Dear Precious Disciple,

Few things have been more important to My disciples through the centuries than My Supper. The Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, Communion, and Holy Communion are all terms that have been used to speak of My Supper. These names are based on things said in the Scriptures about sharing in this special meal of remembrance and anticipation. I shared in the seder meal as part of Passover with My disciples before My betrayal, trials, and crucifixion. My disciples have called this the Last Supper over the years. That meal was a precious time with My disciples for many reasons. I wanted to show My love, to warn them of coming trials, and to plant seeds of hope beyond My crucifixion.

In the verses below, the apostle Paul makes clear one of the key reasons this meal was so important:

I passed on to you the tradition the Lord gave to me: On the same night the Lord Jesus was betrayed, He took the bread in His hands; and after giving thanks to God, He broke it and said, "This is My body, broken for you. Keep doing this so that you and all who come after will have a vivid reminder of Me."

My Supper with the disciples on that night provides you with a great foundation for your participation in Communion.

Paul points to several truths that he wants the disciples to get out of this time of communion together — or as he calls it in the verses below, "the Lord's Supper." If you compare his points in his letter to the Corinthians with Luke's emphasis in the book of Acts on "breaking bread" and you look back at the passion accounts in each of the four gospels, you can develop a much richer and broader emphasis for the celebration of My Supper in your day. What Paul says in the verses below is focused on correcting the awful abuses of the Corinthians. There was a division between rich and poor (the "haves" and the "have-nots") that included drunkenness on the part of some and being left out on the part of others. This breaking down of fellowship destroyed so much of the original intent and practice of My Supper.

I shared this meal with My disciples in very close fellowship before My death. I shared honest words with them. I demonstrated love and service by washing their feet. I gave them sharp warnings about their unfaithfulness before the night would end. I also gave them reassuring teaching about the future, the sending of the Holy Spirit, and My ultimate victory. This meal was a time of intimate fellowship. However, in the Corinthians' lust for a spiritual high, some of them had made My Supper into something they treated as almost magical (see yesterday's devotional). From their warped and selfish perspective, they thought that the more they ate and drank, the more they honored Me and the better the celebration for them personally. For them, the concept of sharing this meal in close communion with others was forgotten. So Paul warned the Corinthians very clearly: They had to recognize two meanings of My body to celebrate My Supper correctly. He wanted them to remember Me and the price I paid on the cross with My body and My blood. In addition, he also wanted them to remember that they were My bodily presence as My church in the world. You need to recognize both meanings also! When you forget either understanding, something holy and precious is lost in My Supper!

In fact, Paul made the point that, because they had lost one of these emphases on My body in My Supper, they were actually drinking damnation upon themselves. Their disregard for My body, My people, was causing some in their community to be "sick and weak" and causing some of the spiritual problems they were dealing with in their house churches in Corinth.