Holy Communion--Bread for the Journey

Week 6 Lenten Devotions

Lent Day 31: Wednesday March 24

Theme for the Week: Holy Communion—Bread for the Journey

Today we enter the 6^th week of Lent—a week that includes Palm/Passion Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week. As we near the end of our Lenten journey, we will spend this week reflecting on Christ’s gift of Holy Communion.

Passage for the Day: Mark 14:22-25

²² While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” ²³ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. ²⁴ He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. ²⁵ Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Reflection:

Mark, which is Gospel most likely written earliest, records this account of Jesus sharing a last meal with his disciples before being condemned to death on the cross. After blessing the bread and wine and giving thanks for them, he tells the disciples that the bread and wine are his body and blood. In his words, Jesus also reminds them that this is his last meal. “I will never again drink…until I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

As Christians, every time we gather around the table for Holy Communion, we remember and celebrate Jesus’ words. “This is my body…this is my blood, poured out for many.” Jesus reminds us that he has given his life for the “many”—that includes all of us! We live into the reality of Jesus’ presence with us when we gather at the table, in his name, recounting the words he spoke for us.

The bread that Jesus tells us to take is bread that is Jesus, himself—bread that strengthens us for the journey that each of us takes through life and beyond. The wine we are given to drink is the blood that binds us in a loving covenant with God—a covenant that lasts through life into death.

Prayer Themes:

Thank God for the gift of Jesus in the bread and the wine when we gather in his name. Thank God for both the bread that strengthens me and the blood that binds me to God. Pray that I might hear Jesus’ words anew each time we gather in his name. Pray for those who are preparing to participate in Holy Communion for the first time.