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While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it\xa0and gave it to his disciples, saying,\xa0\u201cTake it; this is my body.\u201d Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. \u201cThis is my blood of the\xa0covenant,\xa0which is poured out for many,\u201d\xa0he said to them.\xa0 (Mark 14:22-24)

\u201cDo this in remembrance of Me.\u201d\xa0 The words of Jesus on the night He was betrayed.\xa0 \u201cI tell you the truth, one of you will betray Me.\u201d \u2013 \u201cSurely not I, Lord,\u201d said the disciples each with a saddened heart. \xa0\u201cSurely not I, Lord,\u201d says each of us.\xa0 But we do.\xa0 We covet, we lash out in anger, we dishonour our neighbour.\xa0 But God\u2019s grace abounds!\xa0 God\u2019s love rests with us forever!\xa0 He has given us this meal, this feast, this communion as a visible sign of His grace and love towards us.\xa0 As we partake of the Lord\u2019s Supper, we are fed by the incarnate Christ who forgives us and calls us out into the world.

The Lord\u2019s Supper is an outward visible sign of an inward invisible reality.\xa0 Through it we remember the suffering of our Lord on the cross and our unity to Him and all believers because of His sacrifice.\xa0 And even more, the Holy Spirit joins with our spirit in the Supper to nourish us spiritually through the feast.\xa0 The Lord's\xa0Supper, where we \u201cfeed\u201d on Christ is an essential part of the Christian\u2019s walk of faith.\xa0 Just like physical food nourishes our bodies and sustains us for all our daily activities, the spiritual food of the Lord\u2019s supper provides us with grace from God which grants us spiritual sustenance in all areas of life.

In Exodus 24 Moses read the Book of the Covenant to the people then took blood \u201csprinkled it on the people and said, \u2018This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.\u2019\u201d (v 8).\xa0 Jesus instituted a new covenant in the Lord\u2019s Supper. No longer is there a need to offer dead sacrifices to bring us life. Instead, we offer ourselves as living sacrifices.\xa0 No longer bound to the old law, but free in the new covenant through the blood and body of Christ.

The elements of communion appeal to our senses of touch, taste and smell.\xa0 We expect that the elements should be like a moist chocolate cake, lush, savouring every bite, relishing every sip.\xa0 But often they seem like stale bran muffins. \xa0We come to the table with our junk of the week and God in turn gives us a gift, a small piece of bread, a sip of juice.\xa0 Symbols of His body, and His blood reminding us that we are united to Him and to one another through the bond of blood that Christ poured out on the cross.\xa0 Nothing that is \u201cus\u201d is too much, or too broken or too messy for God.\xa0 He can handle it all and He willingly takes it all when we bring it to Him.\xa0 The sacrament of communion takes every part of us and offers it up to God. \xa0And as we partake, God heals, forgives, blesses, strengthens and feeds us, empowering us as He sends us out into the world to be His hands and feet, set apart for Him and His work in the world.

The Lord\u2019s Supper directs our attention to the incarnation of Christ, that is, that in Christ, God became a human, like you and I.\xa0 The bread, Christ\u2019s body, the cup is the blood of the new covenant and the means by which the covenant was secured and sealed for us.\xa0 Jesus said \u201cdo this in remembrance of Me\u201d (1 Cor 11:24).\xa0 We are to remember the significance of Christ\u2019s death.\xa0 We believe with renewed faith that His body was broken for us and His blood was shed for us. \xa0Revealing a deep love for His people.

When we celebrate this sacrament we remember that Jesus died for our sins, Christ is risen and Christ will one day return.\xa0 This is a divine mystery, one that can never be explained by us humans, yet we can still fully participate in that mystery.\xa0 In receiving the nourishment of the Lord\u2019s Supper we anticipate the heavenly feast that will occur.\xa0 The table where there will be eternal union and eternal communion with God and with fellow believers in Christ all joined together from every race, language and nation at the feast of the Lamb.

The Lord\u2019s Supper is a place of belonging that unites us to Christ and to one another. To our brothers and sisters of the faith that we feast with over livestream or CD or, in person and every Christian believer that has gone before us as well.\xa0 Although we may feel alone in our journey at times, we have the knowledge that there were many before us, from the apostles up to the present day who have celebrated this sacrament and to whom we are connected through the blood of Christ.\xa0 \xa0\xa0We are never alone. \xa0We belong to the body of believers and to Christ through His sacrifice for us and our participation in His holy feast.