I remember when I was 15 we were reading through Hamlet in an English lesson at school and a friend of mine was reading the part of Hamlet himself. When he was about to begin the soliloquy ‘To be or not to be’ he paused. And we waited. And still he could not start, and we knew why. This was possibly the most famous passage in all English literature – it was revered, sacred, mysterious, profound. How should you read it? Every inflection or stress suggests a meaning. You have to be clear what it means in your own mind first, you have to stop and try to get into the mind of Hamlet. You can’t just launch into these words thoughtlessly.

I feel something very similar to that in the Eucharistic Prayer when I come to the words Jesus said at the last supper – the ‘words of institution’. Suddenly the text changes gear. The Eucharistic Prayer is just that – a prayer. But then suddenly, within the prayer, we find ourselves in a drama with a stage setting and direct speech:

"Accept our praises, heavenly Father, through your Son our saviour Jesus Christ … who, in the same night that he was betrayed, took bread and gave you thanks; he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take eat; this is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me."

If you put a stress on different words you bring out different theological emphases:

‘this is my body which is given for you’

‘this is my body which is given for you’

‘this is my body which is given for you’

How would Jesus have said them?

Of course, we can never know. In any case we cannot be certain quite what Jesus said never mind how he said it. In the Bible there are four different versions of the last supper (which include the words of institution): in Matthew (26.20-29), Mark (14.17-25), Luke (22.14-23), and in Paul (1 Corinthians 11.23-26 - the earliest written record). Jesus’ words are different in each account. What we have in the Eucharistic Prayer is a composite of all four: for instance –  

‘Take, eat’ comes only in Matthew

‘which is given for you’ comes only Luke

‘do this in remembrance of me’ comes in Luke and 1 Corinthians but not in

Matthew or Mark.

etc.

There is a tradition that a priest should sing or say the Eucharistic Prayer on a monotone without any expression – precisely to avoid imposing his or her own false meaning on Jesus’ words. But however Jesus said these words they would not have been expressionless and I believe that we can make a guess at the way he might have said them according to how they fit our idea of who Jesus was.

Two points have come to me in recent weeks while I have been behind the altar celebrating: the first is to do with Jesus’ words, ‘Do this in remembrance of me’. I think I have sometimes placed a stress on ‘me’ – as I’ve certainly heard other priests do too: ‘do this in remembrance of me’. But this does not accord with my idea of Jesus. Jesus is constantly pointing away from himself to God. ‘Me’ is not a word central to Jesus’ vocabulary. His own needs and his concern for posterity are never in the forefront of his consciousness. So I find myself putting the stress less on ‘me’ and more on ‘remembrance’: ‘do this in remembrance of me’.

The Greek word for ‘remembrance’ here is ‘anamnesis’ but this word is almost impossible to translate into English. All the English equivalents (remembrance, memorial, commemoration) lay stress on a past event. But anamnesis (and the Hebrew word which underlies it) is almost the opposite of this; it means an action or re-enactment by which the person or deed remembered is actually made present – brought into the here and now. The emphasis is not on the past but on the present.

Jesus was fully aware he was leaving his disciples. He was concerned and afraid for them. In these words he is not showing his concern for himself and about how his disciples would remember him but his concern for them and how he could help them in their loneliness. So he said, ‘Do this – and you will find me present with you, sustaining you, loving you always’ – ‘do this in remembrance of me’.

The second point I wanted to share was to do with the words, ‘Drink this, all of you’. Why add, ‘all of you’? It seems to me, that in the context (‘on the night he was betrayed’) he was deliberately including Judas. Even though Jesus knew what was in Judas’ heart and mind he still included him in this communion with him and in the forgiveness he offered through it. We see this desire to include also in Jesus’ following words; ‘this is my blood … which is shed for you and for many’.

In the drama of the Eucharistic Prayer I think we hear two things simultaneously at this point. We hear the historical Jesus speaking to his disciples 2000 or so years ago. And so ‘shed for you’ refers to the twelve disciples, including Judas, and the ‘many’ refers to all those who have followed and shared in communion with Jesus since then, including us. Just as Judas is included, despite his betrayal, so Jesus deliberately includes us, despite our own unworthiness and in full knowledge of all that is in our hearts and minds. But I think it is also possible, and in some ways more natural, to hear the universal and eternal Jesus speaking directly to us here. For we are not just remembering the last supper, we are re-enacting it, like a play. And if I, as priest, am playing the part of Jesus then you are all taking the role of his disciples. Note the tense of Jesus’ words, ‘this is my blood which is shed for you’. This is not the future tense – ‘will be shed’ - (even though for the disciples the crucifixion was a future event); neither is it the past tense – ‘was shed’ - (though for us the crucifixion is a historical event). Rather Jesus assumes a timeless present. Jesus is speaking to us, and offering himself to us directly; ‘this is my body which is given for you … this is my blood which is shed for you’. But if we may hear these words addressed to us personally we are also reminded by Jesus’ addition ‘and for many’ that we are part of a worldwide church of some 1,600 million Christians today. Even as we celebrate the Eucharist this morning millions (tens of millions or even hundreds of millions) of Christians will be re-enacting the last supper along with us at this very moment.

In the last supper Jesus expressed his ultimate desire and longing to be with us and to include everyone in his love. So let us give thanks that as he specifically included Judas in that last supper so he showed that whatever we do and whatever kind of person we are there will always be a place for us in his communion. And let us give thanks that as we break the bread and share the wine and obey Jesus’ request that we do this in remembrance of him so he fulfils his promise to be with us in a special way, at all times and in all places – here and now! Amen.

A.R.T.