There has been predictable controversy as regards apparent references to the Last Supper during the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics. A woman donning a large silver headdress, reminiscent of a halo often associated with Jesus in classical art, drew significant attention. Bishop Philip Huggins shares a meditation on the Last Supper; in the time of Jesus, and this day, this age.
These moments come and go.
In this meditation, may I convey what I understand will be going on when we remember the Last Supper in Church this Sunday.
In our Anglican parish church in Port Melbourne, when we gather on a Sunday, we intentionally begin in silent meditation and with music of solace.
Our world is so noisy and currently so full of sorrow. When we come across the threshold into sacred space, it is so necessary, I think, that we give ourselves the time to sigh and to settle. As John Bunyan once said,
“The best prayers have more often groans than words.”
It may be that we do a little sighing and even inward groaning as we settle into meditation, saying over and over the mantra and prayer of our heart: ‘Jesus have mercy’.
We come out of meditation and wordless music of solace into the Prayer of Preparation.
Coherent across God’s time and space, as the poet W.H. Auden knew, it is a prayer which links the dead with the unborn. As will be true for many others, my grandparents prayed this prayer in Anglican country Churches.
It is embedded in my heart through the way we become inside the liturgy in worship. And so, I pray, this will continue for subsequent generations.
This Collect – this collection of thoughts to take us heavenward – begins our spoken Service as we place ourselves before God, seeking grace.
Having settled with meditation, we are more mindful of what a profound matter it is to then say:
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open and all desires known…
We pray to God – who – we understand, knows the condition of our hearts and is the One from whom no secrets are hidden. We ask God to cleanse the thoughts of our hearts as we prepare to hear the Scriptures and then receive the Sacrament in Holy Communion.
In the familiarity of our Liturgy, it is beneficial to remember that all this is quite utterly profound. We understand that we are speaking to the One who is before all time; who creates all that is – seen and unseen – and is Holy Spirit in our midst.
’Jesus in our midst’, as Chiara Lubich poetically expressed Jesus’ promise to be with us when we gather. The holy name is spoken and divine presence is experienced.
This Sunday in the Gospel we hear Jesus say, I am the bread of life and then promise,
whoever believes in me will never be hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
This promise, on Sunday August 4, 2024, leads into the consecration prayer and then our reception of the sacrament. As celebrant I will say, looking into the eyes of those receiving, words that are completely wonderful – the body and blood of Christ keep you in eternal life.
We try to be very careful in our preparations and in our conduct, as this sacred mystery unfolds.
This is Holy Communion. There is real presence. We are aware of this.
Hence, from the 4th century Liturgy of St. James, we know the wisdom of the song:
Let all mortal flesh keep silence for the
Lord of lords, in human vesture,
in the body and the blood,
will give to all the faithful
his own self for heavenly food.
So it is and so it shall always be
as the Light of light comes shining
from the realms of endless day…
It’s nearly 2000 years since the Last Supper in Jerusalem.
We are still doing this because the experience is of Holy Communion.
This Sunday, more important than a little controversy at the Olympics, is that we faithfully pray for peace-making in the places of suffering that are north, south, east and west of Jerusalem.
“My soul awaits the peace of Jerusalem.”
Bishop Philip Huggins.
Wednesday 31 July 2024.
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