The Road to Emmaus
On the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, on the day of Christ’s resurrection, two disciples encountered the risen Christ. But they did not recognize him.
When the three reached their destination, the disciples urged the stranger to join them for the evening meal. Jesus sat down with them, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to them. Only then did they recognize Jesus, and learn the truth that he was truly risen from the dead. Jesus immediately vanished from their sight, and the two said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”
They returned to Jerusalem and, joining Jesus’ other followers, told them “what had happened on the road, and how [Jesus] had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” (Luke 24:13-35)
This story emerged in the first generation of Christians, who by that time had already adopted the practice of a weekly gathering to celebrate Christ’s resurrection through a sacred meal, which they called “the Lord’s Supper.” Rather than describing an historical event, the story of Emmaus reflects the experience of the earliest Christian communities, who Sunday after Sunday sought to encounter the living Christ in the opening of scripture and in the sharing of bread and wine. No matter how many times they gathered as a community, they expected to feel the amazement of the two disciples on the journey to Emmaus, their hearts set on fire when Christ opened the Word to them, and sitting down again for a meal in which Christ was the host—revealed in “the breaking of the bread.”
A life-changing experience
For our ancestors, Holy Communion was a life-changing experience. Its weekly repetition was not repetitious. Each Sunday was a new encounter with the Holy. The experience of union with Christ through the Sacrament was spiritual and physical food: when the path through life led them to empty and dry places where they knew hunger and thirst, the weekly encounter with Christ through the broken bread and poured wine revived their hope and gave them strength for the journey.
Is that our experience when we share the holy meal? Does it feed our deepest hunger and satisfy our deepest thirst? Does it rekindle lost hope? Does it give us strength for our daily lives? Is it an experience we anticipate with longing, and does the joy of that experience linger in the days that follow?
The early Reformers sought to restore the spiritual practices of the church’s first generations. They wanted to rescue the Sacraments from mindless repetition and restore the power they had in the New Testament church. Christ would again come near in the Supper, no matter how often it was celebrated. By eating and drinking together, each member of the community would “know Jesus in the breaking of the bread.” By sharing the bread as a sign* of Christ’s body and the cup as a sign of his generous love, they would themselves be united to his body, and recognize each other as fellow members of the collective Body of Christ.
Some steps
Is it possible to recover the depth and power of the early Christian experience of Holy Communion? Many churches have done so, and these are some of the steps they’ve taken:
- Seeking a true desire to meet Jesus in the meal, to experience union with his life, and an expectation that the Spirit’s power will fall on the worshiping community. This can become a theme in preaching, Bible study and continuing education.
- Serious preparation for Communion, whether through common rituals or an individual time of prayer before the service begins.
- Finding creative ways to tell the story of the Last Supper, so that the words of Jesus at the table are accompanied with prayer and song.
- Silence at appropriate times to slow the pace of the communion liturgy, for example, observing silence instead of a eucharistic acclamation following the words of Jesus at the table.
The ancient “eucharistic prayer” (prayer of thanksgiving) is one way that the words of Jesus concerning the bread and the cup can be woven into the greater narrative of God’s salvation. This is not a one-paragraph prayer, but an extended act of praise. Most of the early eucharistic prayers included an “epiclesis,” an invocation of the Holy Spirit whose power transforms the meal into a miracle. They were often introduced with the “Sanctus” (“Holy”), an ancient hymn that draws from Isaiah’s vision of God’s glory in Isaiah 6:3 and the joyous praise that met Jesus as he entered Jerusalem in Matthew 21:9. Available in many singable settings in The New Century Hymnal and other sources, the Sanctus prepares the community for the mystery that in the Sacrament of Holy Communion Jesus is embodied in our own lives.
Below are some resources for creating an experience of Holy Communion in your church. There is, of course, no “right way” to celebrate the Sacrament, but what these resources have in common is the expectation of the early Christians and the first Reformers that the meal Jesus gave us will have the power to transform lives.
* Sign in the Reformed tradition meant more than “symbol” or “depiction.” The Reformers believed with Saint Augustine that a sacrament was “an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace.” Like an icon, it was not itself the object it represented, but provided a window through which a believer could enter a world beyond the senses. So bread and wine in Holy Communion are not themselves the body of Christ, but are visible signs through which we can experience an inner union with Christ’s body.
Liturgies
All Desires Known
A compilation of liturgies and prayers by feminist liturgist Janet Morley (Morehouse Publishing 2006), including eucharistic prayers for ordinary use, Christmas Eve, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter and Pentecost.
Prayers for an Inclusive Church
A complete source of collects, confessions of sin, introductions to the Peace and eucharistic prayers for all seasons of the Church Year by Steven Shakespeare (Church Publishing 2009).
enfleshed
This popular online resource for progressive liturgy includes several communion prayers. A subscription provides weekly resources, including prayers inspired by the Revised Common Lectionary.
Iona Abbey Worship Book
Contemporary liturgies from the Iona Community in Scotland, including eucharistic prayers and music.
A New Zealand Prayer Book
Published by the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia (HarperOne 1997), this resource offers an extensive choice of traditional and creative eucharistic liturgies and prayers.
Book of Worship
The Book of Worship of the United Church of Christ (Pilgrim Press 1986) includes two liturgies for a Service of Word and Sacrament, and brief orders to be used when bringing Communion to the sick, prisoners and others who are unable to worship with the congregation. There are four complete eucharistic prayers and a guide to how ministers can creatively write their own communion prayers. These liturgies are reproduced in the UCC edition of The New Century Hymnal (Pilgrim Press 2005).
Book of Common Worship
The Book of Common Worship (Westminster John Knox Press 2018) an expansive source for eucharistic liturgies from the Presbyterian Church (USA). Like the Book of Worship, it reflects high standards for inclusive language.
Music
The New Century Hymnal
The section of communion hymns in inclusive language is from 329 to 349. Settings of the Sanctus (“Holy”) are from 789 to 795.
I Have Heard the Spirit Calling
This communion hymn by © 1998 by Thew Elliot expresses the longing of exiles from the church, especially LGBTQ+ Christians, for a return to Christ’s Holy Table. The score and an MP3 file are available on the Many Voices website.
Two settings of the Sanctus
Arranged by David A. Debick, both settings are arranged to early American folk hymns. Click here to download.
We’d be grateful for your stories about transformative experiences of Holy Communion in your church, and ideas on how this celebration can make a difference in our communities. Please contact the Rev. Andy Lang at langohio@sbcglobal.net.