“Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)
If I were to choose a passage to read regularly before the Lord’s Supper, it would not be 1 Corinthians 11. It would be 1 Corinthians 10. Obviously we need the explanation of the meaning of the bread and the wine, but if we ever forget that the Lord’s Supper is communion, we will have forgotten the purpose of this meal. By eating and drinking together, we are bound together, in a spiritual bond every bit as real as any physical one. We are one. We eat and drink as a body. We participate in Christ’s blood and his body. We are joined to one another. We are joined to the Lord.
When I join in this meal, I am joining in an unbroken chain of Christians that goes back to the table of the Last Supper. When I join in this meal, I am joining in an unbroken chain of Christians around the world that take part in this same memorial. The languages are different, but the words they express tell the same gospel story, express the same unity around the Lord’s Table.
We, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf. Powerful words. Powerful reality.