Lord's Supper And The Kingdom Of God example essay topic

Introduction I think that no doctrine inside Christianity was as arguably and problematic as the doctrine of the Lord's Supper (Eucharistic). Not only that century-old fighting's is going on around the text: 'This is my body' (1. Cor. 11: 24) between Roman Catholics and Protestants, but there is nonconformity regarding the question among Protestants themselves.

The first notification of the Lord's Supper set a division among Christ's disciples, as they were shocked when Christ told them about the suffering that He must go through, so they said: "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" (John 6, 60). The cause of this fighting is based on a question of understanding the nature of Christ's presence in bread and wine as in understanding the nature of Christ body, the Church. Those fighting became so intense that the concept of Eschaton in the Lord's Supper (Until he comes, 1.

Cor. 11, 26), i.e. the connection of the Lord's Supper and the Kingdom of God that will come, was totally forgotten. And tendency of neglecting the eschatological concept of Lord's Supper would not be so important if it would not have for its consequences the way and oft ness of its maintenance, the religiousness of believers and life of a Church and its missionary orientation. In this paper we will not discuss the questions of Christ's presence in the sights of bread and wine during the Lord's Supper and we will not talk about Luther's, Calvin's or Zwingli's view of Lord's Supper. We will not define it nor will we discuss how often we should participate in it. In this paper we assume that the Lord's Supper for many Christians does not implicate the eschatological concept (which guides the Church and its believers to the Heavenly Kingdom) and has became something static and local.

The Lord's Supper is always talked about by its meaning in the past, not its future. It has been forgotten (as the Second Vatican Council says) that "The Lord's Supper (Eucharistic) is the wellspring and the crown of all Christian life, and without it the Church would not exist nor be alive" because she wouldn't have its purpose, and that is eternity. Miroslav Volf in his book After Our Like nes quotes famous catholics theologian Ratzinger, "Through, baptism, human beings set out of isolation and into the trinitarian communion, and thus also into the communion of the church, thereby becoming ecclesial beings. As ecclesial beings, however, they live from the Eucharist.

The church itself, which participates sacramental y in making individuals into Christians, realizes its own being as church in the Eucharist". To this statement I would add the words of professor Janos Pasztor: "The sacrament of Lord's Supper is not only an addition to the Church, but it is an energy of the Church" that binds a humanity with the Kingdom of God that will come. In order to understand the meaning of Lord's Supper when we talk about Eschatology we will talk about the Passover because Lord's Supper lies on its grounds. We will see what was the goal in Christ's choosing the Passover to establish the Lord's Supper.

First part of this paper will talk about Passover in the Old Testament (its establishment, celebration and meaning) and in the New Testament. In the second part we will talk about the Lord's Supper, its establishment, meaning, names and connection with the Kingdom of God. Since the relationship between Lord's Supper and Kingdom of God is faintly investigated, it would require much more space then we are able to use in this paper, so because of the limited space we will concentrate on the, in my opinion, most important elements. The Passover in the Old Testament The Passover is for the first time mentioned in the Bible in Exodus 12.

In this chapter one event is described which is placed before the Israelis coming out from the Egyptian bondage. In the Bible we read (Genesis 46) that Jacob on a call of his son Joseph came to Egypt and settled there (Genesis 47, 11). But, after Joseph and the Pharaoh from Joseph's time died, hard times came on the People of Israel. There was an open hate from the side of the ruling dynasty towards the People of Israel (Exodus 1, 11). Little by little the people of Israel fall totally under the control of the Egyptians and become their slaves.

In order to save his People, God gives special directions to Moses. Those directions that God gave to Moses where called Passover and in fact that was the first participation in Passover in the Bible. After Israelites had done what God asked them to do, at midnight He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt (Exodus 12: 29). Pharaoh, realizing that God Jehovah is bigger then he is decided to let the Israelites go (Exodus 12: 31). After they went out of Egypt and settled in the Sinai desert, God gave the Israelites special directions considering the maintenance of Passover, and we read about them in Exodus 12: 43-51 and Leviticus 23: 4-8. After the Egyptian bondage, the Passover became one of the most significant festivities.

The Hebrew's celebrated the Passover every year on 14th of Nissan and it was always directed to the Passover lamb that will be sacrificed and its blood that will be spilled as a sign of salvation from the Egyptian bondage during the rule of Pharaoh Amenhotep II (he rules in Egypt 1450-1425 BC). The Passover became the festivity of salvation and liberation that contained in itself the past, the presence and the future. 1. The Past - Passover reminded the people of Israel that once they were liberated from Egyptian bondage, and how the houses, marked by the blood of the lamb, were saved by the grace of God.

2. The Presence - Passover celebration always started with a prayer of thanksgiving for everything that God has done, after which followed drinking of wine, eating of the Passover lamb, unleavened bread and bitter cabbage. 3. The Future - by coming out from Egypt, the Passover received a new eschatological dimension. The expectation of that what will come, the final liberation. Liberation from the Egyptian bondage was only an image of that final Messianic liberation.

The Passover was the past, the presence and the future, remembrance and hope. A present joy for liberation that came, and certainty that more important liberation will come in the future when the real Passover lamb will be offered, when the sacrifice for the forgiveness of the sins will be laid on, and when the freedom of sin will be granted to all mankind. That means that the Passover became an obligation, in a way, for humanity and for God. Man had an obligation to participate in it and God to fulfill it. In those circumstances, Jesus and his disciples partake in the Passover.

The Passover in New Testament On the fourteenth day of the first month of religious year according to the Synopsis (Mathew 26: 26-29; Mark 14: 23-25; Luke 22: 15-19), Jesus was eating the Passover dinner with his disciples before he was arrested. At that time, Israelites for more then 1400 years were praying God to remember his covenant and promise given to them as the Chosen people. Jesus was finishing his work on earth in those circumstances and he wanted to point to the elements of Passover and give them a new meaning. We can see that Jesus chose a very rich, symbolic human context. Lord's Supper " And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.

' In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, 'This is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. ' (Luke 22: 19-20) On this feast, this important act received a name 'Eucharist' which means 'giving thanks'. Jesus is giving thanks for the great deeds that God is doing: for giving us food; bread and wine. To celebrate the Eucharistic (Lord's Supper) means to recognize God's gifts always and everywhere, and to know how to be grateful for them. The Last Supper was the farewell supper, but whenever Jesus was talking he was looking forward to the time when the kingdom of God will come in force (Mark 9: 1), and so he went to face his death assured in that new feast in God's kingdom. According to writings of New Testament, Jesus established the Lord's Supper the night before he died (Mathew 26: 26-29; Mark 14: 22-25; Luke 22: 14-19; John 13: 1-20; 1.

Cor. 11: 23-25). The synoptic describe the Lord's Supper differently so that Luke's description is somehow different then Mathew's or Mark's. Luke gives to these event thirty-three rows while Mathew and Mark only thirteen. Luke is writing elements that Mark and Mathew are not. And John gave to this event hundred and fifty-five rows.

Clearly Luke, writing his Gospel, had in his mind a heart for the first Church, that he shows in writing the Acts. So I would agree with Dr. Rudolf Brajcic who says in his book, Bit i Crkve, following: "If Luke wanted to look up in Christ biographer John, he could peacefully start his church history like this: "In the beginning there was a gathering". John is contemplating eternity. There in the beginning is Word, simplicity of thought, synthesis of the whole sense of deliberateness.

Luke is contemplating the church. There in the beginning is gathering, crowd which by picking is moving in its definitive shape in the synthesis of eternal Sense". From the report of The Last Supper we can draw out the following conclusions: 1. The Last Supper reminds us of what Jesus has done for us. By the words of the apostle Paul Jesus said: 'Do this in remembrance of me' while he was breaking bread and took the cup (1.

Cor. 11: 24-24). The Lord's Supper reminds us of Jesus, especially his death. Jean Galot in his book, Soteriology, points out that Jesus established the Eucharist (Lord's Supper) on the suffering that was in front of him. He went through that suffering because of us, and with his sacrifice he gave us salvation. By taking the bread and wine we are becoming conscious about what happened on Golgotha.

This way he gave the Passover the motif of remembrance a new meaning. The New Testament describes Jesus Christ as God's Passover lamb (1. Cor. 5: 7) that saved people from the spiritual bondage of sin by his sacrifice on a cross. His sacrifice and spilled blood made people free not from bondage of flesh as it was the case with first Passover, but from spiritual bondage, bondage of sin. Here we are drawing a comparison between a lamb and Jesus.

A Lamb that was taken from the earthly flock set people free from earthly bondage while a lamb from Heaven, born by the Spirit was given as sacrifice to free people from spiritual bondage. By participating in the Lord's Supper, we are remembering how Jesus, as the 'Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world' (Revelation 13: 8) saved us with his blood out of sin and from sin. 2. [Koinwni, a - community; with Christ and with people]. The Lord's Supper awakens in us a feeling of eternal dependence on Christ. Day to day we are thanking Christ for saving us and for keeping us in our lives.

When Jesus is talking about his body and blood as the spring of life in John 6: 53-56, we participate in them, as in the words of G.E. Ladd, "We are uniting in heavenly Christ". The purpose of this report in John 6: 53-56 is to point out our universal and lasting communion with Christ, spiritually and bodily. Beside that, the Lord's Supper is pointing to a feeling of togetherness among believers in a local church, and wider because participating in Lord's Supper you become ipso facto a member of all communities in the world. When Koinwni, a celebrates the Lord's Supper (Eucharist), it means that it recognizes God's gifts of creation and redemption, the new covenant and eternal life in Jesus Christ.

By taking bread and wine together, the gathering around the table affirms our interpersonal bondage and unites us in church. Looking, it could be said that Lord's Supper is the crown of service to God. 3. The Lord's Supper is directing our attention to the future.

"I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom" (Mathew 26: 29). With this statement, Jesus gave an eschatological note to the Lord's Supper because he gave his disciples certainty that this feast is something that is expecting and making them participants in a Messianic, eschatological feast. Jesus is leading his disciples in orbit of something that did not yet happened. During history many names were given to the Lord's Supper and they were all attempts to show the multiplicity of the same. Names The most common are: 1. ["Lord's Supper" (. n dei / pn on, 1.

Cor. 11: 20) ], is used only once in the New Testament and in its original meaning represents a feast, a dinner. Jesus himself had dinner with his disciples on the evening of his sufferings as a foretaste of the Lamb feast in Heaven in heavenly Jerusalem. 2. ["Breaking of bread" (th/| kl a, sei to / a; rto u, Acts 2: 42.46; 20: 7) ]. This term originally re presented a part of the ritual of the Jewish Passover feast, and now it represents Christ's body (as bread - bread from Heaven, John 6: 32-33) which has been given to us to eat so that we could 'receive' the Kingdom of Heaven.

Considering that disciples recognized him by act of bread breaking after he was resurrected, that concept was well taken among first Christians. It was a way to say that all of those who are eating from the same broken bread are entering the communion with Christ and with him they are only one Body. 3. ["Communion" (, a, 1. Cor.

10, 16) ]. Paul's concept of " ", communion, community, is not only that which is established by people, but by Christ as a host, which is in the bread and wine indirectly connected with him. The unity of many is, in Paul's eyes, so tight because the concept of togetherness is formally fulfilled with realistically understood Christ's presence in bread and wine. 4. ["The Lord's Table" (trade, to / Kur i, ou, 1. Cor.

10: 21) ], which stands in opposite of the Table of Demons. Here also we see the unity with Christ in bread and wine. 5. ["Gathering (su, , 1. Cor. 11: 20) ].

Gathering is one of the oldest names for Lord's Supper. 6. "Eucharist" (Euvcaristi, a, Luke 22: 17), comes from the time of Ignatius of Antioch and it means "to give thanks". Eucharist is an act of giving thanks to God for his faithfulness, love and salvation.

According to a Catholic understanding of Eucharist, it is a source and a crown of Christian life as a whole because in it we are creating the closest unity with God and unity among believers. By participating in Eucharist we are already now joined in a heavenly liturgy and taste eternal life in advance. The Eucharistic is an act of giving thanks to Father God, act of thanks to Christ's sacrifice, and act of praising the presence of Holy Spirit. The Eucharist is a reminder of Jewish festivity prayers that - especially those said during a meal - are celebrating the wonderful deeds of God: creation, salvation and sanctification. 7.

Tertulianus (160-240) and Cyprus (200-258) use the name, "Oblation" 8. "Sacrifice" (qui, a, Hebrews 10, 5). In the Didache (Teachings of 12 Apostles 14: 1-3) this term is used for the Lord's Supper. 9.

["Holy Communion"], in 306. AD at Elvira's synod was accepted. It symbolizes the participation in body and blood of Jesus Christ. 10. "Liturgy" (, a), is a term that is used in the Eastern Church. 11.

["Holy Mass" - banishment]. Term that the Western Church uses. 12. Protestants are using terms such as "Lord's Supper", Holy Communion. Lord's Supper and the Kingdom of God " For what is Old Testament is shadow, New Testament is an image; truth is a state of future to come". The Lord's Supper is an image of God's Kingdom, and the image of the esch aton.

Through bread and wine disciples were assured that the feast makes them became participants in the Messianic, eschatological feast. In the description of the Lord's Supper that we find in 1. Corinthians 11: 17-30 Paul is saying to the community that the Lord's Supper is an image of Christ's sacrifice for us. The images of bread that is being broken and blood that is shed are elements of remembrance of that perfect sacrifice. By eating from those gifts we are achieving a union with God and with people.

That is how the Church becomes a Body of Christ, united by Lord's Supper (1. Cor. 10: 17) and by love towards the neighbor, she works to get unity and makes this celebration to be an act that if fruitful, with a note of salvation, the real Lord's feast. The Apostle Paul says in Epistle to the Corinthians: "For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes". (1. Cor.

11: 26). In the words of Thomas Hale, "we do not only maintain the Lord's Supper as a sign of remembrance of Christ's sacrifice, but we have to maintain it until he comes to the Earth for the second time". The Lord's Supper is an image of already given unity with Christ, because it is nothing else but a condition of future things. Here we are not talking about a Platonist ic view of reality. We are not discussing the visible and invisible world, the world of ideas and a world of shadows.

The visible world is just a shadow of the invisible one, and it is impossible to cross into the world of ideas from the world of shadows because it is impossible to travel through time. Here we are talking of the Lord's Supper as a consequence of a future Kingdom, as not yet of its final form. The coming of Jesus is a blessed hope of Paul's understanding of The Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is a celebration that awaits its fulfillment in a final unity with God, and by that it became "the time bridge towards the final unity with Him". One of basic elements of the Eschaton is a "gathering" of un assembled God's people and whole humanity to "one place", around the Messiah. That is why God is throwing a net to catch all sorts of people (Mathew 13: 47) and to assemble them in one place (John 11: 52).

So it is not by accidence that the term "gathering" to one place (ev pi to. auto) was used very early for the Lord's Supper as an allusion to that eschatological gathering around the Lord's table in a future Kingdom. In John 6, 12 Jesus is ordering that the remaining pieces of bread "gather" in one place (in baskets) so that nothing will come to waste. The Didache describes this event: "As this bread (that we are breaking) was scattered through out the mountain and collected became one, so let you Church be recollected (sin h', Ekklhsi, a) from all over the earth to your Kingdom" This text is the most explicit description of Lord's Supper as an image of eschatological gathering of God's children at the Lord's Feast in the Kingdom of God. With all that has been said, the whole idea of remembrance that is present in the Lord's Supper cannot be limited only in the events from the past, but also in future events, in God's Kingdom. It is natural for someone to remember some event from the past; but for someone to remember something that did not yet happened cannot be explained any differently unless we put it in a space where all three elements of time are gathered (the Past, the Presence and the Future) and equal. Term "to remember" in the Bible does not mean to recollect something that was in the past, but to remind of something that is going to be in the future, because without the future the past becomes worthless.

When Paul uses the expression "Until he comes", he uses it in context of Christ's death. His death has a value only if it has as its consequence a salvation of people during the Second coming. When Paul is quoting Jesus' words during the establishment of the Lord's Supper, he adds this "Until he comes", because it was obviously normal for the Corinthians to celebrate the Lord's Supper as a memory on something that once happened, as a thing of a past. For Paul the real remembrance is connected to the past only if it is a basic part of presence, and if it points to the future. "Until he comes" is not only chronological indication that the Lord's Supper must be served, but it also alludes on Christ's coming. The one who is coming to the Lord's Table and participate in the Lord's Supper acknowledges that he believes that Christ will come.

What Paul wanted was to evoke active memory of necessary dependence on Christ, that makes the reality of past alive in presence, and to free the force that will shape the future. So, common and very spread Armenian expression Maran-a tha (Mara. n ava), (1. Cor. 16: 22), which means 'The Lord is near', "The Lord is coming", or even "The Lord will come", is a greeting through which the first Christians were saying their salutations, because they wanted to point out how their faith, which has its roots in the past, actually looks towards the future and makes it relevant for their time. The Lord's Supper as a mark of remembrance becomes a time bridge towards the final union with God, for in Lord's Supper we are moving in the space of future, in the space toward God's Kingdom. Finally, I would agree with words of Catholic theologian Celestin To mic: "The Eucharist (The Lord's Supper) is foretaste of eternal life, and eating a body of Christ is a cure of immortality.

Through the Eucharistic we are staying in Christ and he in us, and we are connected with the Heavenly and earthly (suffering) Church". Conclusion This paper set forth (with a help of the Bible and history) what it means for the Lord's Supper or Eucharist to be an image of God's Kingdom and how it is pointing towards it. The goal was to show that it is wrong to underestimate in any way, the eschatological character of the Lord's Supper and to help in better understanding of the Lord's Supper. However, the question of relationship between the Lord's Supper and the God's Kingdom is large and it requires much more space then we have in this paper. So, because of limited space we were focusing on those, in my opinion, the most important elements. With Lord's Supper being the image of Heavenly Kingdom, it draws a paradox, "already, but not yet", which is present in Christian eschatology.

Taking into consideration Paul's words in 1. Corinthians 11: 26 where he gives a new meaning to the Lord's Supper (eschatological dimension "Until he comes") and Jesus's statement about participating in the Passover in the Kingdom of Heaven (Luke 22: 16), eternity, because we are taking the Lord's Supper here and now, and we are living for the day when we will take it in the Kingdom of God. The Lord's Supper is not just a memory of some historical event, it is in many ways connected with some event in the future, the Eschaton. It is taking our attention and is pointing at Christ; it goes beyond the time disruption between Golgotha and the Second coming of Christ, and teaches us how to depend on Christ. By putting ourselves in the Lord's Supper, and by celebrating it with others, the memorial act becomes a dinner with Christ in his Kingdom. The Lord's Supper is taking us close to that Kingdom, and it is giving us a foretaste, and at the same time it is reminding us that we are still on this earth and that we are expecting the fulfillment of the blessed hope and coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Lord's Super as an image of the Kingdom of Heaven is showing us that all humanity is called (even predicted) from the side of God's love to be free from ruination and death, and to live "for ever and ever". That is why The Lord's Supper cannot be something static, something that has no reference towards time, because it is pointing us to travel towards the Kingdom, while the same is coming to us. The Lord's Supper is focusing our thoughts on God, and defines us and our mission as a Church. By establishing the Lord's Supper Jesus wanted to leave us something that will keep us awake at any time, and at the same time will give us a sense of belonging.

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