What is Holy Communion?

A sacred ritual action, a holy meal through which the church remembers God's saving work in creation and covenant, in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The church invites and invokes the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, celebrating with thanksgiving Christ's continuing presence in the world through the Holy Spirit. We receive a foretaste of and anticipate the heavenly banquet.

Holy Communion is also often referred to as Eucharist or the Lord's Supper. Each of these names finds its roots in the witness of the New Testament and in the life of the early church. Holy Communion emphasizes the holy meal as a means by which we participate in a holy and loving relationship with God and our neighbors (1 Cor. 10:16-17). Eucharist, from the Greek word meaning "to give thanks," reminds us that when Jesus gathered his disciples for a meal, he gave thanks to God for God's creating and saving work in the world (Luke 22:17-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26). This understanding is reflected in the fact that many churches call the prayer at the holy meal the "Great Thanksgiving."

In Eucharist we continue Jesus' action of thanksgiving as we offer our own praise and thanks to God. The Great Thanksgiving typically includes remembrance of God's saving work in the history of Israel, in Christ, and in the church; a specific recalling (anamnesis) of the actions of Jesus at the Last Supper; and an invocation of the Holy Spirit (epiclesis) over the bread and cup that they may be, for God's people, the body and blood of Christ and that we may be Christ's body in the world.

The name Lord's Supper reminds us that this holy meal is neither one to which we invite ourselves nor at which we determine who will be at the table with us. As the Lord's Supper, Christ serves as host and issues the invitations (1 Cor. 11:17-22). Churches have debated exactly how Christ is present at the meal and in the elements. Perhaps it is best to follow Charles Wesley's lead in his hymn "O the Depth of Love Divine" and admit that we cannot plumb the depths of God's mysteries.

-- E. Byron Anderson
"Holy Communion"
The Upper Room Dictionary of Christian Spirituality

From The Upper Room Dictionary of Christian Spirituality, edited by Keith Beasley-Topliffe. Copyright © 2003 by Upper Room Books. Used with permission. All Rights Reserved.