HOW would you view HOLY COMMUNION?

HOW would you view  HOLY COMMUNION

The first Christians in Corinth came together to "break bread:(1 Cor. 10:16)  They would congregate in the homes of a member to have a common meal  -  meeting weekly on the first day of the week(Acts 20:7 cf 1 Cor. 16:2)  each person, rich or poor,  brought his or her own food.  

At some point  during the meal  -  there was a more formal sharing in   a loaf of bread and a cup of wine... the comon food of peoples of the Middle East. This common practice/habit eventually became the focus of significant symbolism.

 
Significant Symbolism

Paul commented that those who  shared in the loaf and the cup  -   for which thanks had been given to God  -

 * was participating in the  body and blood of Christ;  viz.  experiencing the benefits resulting from Christ's Crucifixion -  wherein He gave thanks  and shed His blood for the sake of Man.


Paul then emphasised that 

        *  those who take part in this way  constituted one body  -   as symbolised by the one loaf.  They belonged together.  Here was a powerful Sign of Unity within a local church.

 The 2 Basic Forms of Tradition -  

Together with Paul,  the three Synoptic Gospels  -  Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25 Luke 22:15-20  -   later gave us the Tradition of what Jesus said and did at His Last Supper with His Twelve Disciples shortly before His Crucifixion.

Mark I Cor.
  "This is my body...."This is my body that is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me..."This is my blood of the covenant which is covenant in my blood.  Do this as often as you poured out for many..".  drink it, in remembrance of me."

These were the Litergies of the Early Church.  And as the churches grew in numbers,  the litergies were preserved.  Each local church kept following the same liurgy   *  preserving the  Intention of Jesus by the sharing of a loaf and a cup.  

#  Jesus made the loaf  -   a symbol of His body and

#  the distribution of the broken pieces    as suggesting    the giving of Himself for others 

#  He made the cup the symbol of His blood. -  associatring it with the New Covenant.(Exodus 24:8). Observe also the way in which Jesus performed this act.  

It implies that He was giving His disciples   -

#   a way of remembering Him and associating with Him  -   after His Ascension.

 

The "Breaking of Bread" in Acts 2:42f  was a  Continuation of the Meals  described in the Appearances of Jesus -  after His Ressurection.

Our Church Membership Manual states that Communion is for sinners.  What is required is a desire for change(repentance) and a desire for the Lord.  Most churches today has become a community of respectability -  where the down and out  no longer feels welcome.

Contrastingly..  the Gospels and Acts  record  diverse groups of social rejects, the down and outs, the nobodies....  And it was to and of these that Jesus invited to His Table. To Eat Together ... was a Pledge of Protection. A Persian nobleman was sitting in his garden. 


A man prostracted himself before him and implored protection from the unruly mob.  The nobleman gave him the remainder of the peach which he

was eating.

When the incensed mob arrived, and declared that the man had slain the only son of the nobleman, the heartbroken father replied,

"We have eaten together,  Go in peace."  

 Researched  by Pastor Khoo.

STORY TO SHARE: HAD WE BEEN CAUGHT... this Story would be left Untold...!

Dear Reader,

I am very sorry for this long break from my Blogging. Church and Community commitments prioritize.

The Rev Edwin Khoo

British Singapore fell to the Japanese Invasion on 15 Feb 1942

The year 1941 witnessed the War in the Pacific.  The surprise Japanese on Pearl Harbour in December 1941  -  followed by rapid invasion in S.E.Asia saw Japan capturing  Burma, Thailand, Malaya, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Guinea and Hong Kong.

The Americans were forced into this War by the Pearl Harbour Attack.  The Americans won a series of battles in 1942  -  then slowly re-captured the Japanese -occupied territories. They turned these into bases from which they could attack Japan proper.

Meanwhile at Selarang Barracks, near  Singapore's Changi Prison  -  after only 6 months of Japanese occupation....thousands of Allied POWs died.  Death came largely from beriberi  -   dysentery  -  torture  -  beating but largely from starvation. 

These Allied POWs, numbering around 50,000 ,  predominantly British and Australian soldiers, worked around Singapore...repairing the damages inflicted by the Japanese invasion  and getting the essential services back to working order. About 850 POWs died during their intern at Changi.

I was then in my early teen  -  working as a 'toban' at Yasuda Butai  -  the Japanese Army Camp at Changi then. A toban makes -  and serves tea to Japanese military personnel.. He also fetches meals for them.

Hunger, as mentioned above, was the main cause of death of the Allied POWs.  Sighting them rummaging for thrown-away food from dustbins was  common  -  just as stray dogs, cats and rats do. Deplorable!  Humans eating food wastes  -  from garbage bins!  Sheer hunger drove them to it.

Moved by compassion,  a few of us  -  all teenagers   chose to supply them with bought fresh clean food.  But how!?   Readers can fathom what the Japanese would do to us  -  had we been caught?

But for posterity .. we're very sorry we cannot tell you how... Wars have not ceased . When will we ever learn! 
                                     

For our Today; they gave their Yesterday.

The Rev Edwin Khoo