The New Covenant, like the Old, was sealed in blood.

But in the New

Covenant, a new dimension was brought in: it was Gods own Son who offered his
own bloodnot that of young bullsfor many in loving obedience to the Father. In
the New Covenant then, Jesus, Gods own Son, has become our Mediator before the
Father.
We all know that the twelve apostles were present at the Last Supper. Thus in
one sense, it can be said that its participants were an elite group. But in another
sense, they were all ordinary people who could sin and fall. Judas, who used to steal
from the groups purse and later betrayed Jesus, was there. Peter, whom Jesus
called Satan and who betrayed him three times during the passion, was there. The
brothers John and James, whose mother asked Jesus to have them sit one on his
right and the other on his left in his Kingdom, were there. As for the rest, when the
guards came to arrest Jesus, they all fled. All these show that from the start, the
Church Jesus established is a community of sinners.
And yet in our days as it had always been, some so-called Catholics do not
participate at Mass because all they see there are sinners. But is this not as it
should? Jesus never expels people from his church for not living up to his
expectations. Otherwise, mans sinfulness would make him end up with an empty
church. Rather, he fills his church with sinners who are willing to hold on to his hand.
This is exactly what Jesus did during his public ministry: He stayed and
worked with the twelve apostles despite their weaknesses and failures, believing
that even weaklings can do great things. And his trust in them was vindicated in the
endmost if not all of them died as martyrs as they proclaimed the good news
throughout the known world.

This is also exactly what he wants to do with us. Sinners though we are, he wants us to find
nourishment and strength in his Body and Blood, trusting that after partaking of himself, we become
a little stronger than the weaklings that we are. Finally, partaking of Jesus Body and Blood makes us
hol

Why do Christians include, as a crucial and regular part of their worship, a meal? Why do we
celebrate the Lords Table? We can answer this question by considering some of the Scriptural
passages which tell us about this meal, along with some of the names that have been attached to it.
First of all, when we come to the Table, we remember the sacrifice of Christ.This is a Memorial meal,
eaten in remembrance of what the Lord Jesus has accomplished for us. As Paul reminds us, when
Jesus had given thanks for the bread, he broke it, and said, This is my body which is for you. Do
this in remembrance of me. In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is
the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. (1 Cor.
11:24-25).
The meal originally had deep historical roots in the story of Israel, particularly in the history of

Israels exodus from Egypt. God had given them a meal, too, a meal called the Passover, which
would be celebrated annually as they remembered how God had passed over their sins. When Jesus
instituted the meal Christians now celebrate, he was actually eating his last Passover meal with his
disciples. Paul makes the connection, when he says that Christ is our Passover lamb (1 Cor. 5:7).
Just as Passover was a meal of remembrance for Israel, pointing them back to Gods saving work on
their behalf, so the Lords Table is a memorial meal for believers today, reminding us of what God
has done, once and for all, in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins.
Secondly, when we come to the Table, we celebrate our unity and give thanks to the Lord for his
grace. In another passage in 1 Corinthians, Paul says, The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a
participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of
Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one
bread (1 Cor. 10:16-17) The word blessing in this passage is the Greek word eucharistia, which
means thanksgiving. This is why we sometimes call this meal the Eucharist. But it is thanksgiving
that we offer together as one body. We dont take the elements alone, but together. And when we do,
we affirm and celebrate our oneness: that we belong to the Lord and to one another. We who are
many
are
one
body,
for
we
all
partake
of
the
one
bread.
This passage from 1 Corinthians also suggests a third truth about this meal.When we come to the
Table, we enjoy a special fellowship with Christ. The word Paul uses is koinonia, translated in the
ESV as participation: The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of
Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? This is why we
sometimes
refer
to
the
Table
as Communion,
or
as
a Sacrament.
What we mean is this: at the Table, we partake of Christ in a special way. It is not that we eat and
drink his actual body and blood. Nor is it true that Jesus is physically present with us. The idea,
rather, is that Christ manifests his real spiritual presence to us in a unique way, when we take the cup
and the bread by faith. This is how we have communion with him. And in so doing, we give him
thanks for his perfect and finished sacrifice for us and he bestows on us his sanctifying, hope-giving
grace.d on to his hand so he can lead us to what he wants us to become.