Coming from a Baptist background, I have the understanding that the Eucharist, which we call "the Lord's Supper" or "Holy Communion" to be the act of following the command that Jesus gave at the "Last Supper". The command that says, "Do this in remembrance of Me". So the focus of this paper will be that it don't not matter if you call it Holy Communion, Eucharist, or the Lord's Supper, the fact that is important is to know why you do it, and to be sure that you are doing it to remember that Jesus Christ gave His life for us. I also the reason we celebrate Eucharist is to thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Q1: What is your understanding of the meaning and practice of Eucharist? In what ways has your own faith tradition been formative for you in this understanding?.
There are many expressions for the sacrament of the Eucharist, however, after listening to the lectures in PIF class I have the view that this sacrament is a communion because when we partake of it, we are symbolizing the fellowship with Christ and with each other in our faith community. So, I am of the understanding that whether we call it Eucharist or Lord's Supper it does not matter, we just need to remember this is considered Eucharist because it is a celebration of thanksgiving for all that God has done for us and for what He is going to do for us. But, again because of my faith tradition, we prefer to designate the term, "the Lord's Supper", as Grenz states it is because it anchors our practice in the table of fellowship that Jesus shared with His followers1. .
Q2: What ecclesial, spiritual or political dimensions of the sacrament of Eucharist do you find most compelling?.
Just as baptism is an act of commitment, so is the act of Eucharist. Christians observe this practice either yearly, quarterly, monthly, and some each week. At Third Baptist Church of Chicago, the church I attend, we celebrate Holy Communion the first Sunday of each month.
