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This very familiar prayer — ‘... our Lord Jesus Christ took bread; and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it,… and gave it to his disciples...’ (Eucharistic Prayer (A); Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20 and I Corinthians 11:23-25) — can be said to be the very core teaching of the Ministry of the Sacrament. The four-fold liturgical gestures of ‘The Great Thanksgiving’ spoken by the Celebrant — ‘take, give thanks, break and give’ — remind every one of us that the Lord has instituted the Holy Communion for us and be known to us in it.

Why we respond that the Lord be known to us in the breaking of the bread (Eucharistic Prayer (C), The Holy Eucharist: Rite Two, Page 17)? The fact is that under tide of thought of Protestant Reformation 500 years ago, some denominations rejected the view to reduce significance of the clergy. The defence, given at that time, was that since the Lord said He will come again to judge the living and the dead (Mark 13:26, Matthew 24:30 and Luke 21:27), He cannot, therefore, be present among the faithfuls whenever and wherever the Holy Communion is celebrated.

Yet, when we examine the Jewish tradition of Passover Seder together with the Words of Institution by Jesus Christ, it is not difficult to realize that we are, in remembrance of institution of the Holy Communion, indeed giving thanks to the Lord for His transcendence over time and space and His presence at the feast. Firstly, Jewish traditions understand the Passover Seder as sharing of the meal with their ancestors, liberated from Egypt, and thus, they, too, can experience God's redemption. Secondly, therefore, institution of the Holy Communion before Jesus’ passion gives the Passover Seder a new meaning: the Lord is present with us and actively participating in every Holy Communion. Jesus said, ‘Do this in remembrance of me’ (Luke 22:19, I Corinthians 11:24-25). ‘Remembrance’, in its original Greek is ἀνάμνησιν (anamnésis), is not merely understood to be ‘memorialising a person or an event’. It has connotations of ‘recalling’ — reminding — as the Passover recalls the Jewish people: Yaweh reminds them His perpetual and eternal salvation. Jesus, too, reminds his followers that His presence is in every celebration of the Holy Communion, which is not bounded by time and space.