A symbol is something that represents or stands for something else. For example, the Star of David is a symbol of Judaism and the cross is a symbol of Christianity.
Every culture has its own symbols and its own customs regarding how its symbols are to be respected and understood.
If we salute our national flag and treat it with great care, respect, and reverence, it’s not for the flag itself but for the nation and its values that it represents.
Symbols are important “ingredients” of the Jewish Passover seder, a ritual meal recalling the loving care of God for his people. Special foods are served that are symbolic reminders of events of Jewish history.
Jesus’ last supper was a seder. According to Luke 22:14-20:
When the hour came, he took his place at table with the apostles. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for, I tell you, I shall not eat it again until there is fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I tell you that from this time on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.”
Jesus introduced two new symbols at this last Passover meal with his disciples.
At the beginning he broke the blessed bread and distributed it to the apostles saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.”
At the end with the final cup of wine he said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.”
Writing to the Corinthians some years later, the apostle Paul said (1 Cor 11:23-26):
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that 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 death of the Lord until he comes.
As the centuries passed and as Christian customs developed and became traditional, these two symbols became the core of the Christian Passover ritual, better known as the Mass or the Eucharist.
Over the centuries some great saints have reflected deeply about the nature of these symbols and what they symbolize.
The important thing, of course, is not so much to study and celebrate the symbol itself but what it symbolizes—that’s why we give the care, respect, and reverence to the symbol that belong to what it represents.
Eating together the broken bread and drinking together the wine is to reaffirm the new covenant and our shared allegiance to it and to proclaim and celebrate the salvific nature of Jesus’ death on the cross.
The broken bread reminds us that the broken body of Jesus was a sacrificial offering for all of us. The wine reminds us that Jesus’ blood shed on the cross sealed the new covenant.
Mass is a time for thankful remembrance and for renewing faithful commitments.
20 November 2022