Holy Communion
The Message Hiding in Plain Sight That No-one Ever Talks About
Pretty much anyone with any Christian background will have experienced or partaken of the communion ritual.
For anyone unaware, part of a Christian religious service is given over to this: pieces of bread, wafers or crackers are distributed among the congregation, followed by a small drink.
In my experience, the drink was generally blackcurrant juice, as alcohol was strictly forbidden in the fundamentalist Pentecostal movement. Still, other denominations, the Church of England for one, are less concerned about alcohol and use Sacramental Wine, not fruit juice.
Sometimes, the drink would be in a communal cup, from which everyone took a sip; other times, a tray of tiny glasses would be passed around, each containing a mouthful of juice.
The ritual represents the actions of Jesus at the Last Supper, the Passover Meal he and his disciples enjoyed before he was crucified.
As the story goes, Jesus took a loaf of bread, broke it into pieces and shared it with his friends — his disciples. What he says next, depending on the Gospel and the version of the Bible, varies slightly, but it can be summarised thus: “This is my body, eat it, remember me”. He does the same with the wine, passing around a…