Sharing in the Broken Bread

"And when He had taken some bread and 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 NASB
       As we partake of holy communion, the loaf of bread is blessed and broken, symbolizing Christ’s body being broken on the cross. He was broken and died that we may have life. Christ asks us to remember the sacrifice He made, but He wants us to do more than just remember it. He wants us to share in it.


       When we think of being called the body of Christ, we automatically envision that we are to be His hands and feet, performing His miracles and ministering to the lost. While this is true, we must remember what else happened to His Body. It is no coincidence that we are called the Body of Christ and that He symbolized His Body with a loaf of bread at the Last Supper.

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation." - 1 Peter 4:12-13 NASB

       The act of holy communion is part of our duty to remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us, but it is also more than just a remembrance. It is symbolic of the commitment that we make to share in the suffering of our Savior, but what does that really mean? Of course, it doesn’t mean that we should go buy some wooden posts and hang ourselves from crosses, but what must we do in order to share in His sacrifice? The answer can be found within the symbolism of the bread.
       What is a single grain of wheat worth? By itself, it can feed no one. If it is ground under the pressure of the millstone and mixed with other ground grains, however, it can be baked into a loaf of bread and can provide nourishment for those who receive it. The grinding of the millstone is the purification process that God works in us through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He uses our trials and tests to provide the pressure necessary to change us and make us into a material that He can work with.
        Once we have been through the grinding pressure of trials, He mixes us with the perfect blend of other grains who have been similarly ground, transforming us into the body of Christ, which is the bread of life. Yet, even then, our suffering with Christ is not over. Were we left whole, we could only feed a small boy. In Christ’s hands, we can be broken to feed the multitudes.
              He broke His own body and poured out His own blood for us while we were still wallowing in the mire of our sins. While we despised and rejected Him, He called out to the Father to forgive us for we truly did not know what we were doing. In like kind, He expects us to share in His suffering by laying down our lives that others may be saved through the glorification of His gospel of life! Lord, help us remember the cross and help our weakness! Help us to be faithful as You are faithful. Amen.