9.1.2026 - Lisa Liou

Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Luke 22:19-20

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

When Jesus’ disciples reclined at the passover meal and Jesus began to serve the Last Supper, we know they did not understand everything he was saying or what was about to happen. It was only looking back that they could see he was giving them instructions for a new meal, not only an annual passover feast to remember the angel of death passing over the Hebrew sons, but a regular meal to represent the new and everlasting covenant in Christ’s blood. Jesus would become the new passover lamb, marking his people with his blood from his broken body.

Whenever Christians break the bread to share in communion, we are reminded of Christ offering his body to be broken, as a gift for us, just as guilty as the betrayers and deniers who sat in the upper room that night. Whenever we drink from the communion cup, we remember his blood poured out for us, sinners treated as beloved friends of Christ.

While the Church has come up with different understandings of the sacrament of communion in terms of whether it becomes the glorified body and blood (Catholicism), is purely symbolic (Baptist), or a real spiritual presence (Christian Reformed), there are some commonalities across traditions.

1) We take communion repeatedly–whether monthly, weekly, or even daily it is meant to be practiced together as the Church with regularity.

2) It is taken with reflection and repentance.

3) In it, we express our unity with Christ and with the worldwide Church.

4) In so doing, we maintain a continuous practice, dating back to the early church. Jesus gave us these words of institution on the night he was betrayed. And now we enact the unity of the body of believers by partaking of the sacrificed body of Christ together, even if and when we are betrayed by one another. What a difficult, profound, and beautiful truth.

This sacramental ritual is a powerful way that God keeps his family together even when we fail Christ and one another, just as so many of the disciples did in those final hours before his death.

This poem by Luci Shaw is one of my favorites because it highlights the stories of the characters in the Last Supper so well.

Judas, Peter

because we are all

betrayers, taking

silver and eating

body and blood and asking

(guilty) is it I and hearing

him say yes

it would be simple for us all

to rush out

and hang ourselves

but if we find grace

to cry and wait

after the voice of morning

has crowed in our ears

clearly enough

to break our hearts

he will be there

to ask us each again

do you love me?

Luci puts it into poetic brilliance. Whereas Judas let the shame of his failure overtake him, Peter would walk through repentance and transformation to receive his call to love and serve the sheep. The communion table reminds us of Christ’s grace and love, covering our sins against Christ and one another when we repent and receive.

Christ sets the bar high by offering his very life even to those who would fail him. The communion table invites us to follow his example when we share his sacrifice together.

Is there a particular hurt or sin that you need to work out with Christ or another believer before you make your way to the next communion table? Let Christ illuminate this for you.