Today's Devotion: In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 1 Co 11:25)

This verse makes up a part of the Words of Institution that are used by the Episcopal priest to consecrate the Blessed Sacrament. One of the purposes of this section of Paul's epistle to the Corinthians is a discussion of worship that Paul brings to the church at Corinth. Paul teaches us that we are to commemorate the Last Supper.

Today's Comments: Actually I should call this section "yesterday's comments" because of the ecumenical event that I attended yesterday at the Episcopal Cathedral Center. It was a conference of Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, and Greek Orthodox Christians, and it is the idea of what Holy Communion means that separates us from sharing the Blessed Sacrament together at the Lord's Table. Although the focus of the conference was on the study of Paul and his letters, the theme of hospitality was noticeable throughout the conference. In the early church, part of Christian fellowship, as it often is in some churches today, is based upon the sharing of food and drink, the most important food and drink, of course, being the Body and Blood of Christ. And without an agreement with respect to the nature of that sharing, we should not expect to see unity in the church, even though Jesus prayed that we all should be one.