Sharing Holy Communion is a public Christian witness: It’s an acted-out parable; an act of remembrance in which we recall Jesus’ death and the promise of the forgiveness of sins. But it is also much more than this: Communion is steeped in symbolism. Here are seven things that we share in when we partake in the Lord’s Supper:

• In the Lord’s Supper we share in the proclamation of Christ’s Death. The breaking of bread symbolizes Christ’s body broken for us, and the pouring of the cup proclaims Christ’s blood poured out for us. As Paul said: “Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26 NIV).
• In the Lord’s Supper we share in the benefit that Christ’s death achieved for us. Jesus instructed his disciples to, “Take and eat; this is my body.” (Matthew 26:26.) Of course, Jesus was physically present in body when he said this, and so he must have been speaking metaphorically, and using the bread, and then the wine, as pictures, symbolising that his body would be broken and his blood spilt for us, for the forgiveness of sins. So when we participate in Communion we signify that we share in the benefits achieved for us by the sacrificial and atoning death of Christ.

Sharing Holy Communion is a public Christian witness: It’s an acted-out parable; an act of remembrance in which we recall Jesus’ death and the promise of the forgiveness of sins. But it is also much more than this: Communion is steeped in symbolism. Here are seven things that we share in when we partake in the Lord’s Supper:

• In the Lord’s Supper we share in the proclamation of Christ’s Death. The breaking of bread symbolizes Christ’s body broken for us, and the pouring of the cup proclaims Christ’s blood poured out for us. As Paul said: “Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26 NIV).
• In the Lord’s Supper we share in the benefit that Christ’s death achieved for us. Jesus instructed his disciples to, “Take and eat; this is my body.” (Matthew 26:26.) Of course, Jesus was physically present in body when he said this, and so he must have been speaking metaphorically, and using the bread, and then the wine, as pictures, symbolising that his body would be broken and his blood spilt for us, for the forgiveness of sins. So when we participate in Communion we signify that we share in the benefits achieved for us by the sacrificial and atoning death of Christ.