The gift of the Eucharist in Luke and Acts

The feast of the evangelist, St Luke, would normally be marked today.  He is believed to have authored the Acts of the Apostles as well as the Gospel that bears his name.  His Gospel is distinctive in its emphasis: care for the poor and outcasts, women, prayer and the Holy Spirit. The parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son are unique to this Gospel. In common with two other Gospels (the ‘Synoptics’), we have an account of how the Eucharist was instituted in chapter 22 (14-20):

When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Of the three Gospels that contain the ‘Institution’ narrative, only Luke contains the instruction to ‘do this in remembrance of me’ although the same instruction also appears in St Paul's account in 1 Corinthians 11:24-25 which many scholars believe to predate the writing of Luke’s Gospel. Uniquely, in Luke, there is mention of two cups. The feeding of the five thousand (Luke 9:12-17) uses the same sequence of words: took, blessed, broke and gave.  These actions have a clear Eucharistic resonance for us, just as they would have had for the earliest disciples in the apostolic Church.

As the traditional author of Acts of the Apostles, he left us a number of important references to the ‘breaking of bread’ (Acts 2:42-46 and Acts 20:7).  Some scholars have detected Eucharistic overtones in the passage, Acts27:33-38, quite possibly also refers to the Eucharist where Luke describes Paul taking bread, giving thanks, breaking it and distributing it, although the primary context is an ordinary meal during the storm at sea.  In the earliest Christian communities, Eucharistic worship was often closely associated with communal meals, even though the sacramental celebration and the ordinary meal were not identical.

Luke deliberately frames the story of the Eucharist around the coming of God’s kingdom and the suffering of Jesus. Indeed, he presents the whole meal within the context of the coming kingdom and Jesus's impending passion (Luke 22:15-16). There are vital clues to the Passover in all three synoptic gospels: the ‘blood of the covenant in Mark and Matthew echoes Exodus24:8, where Moses seals the covenant at Sinai. The mention of ‘new covenant’ in Luke (as well as in Paul) echoes Jeremiah31:31. Luke’s account of the institution is very close to the wording used in 1Corinthians 11:23-26).

Luke's Gospel reaches what could be described as a Eucharistic climax in the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke24:13-35), where the risen Christ is recognised ‘in the breaking of the bread’. This passage has long been understood by the Church as having profound Eucharistic significance and many Fathers and Doctors of the Church regarded Emmaus as one of Luke's richest Eucharistic texts (Saints Augustine, Ambrose, Bede, Jerome among others).

Since the feast of St Luke is superseded by Sunday this year, we celebrate Mission Sunday instead. In the Gospel of Luke as well as in Acts we see the Eucharist as embedded in discipleship and mission: the Eucharist is both a gift and a personal and communal encounter. The disciples on the road to Emmaus discovered that the risen Lord who had walked beside them was made known to them ‘in the breaking of the bread’. The same Lord continues to meet his Church in Word and Sacrament today.

Praise to you, Lord God, for the gift of Christ’s body and blood, handed on by the apostles, to give us strength and life (from Morning Prayer from the Common of Apostles, Divine Office).