lord took the Bread and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in anamnesis of me.” Likewise, he took the Cup, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in anamnesis of me.”

Anamnesis, the Greek word rendered as “remembrance” in this passage, is not merely a mental recollection. Much more than that, it is the making present and participating in the reality of a thing. The Bread and Wine of the Eucharist makes present and participates in the reality of Christ, in the Body and Blood of Christ. When we eat the Bread and drink the Cup, we are not merely remembering something that happened a long time ago, we are sharing in it in the present, for it is made present to us (or we are made present to it) in those elements. 

It is sacrament and mystery. It is mystical participation in the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, Crucified and Risen. And in partaking of it, we are the One Body of Christ.