Communion, or the Eucharist, is one of the common sacraments in Christianity. A sacrament is often understood as a religious ceremony or ritual which imparts divine grace. While communion has different meanings among Christian communities, it is generally regarded by Protestant Christians as honoring Jesus Christ’s self-sacrifice on the cross by symbolically taking in the “body and blood” of Christ as represented through bread and wine. By partaking in the ritual, Christians understand themselves as receiving more of the essence of his self-sacrificial life so they can embody to a greater extent the new and true creation themselves. Communion commemorates Jesus and the commission he made to his disciples during the Last Supper to “do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19-20).
Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, was raised taking communion as part of her Christian faith. She originally included the physical representation of communion in her Church, but she would eventually remove the ritual part to help members more deeply cherish its spiritual significance, and how to embody the sacrament meaning in “the Christianization of daily life” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, pg. 272:19-20) or the incarnation of God’s love in ourselves and communities.
The Eucharist has long been seen by Christians as an expectation of the presence of the Holy Spirit that will transform soul and body by taking in the elements of bread and wine. Christian Scientists seek to emphasize the sense of the Christly presence found in communion. Eddy explains, “The true sense is spiritually lost, if the sacrament is confined to the use of bread and wine. The disciples had eaten, yet Jesus prayed and gave them bread. This would have been foolish in a literal sense; but in its spiritual signification, it was natural and beautiful. Jesus prayed; he withdrew from the material senses to refresh his heart with brighter, with spiritual views.” (Ibid, pg. 32:20) For these reasons, Christian Scientists often choose to celebrate communion without the outward symbols of bread and wine. Instead, communion is commemorated during two Sunday church services a year by uniting together with Christ in silent prayer and on bended knee.
Exploring further the Eucharist as a way of remembering Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, Mary Baker Eddy regarded the Eucharist as “spiritual communion with the one God. Our bread, ‘which cometh down from heaven,’ is Truth. Our cup is the cross. Our wine the inspiration of Love, the draught our Master drank and commended to his followers.” (Ibid. pg. 35:25) She also referred to his blood as the life of Jesus, the life of grace fulfilling his mission. She asked these profound questions, “Christians, are you drinking his cup? Have you shared the blood of the New Covenant, the persecutions which attend a new and higher understanding of God? If not, can you then say that you have commemorated Jesus in his cup? Are all who eat bread and drink wine in memory of Jesus willing truly to drink his cup, take his cross, and leave all for the Christ-principle?” (Ibid. pg. 33:27) A heartfelt answer to these questions is a response of grace expressed in an unselfish life that answers Jesus’ call not only to receive his saving message, but to walk in his “bleeding footsteps.” (Ibid. pg. 9:25) For Christian Scientists, communion is far more than a ritual that commemorates the Master. Celebrating the Eucharist means focusing on the presence of the living Christ through a life of prayer and practice.