Questions about Communion / Lord's Supper

[barnhart]

We observe the Lord's Supper monthly, roughly half of the time within the Sunday morning service and half in a dedicated Sunday evening service. Bread (usually unleavened but not always, on occasion broken saltine crackers) first followed by non alcoholic fruit of the vine. When a part of the morning service, it is not paired with anything else, it has it's own time slot, it's own leaders. Evening observances are followed by finger foods. Foot washing is usually twice a year in the evening.

Much of our practice is the result of compromise, not principle. Those with Catholic backgrounds found the twice a year schedule to be abandonment of biblical practice and those with Mennonite backgrounds found weekly a cheapening experience, so it became monthly. Non alcoholic juice was out of respect for those who struggled with alcohol. Saltine crackers because no one prepared ahead...

[Neto]

Here are some questions I have:

1. How often do the Anabaptists groups that you know practice "Communion"? (Weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly).

In the Mennonite Brethren church (where I grew up) it was quarterly.
In the Mennonite church where we belong now, it is twice. (From what I’ve heard, it was ‘originally’ annually in the Amish tradition, then the Fall observance was added so that expectant mothers might be able to attend at least one time annually. That reason no longer holds, because there is no longer a strict taboo about expectant mothers appearing in public.)

2. Do different groups do different things with Communion? Like, do they do the bread first, then the wine, then they take up a collection? Or do they do something different?

The MB (in my memory) did not do an alms collection after the normal observance of bread, and ‘wine’. They used to do footwashing, but not in my memory.
In the Mennonite church it is bread & ‘wine’, then footwashing, with a basket out for the alms offering. (It isn’t “taken up” as other offerings were in the past. No offerings have been “taken up” in our congregation since the covid lock-downs. There is an offering box in the rear.)
It’s always seemed odd to me that no congregation I’ve ever seen has done the footwashing before the other parts of the service, as Jesus did it.

3. Do they call it "Communion" or "The Lord's Supper"?

I think I’ve heard these terms used interchangeably everywhere I’ve ever fellowshipped, although occasionally in the MB, we had a special '‘communion service'’ which was called the Lebensmal – Love Feast.

4. Do any of the Anabaptist groups practice foot washing? It looks like it is an instruction of Christ in John 13:14-15. I first experienced this at a Baptist church, men washing men's feet, women washing women's feet, and it was a beautiful act of humility and love that bonded all of us together.

See above.

5. This question is for all Christians that practice Communion - even myself, so I am struggling with this one:

a. Why do Christians eat unleavened bread when they take communion?

I think that it is taken from Passover, and that is the specific ‘bread’ and the ‘drink’ Jesus was referring to. I really think that He intended for His followers to continue observing that feast. So also, once a year is the ‘correct’ way to do it.

b. The feast of Unleavened Bread started on the day after Passover. Lev 23:4-6 Did our Lord actually eat Unleavened Bread at the Last Supper on Passover, the day before the Feast of Unleavened Bread? Or was it the regular leavened bread that He shared with His disciples, as the Feast of Unleavened Bread started the day after His death on the Cross?

Yes, I think it certainly was unleavened bread. I also think that it should be broken, not distributed in a pre-cut form as it is in the Mennonite church where we now belong.
(Ever since I first participated in communion in a service where a ‘wafer’ or pre-cut piece of unleavened bread is handed out, I have broken it myself just as the Scripture about the broken body of the Christ is read, or immediately before I eat it.
In the MB church, unsalted crackers were used, and the elders broke it as the Scripture was read. It was loud enough that you could hear it being broken, adding, in my experience, to the understanding of the breaking of Jesus’ body.)

d. And I don't understand practicing Communion every week, as Passover and Unleavened Bread were yearly memorials.

See above.

e. Is "communion" or the "Lord's Supper" really the common meal shared between Christians in the early church? 1 Cor 11:21, Jude 1:12

I do not think so. I think that many (perhaps most) Christians confuse the ‘breaking of bread’ as a sign of peace in the home with the ceremonial aspects of Passover. Just as the word ‘meat’ was used in Scripture to refer to food in general, the breaking of bread was a sign of mutual acceptance. Symbolic, yes, but not the same symbolism as the bread broken in Passover.

One more comment, which I don’t know where to put. In our congregation now, everyone passes through the front of the meeting house, where the elders are passing out the bread and ‘wine’ (grape juice). Then we are instructed to hold it until partaking together, as each Scripture is read. In the MB church, the bread was distributed by the elders as the congregation remained in the pews, then the juice following that, after the bread was eaten.

[MaxPC]

In my haste to get out the door it appears I made a dog’s breakfast of my previous post. Here are my answers again but hopefully in a more readable and logical explanation with some clarification.

Roman Catholic Church praxis:
Jesus as a faithful Jew used unleavened bread on the first day of Unleavened Bread at the Last Supper according to Matthew:

Matthew 26:17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the passover?”

Catholics believe that the Last Supper was the very first Mass and when the communicant receives the Host, it is called Holy Communion.

The communion wafer is made of wheat flour and water; the batter is pressed into a wafer with a special griddle. Once it is consecrated it is then called a Host.

The words that Jesus spoke during the Last Supper are used in every Catholic Mass during the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Matthew 26
26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 

The RCC takes Jesus’ words literally that the bread and wine are consecrated and become His Body and Blood under the appearance of the Host.

As Jesus' sacrifice is central to our Christian faith, we celebrate this sacrifice every week, even every day as priests are available. The Mass is the most powerful expression and prayer in our theology so we see it as indispensible to our lives.

Only the priest can pray the Mass and consecrate the bread and wine. When there is a shortage of priests, the Mass might not be available from an itinerant priest more than once a month or even less frequently. On some occasions a deacon can conduct a Communion Service with Hosts that have been consecrated by a priest during a previous Mass.

Hopefully this reprise is a bit more clear for you, John.

[seinetsodumm]

The blessing of Communion is in being obedient to Christ. I think it is very important not to fall into argument over the variance among groups (Although it is interesting to see how others practice Communion, and how those practices evolved). From its birth, Anabaptism was about simple obedience to Christ. Obey Christ, read His Word and follow the leading of His Spirit.

Blessings!

[ohio jones]

Just a reminder, the OP asked four questions about Anabaptist practices; question 5 was for everyone. None of the questions in the OP are directly related to sacramentalism. See this thread for that discussion.

[JohnHurt]

In my haste to get out the door it appears I made a dog’s breakfast of my previous post. Here are my answers again but hopefully in a more readable and logical explanation with some clarification.

Roman Catholic Church praxis:
Jesus as a faithful Jew used unleavened bread on the first day of Unleavened Bread at the Last Supper according to Matthew:

Matthew 26:17 Now on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the passover?”

Catholics believe that the Last Supper was the very first Mass and when the communicant receives the Host, it is called Holy Communion.

The communion wafer is made of wheat flour and water; the batter is pressed into a wafer with a special griddle. Once it is consecrated it is then called a Host.

The words that Jesus spoke during the Last Supper are used in every Catholic Mass during the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Matthew 26
26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 

The RCC takes Jesus’ words literally that the bread and wine are consecrated and become His Body and Blood under the appearance of the Host.

As Jesus' sacrifice is central to our Christian faith, we celebrate this sacrifice every week, even every day as priests are available. The Mass is the most powerful expression and prayer in our theology so we see it as indispensible to our lives.

Only the priest can pray the Mass and consecrate the bread and wine. When there is a shortage of priests, the Mass might not be available from an itinerant priest more than once a month or even less frequently. On some occasions a deacon can conduct a Communion Service with Hosts that have been consecrated by a priest during a previous Mass.

Hopefully this reprise is a bit more clear for you, John.

MaxPC,

Thank you for your help.

Tell me about this from your perspective, and why:

From what I understand, the Roman Catholic Priest puts the wafer in the mouth of the lay person. And the priest drinks the wine, not the lay person. Is that true?

Does the Priest ever eat the wafer, or does the lay person ever drink the wine?

And why do they do this?

Thanks,
John

[MaxPC]

MaxPC,

Thank you for your help.

Tell me about this from your perspective, and why:

From what I understand, the Roman Catholic Priest puts the wafer in the mouth of the lay person. And the priest drinks the wine, not the lay person. Is that true?

Does the Priest ever eat the wafer, or does the lay person ever drink the wine?

And why do they do this?

Thanks,
John

Most certainly, I will do my best. Though my writings are not always crystal especially this time of day. I think by retelling the sequence of actions at the Mass during the Liturgy of the Eucharist it will answer your questions.

The RCC believes in Transubstantiation: the bread becomes the actual Body of Christ under the guise of the Host and the wine becomes His Blood under the guise of the wine. It is Sacred once consecrated. The following actions of distribution proceed from this teaching.

After the Bible readings during the Liturgy of the Word, the priest says the prayers of the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Once the priest consecrates both the paten of Hosts and the chalices of Precious Blood, he consumes a Host and drinks from the priest’s chalice which has about 10-15 ml of the Precious Blood.

The priest will then proceed to distribute Holy Communion to the Faithful. He will hand the ciboriums (bowls) of Hosts and chalices of Precious Blood to the ministers assisting in the distribution. He is often assisted by a Deacon; sometimes other priests; and/or laity who are specially trained to do so if the congregation attendance is large as it is each Sunday in suburban parishes.

When a communicant steps forward to receive, we bow in respect to Christ’s Body, the Host. We can then choose to receive on the tongue or in the hand. We return to our seats and say prayers of thanksgiving to Jesus for His sacrifice for us.

Before the pandemic we could also choose to receive the Precious blood after the Host. Now many parishes no longer offer the shared chalice to the congregants because of contagion.

I hope this makes sense.

[Coifi]

As I remember, unleavened bread at communion was not a thing until about the 6th or 7th century.

Presumably, it was unleavened at the last supper.

However, I don’t think communion has to be identical to Passover. For example, Passover didn’t have foot washing as part of it, yet Jesus instituted such a new tradition.

If I remember correctly, there is a Greek word for both unleavened bread and for common bread and the word for common bread is used in the passages regarding the Last Supper. This is why there is conversation over this.

The Orthodox Church uses leavened bread in part because we view the leaven bread as a point to the resurrection. So when we partake of the Eucharist, we are participating in both the death and resurrection of Christ.

As for the introduction of unleavened bread for the Eucharist, I've heard that it is either that it was very early (within the time of the apostles) and then it changed to leaven bread, or it was introduced by the Franks in later centuries.

[Heirbyadoption]

Before the pandemic we could also choose to receive the Precious blood after the Host. Now many parishes no longer offer the shared chalice to the congregants because of contagion. I hope this makes sense.

Max, does this mean the congregants no longer receive the wine/juice any longer, or can they still receive it during the service, just on an individual basis?

[MaxPC]

Before the pandemic we could also choose to receive the Precious blood after the Host. Now many parishes no longer offer the shared chalice to the congregants because of contagion. I hope this makes sense.

Max, does this mean the congregants no longer receive the wine/juice any longer, or can they still receive it during the service, just on an individual basis?

Great question, Heir; unfortunately the answer is not simple. Each diocese creates its own stipulations, quite rightly I might add. One area of the world may have an epidemic but another nation or continent might not have it so it is left to the individual dioceses to decide on whether parishioners receive from the common chalice at Mass or not. Another bit: After lockdown was lifted, most of the dioceses opted to only offer the Host to the hands of parishioners and not to the tongue. When life resumed normality, the options of tongue or hand were restored. (I am tempted to say "what passes for normal these days.")

The chalice is not offered to individuals outside of the Mass itself but only during the Mass. An example: a diocese or parish may decide to only offer the Host, not the chalice during Holy Communion at Mass. Now for the loophole bit: if that happens and there is a parishioner who cannot consume gluten, that parishioner may be offered some of the Precious Blood from the priest's chalice so that the parishioner can still receive Christ.