More handpicked essays just for you.
The holy communion essay
The celebration of holy communion in Christianity
The celebration of holy communion in Christianity
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
How Christians Interpret And Celebrate The Last Supper Today Holy Communion is very important in Christian worship. This is the occasion on which the priest distributes bread and wine. This is one is of the seven Sacraments. A Sacrament is a physical act with a spiritual meaning. It takes the form of a ceremony intended to reveal and to give a greater sense of closeness to God. The spiritual meaning of Holy Communion is togetherness with God and each other. During Holy Communion the priest takes the bread and wine, gives thanks to God, breaks the bread and then gives them to the worshipers. This is known as the Fourfold Eucharistic actions. Eucharist means thanksgiving. So the Eucharist or Holy Communion exists for Christians to be thankful to God for his Son, Jesus saved men from sin by giving himself as a sacrifice on the cross. The breaking of the bread symbolises the breaking of Jesus' body on the cross and the wine represents the blood shed by Jesus on the Cross. The bread and wine not only remind Christians of Jesus' death, but also of his resurrection. Bread can represent life as it is the basic food and wine can symbolise joy. This meal stems from the Last Supper, which was the last meal that Jesus had with his disciples at Passover before his crucifixion. Mark's Gospel records 'While they were eating, Jesus took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it and gave it to his disciples. "Take it," he said, "this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks to God, and handed it to them; and they all drank from it. Jesus said, "This is my blood which is poured out for many…." (Mark 14:22). These lines have ch... ... middle of paper ... ..., and chalices - a special wine cup). There are decorative cloths over the altar. Non-Conformist Churches have simple services with a table instead of an altar and there are no special robes or containers for the elements. Methodist Churches tend to hold Communion once or twice a month. Catholic Churches hold Communion once a week. Anglican churches celebrate Holy Communion once a week. Jesus' action in the Last Supper and on the Cross reveals a truth. Any truth about God is eternal. Therefore what Jesus did on the Cross (and at the Last Supper) is something that is always true of God: He sacrifices Himself for His creation. So through the Eucharist, the sacrifice of Jesus is made present to the worshiper, in other words the worshiper is present at the eternal sacrifice of Jesus. This is called Anamnesis.
meant much more. It included a love of G-d and doing the will of G-d as well as
means that Jesus died for a reason and that was to free us from sin.
his only son to die for us which is one of the central beliefs of the
Communion This sacrament is also known as Eucharist, Last supper, and the Lord’s Supper. Again communion is an action consider as sacrament because Jesus taught his disciple to do it, and one read it in the Bible for instances in the Gospel of Matthew 26:26-28, Mark, 14:22-24, Luke 29: 19-20 and the Epistle of 1 Corinthians 11:24-26. Going to the point, “Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19), “…this cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood,” (Luke 22:20). “...He broke [bread] and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’” (1 Cor. 11:24), “…this
and they did. Jesus went out again to the shore of the lake, as he was
With your unity, together, he wanted the world to know that God sent him, so that they could believe in him too. Jesus’s lifes goal was for everyone to know God through him, and for us all to be united, in one
In this essay, I seek to elucidate the importance of the Lord’s Supper as a sacrament for the Christian religion within John Calvin’s Institutes, and then move forward to one of the practical or pastoral concerns that John Calvin brings up in his refutations over the Lord’s Supper. This essay assumes that it cannot deal comprehensively with every argument on account of its limited space. So, the singular concern for this essay will be Calvin 's refutation against consubstantiation. Additionally, the essay presupposes the soundness of Wim Janse thesis that Calvin’s belief on the Lord 's Supper cannot be static but instead is an "underdetermined or [opened]" view developing through his interactions with other reformers and reflecting on the
Jesus worked tirelessly to teach humanity about the love of God instead of the fear of God that was not compatible with the true nature of God (book of Luke). Jesus was opposed to the concept of atonement to appease an angry God. Atonement is the belief in the sacrifice of an innocent life as reparation for
The Last Supper was painted circa 1495 by Leonardo Da Vinci, and commissioned under Ludovico Sforza for the Dominicans of Santa Maria delle Grazie. From the beginning, the painting was considered a masterpiece and therefore, Leonardo was praised time and again for the technical aspects of his masterpiece. Vasari, the first man to write a book of artists' biographies, exclaimed, "a Last Supper, a most beautiful and marvelous thing; and to the heads of the Apostles he gave such majesty and beauty, that he left the head of Christ unfinished, not believing that he was able to give it that divine air which is essential to the image of Christ." Vasari, like most was entranced by the beauty of Leonardo's technique. Even today, most of the books devoted to the Last Supper focus mainly on its technical aspects.
The Jewish tradition of the Passover has been very important for the welfare and freedom of the Jews since the Old Testament. Each part of the Passover brings forth the knowledge of what God promises to his people. “The name “Passover” is derived from the Hebrew word Pesach which is based on the root “pass over” and refers to the fact that G-d “passed over” the houses of the Jews when he was slaying the firstborn of Egypt during the last of the ten plagues.” The Christian belief is that the Last Supper fulfills the promise made to the Jews through Jesus Christ. The Passover and the Last Supper are important in understanding the relationship between the Jewish belief and Christian belief. They are also important to help grasp what it means to be free with a God.
Jesus (Robinson 1). The guards and everyone, including Pilate, observed Jesus and saw that he
gain, or for glory. It is not like we think it is—for love of our fellows.
God and the Bible’s teachings are used as a framework to find meaning in life and purpose of human presence. Purpose resides in every human’s potential to strive for peace, seek equality, nurture relationships and the environment to achieve harmony with the earth (Valk, 2012). “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior and my hope is in you all day long” (Ps 25:5). The Holy Spirit, known as God’s active force and His power in action (Lk 1:35), is used as a guide by Christians to ascertain and determine what is right. “We choose to act based on good thinking, scripture and prayer, and the Holy Spirit helps us discern the right alternatives” (Shelly & Miller, 2006, p. 89). In seeing others as the image of God, choosing what is right from wrong is influenced by beliefs cultural background and respect for one another. In this religious culture, the tendency to do wrong is seen as sinfulness. However, it is the admission of sin that leads Christians to Jesus Christ to find and experience God’s forgiveness (Shelly & Miller, 2006). The recognition of sin and eventual redemption strengthens the relationship with God which directs a life of service to humanity (Shelly & Miller,
...o to be a better person. They both lay the foundation for the coming of Jesus and make it so that one no longer has to make an animal sacrifice to be forgiven of sin. All someone has to do is to confess that he or she has faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
For I was hungry, and you gave me no food: I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink. (KJV, Matt 25:42)