The Disciples movement began on the American frontier in the early 1800s.  Early believers grew  impatient with divisions and "imported" European practices.  From its earliest days, the movement emphasized hospitality (welcoming the stranger) and unity at the Lord's Supper.  They celebrated it at each gathering.

The early leaders of the Disciples sought to cut through the layers of tradition which separated various church bodies from one another by recovering the simply faith in the Person and Work of Jesus as celebrated by the first-century church.

The observance of the Lord's Supper is traced back to an upper room where Jesus and His disciples gathered to celebrate their last Passover meal--God's Covenant meal.

That night, Jesus re-focused the meaning of the meal by re-contextualizing it in Himself.  In His words at the meal, Jesus spoke of Himself not only as the paschal lamb but also as a sacrifice in accordance with other Jewish analogies.  By applying the Passover bread and wine to Himself, Jesus clearly intended to signal His own sacrificial death on behalf of His people.

Jesus imaged His death not only in terms of the paschal and sacrificial meal but also in terms of a covenant meal.  In ancient Judaism, the making of a covenant was followed by a meal in which the participants had fellowship and were pledged to loyalty one to another (Gen 26:30; 31:54; 2 Sam 3:20). The covenant between God and Israel at Sinai was likewise followed by a meal in which the people "ate and drank and saw God."

The Passover meal was one of four major Jewish covenant meals, specifically eaten in remembrance of God's deliverance from slavery and promise of new life.  The new covenant (Jer 31) between God and His people was thus ratified by Jesus in a meal. 

Jesus emphasized the messianic and eschatological significance of the passover meal.  At this feast the Jews looked forward to a future deliverance which was foreshadowed as a "type" by that from Egypt. A cup was set aside for the Messiah lest he should come that very night to bring about this deliverance and fulfill the promise of the messianic banquet (Isa 25 - 26; 65:13). It may have been this cup which Jesus took, indicating that, even now, the Messiah was present to feast with His people.

The Apostle Paul would later write,  

    For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11: 23-26)

Of course both the language and imagery Jesus employed was deeply subversive to the Jewish sacrificial system in general, and the Temple in particular.

The first Christians included the bread and cup as a part of a common meal known as a love feast.  Soon, however, the meal was discontinued and the bread and cup became the focal point of their gatherings.

Remembrance is at the heart of our celebration of the Lord's Supper. The remembrance is one of action. Communion is not simply a guided meditation of the mind.  Remembrance involves the eye, ear, nose, tongue, hands---the whole person.  The actions of the Lord's Supper is one of thankful remembrance.  In the context of a Jewish covenant meal, tradition was to recall with gratitude the great deliverances by God. The remembrance has the aura of the victory---God has won over every human foe. In this sense it is a  celebration of the redeeming power of God.

We celebrate the love of God and know that nothing can ever separate us from that love.  We also celebrate that we share in Christ's mission--bringing salvation to the world as His agents of reconciliation.

The remembrance of God's love goes far beyond remembering the crucifixion alone.  The whole of Jesus' life comes to mind--His loving care for others; His incisive teachings; His merciful healings; His acceptance and affirmation of the unloved and unlovely; His championing of the marginalized and disenfranchised; His unbreakable love for friends; His forgiveness of even those who carried out His execution.

Beyond the agony of the cross we recall the Good News of His Resurrection: that life--for Christ and for us--does not end with the grave.  Hope touches our hearts new confidence each time we remember His works and Power.

(Because the whole theme of celebrating the Lord's Supper is one of thanksgiving, many church bodies refer to this celebration as the "Eucharist," Greek for "thanksgiving.")

The act of remembering in the Lord's Supper is more than pious thoughts about the Jesus of long ago. Through these actions the Lord makes himself known as a present living reality to his people. It happens today much as it happened to those disciples of long ago, who, despondently walking along toward Emmaus in the days following Christ's crucifixion, invited a stranger to have supper with them. "When he was at the table with them," Luke writes, "he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight" (Luke 24:30-31). It it interesting that it is in the context of a meal, that Jesus still makes Himself known to His people.

The time of communion is also a weekly occasion to allow God to lift the burden of guilt from our shoulders and to set us free from whatever bondage has taken us hostage.  Matthew wrote that when Jesus took a cup of wine He told his disciples, "This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matt 26:27-28). When we share in the Lord's Supper we hear afresh God's promise of forgiveness.  The very lifting of the communion cup to our lips can be a sign for us that our lives are freed from guilt. We are forgiven. We are freed from sin and self, and free to love others as Christ loves us.

At Hillcrest Christian Church, we often say Christ is the host at the communion table. It is the Lord's Supper, and we come at His invitation.  No other person has the right to offer that invitation or to bar anyone from sharing in it.  It is open to all believers.

This is also in keeping with one of the core values of Disciples: the unity of the church.  We believe the Lord's Supper can be a powerful means of reconciling believers to one another.  (It is not surprising that it was a Disciples member who initiated the annual observance of World Communion Sunday, the first Sunday in October, as an occasion each year when all Christians could sense their bonds of kinship about their separate tables.)

People like you and I can gather from a week of work to have our spirits lifted as we remember the Saving Work of Jesus in the past--and His presence with us today.  It's a time to reflect and say thanks for the power, hope--and Person--available today!