What does your church do with unusable communion bread?

[Jig]

So you think they ate Matzah crackers? Like the ones they sell at Winn-dixie?

Yes, I believe they ate matzah (unleavened bread) as prescribed by the Passover. The synoptic gospels are explicit that the Last Supper was a Seder.

Mark 14:12–16.
And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 13 And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, 14 and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” 16 And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

 

[ebia]

Yes, I believe they ate matzah (unleavened bread) as prescribed by the Passover. The synoptic gospels are explicit that the Last Supper was a Seder.

Mark 14:12–16.
And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 13 And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, 14 and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” 16 And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.

That it was unleavened bread is a given. How similar it was to modern matzah is a different question.

 

[Jig]

Luke 22:19
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them...

Even if this was done with leavened bread, instead of matzah, this still would have produced many crumbs. What do you suppose they did with these crumbs? Respectfully and carefully disposed of them?

 

[Jig]

That it was unleavened bread is a given. How similar it was to modern matzah is a different question.

The traditional baking process is incredibly simple. The traditional recipe is even simpler. There isn't much that can be changed.

The unleavened bread used in the Last Supper was probably round instead of square though.

 

[Jig]

Even if you don't believe in any kind of transformation, it seems highly inappropriate to chuck in the trash something that has been dedicated to such a holy purpose.

The "act" and "elements" TOGETHER is what holds significance. You need both to properly practice communion. It is not communion bread if it is never consumed by a believer during the act of communion. Any extra bread is merely extra bread.

 

[Historicus]

Who would "those trained to do so" be comprised of?

Generally Deacons, Lay Speakers, and sometimes laity are allowed under the training and direction of the Pastor to take the consecrated elements to people who can't attend the Service of Word and Table and administer communion. The Catholic Church would call these people Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, I think.

 

[ebia]

Luke 22:19
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them...

Even if this was done with leavened bread, instead of matzah, this still would have produced many crumbs.

depends heavily on the nature and freshness of the bread

 

[ebia]

The traditional baking process is incredibly simple. The traditional recipe is even simpler. There isn't much that can be changed.

So you can't demonstrate mor than plausibility.

 

[ebia]

The "act" and "elements" TOGETHER is what holds significance. You need both to properly practice communion. It is not communion bread if it is never consumed by a believer during the act of communion. Any extra bread is merely extra bread.

The "act" doesn't reduce to the consumption.

 

[Gnarwhal]

The "act" and "elements" TOGETHER is what holds significance. You need both to properly practice communion. It is not communion bread if it is never consumed by a believer during the act of communion. Any extra bread is merely extra bread.

So you're saying I can just waltz into my kitchen, grab a graham cracker, whisper a cute prayer and booyah, communion accomplished?

Because the nature of communion is subject to the partakers heart?

 

[Jig]

The "act" doesn't reduce to the consumption.

You're correct. Consumption, however, is still necessary to do the act.

 

[ebia]

So you're saying I can just waltz into my kitchen, grab a graham cracker, whisper a cute prayer and booyah, communion accomplished?

Apparently the prayer wasnt necessary, only the eating.

 

[ebia]

You're correct. Consumption, however, is still necessary to do the act.

Then the whole of the bread was part of the act, even though not all of it was part of the whole act.

 

[Jig]

Then the whole of the bread was part of the act, even though not all of it was part of the whole act.

This doesn't matter. Only what was used off the loaf became communion.

 

[ebia]

This doesn't matter. Only what was used off the loaf became communion.

Your thinking doesn't seem coherent.

 

[ViaCrucis]

Curious, are the Scriptures only the inspired, authoritative word of God while they are being read? For example, if I'm not currently reading my Bible, is it still holy? Sacred? Could I rip a couple pages out to blow my nose for example? Are only the verbal abstractions, rather than the concrete paper and ink, sacred?

I'd think that having set aside the paper and the ink, the concrete, tangible, solid thing that is a Bible is consecrated, holy, sacred because of what it has been set aside for.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Mariposa36]

I'm not entirely sure what is the proper way to dispose of the leftovers or what the church is supposed to do with them.

The one church breaks a loaf in half and lets everyone take a piece of the loaf. The pastor would always encourage everyone to take a big chunk (partially because there were only like 50 people at the service and also because they wanted to avoid people dipping their fingers in the grape juice since the pastor just had everyone dunk their bread in the same goblet of juice.) I think they cup up and tossed the remains outside, so the birds and squirrels could eat it.

The second church was a lot classier and larger. They would have everyone come up to the altar, then they would would pass around gold plates full of bread cut in perfect dice-sized cubes. They passed the grape juice around in little doll-sized plastic cups, so everyone had their own cup. As far as I know, they throw the scraps in the trash. :o

 

[Gnarwhal]

The second church was a lot classier and larger. They would have everyone come up to the altar, then they would would pass around gold plates full of bread cut in perfect dice-sized cubes. They passed the grape juice around in little doll-sized plastic cups, so everyone had their own cup. As far as I know, they throw the scraps in the trash. :o

That sounds like my old CMA church.

 

[ebia]

I'm not entirely sure what is the proper way to dispose of the leftovers or what the church is supposed to do with them.

The one church breaks a loaf in half and lets everyone take a piece of the loaf. The pastor would always encourage everyone to take a big chunk (partially because there were only like 50 people at the service and also because they wanted to avoid people dipping their fingers in the grape juice since the pastor just had everyone dunk their bread in the same goblet of juice.) I think they cup up and tossed the remains outside, so the birds and squirrels could eat it.

The second church was a lot classier and larger. They would have everyone come up to the altar, then they would would pass around gold plates full of bread cut in perfect dice-sized cubes. They passed the grape juice around in little doll-sized plastic cups, so everyone had their own cup. As far as I know, they throw the scraps in the trash. :o

The second is classier?

 

[Mariposa36]

The second is classier?

Everything except for the throwing away part.