Mark 14:-10-25

The Last Supper scene is iconic to say the least. Not in the least because it gives us a recurring reminder of what Christ's heart was like. The giving of himself to friends and enemies, to the righteous and the sinner alike.

Use this group time to discuss not only the passages included, but what we learn and relearn from Christ in the taking communion, together.



Thaw

• What kinds of plans do you or your family have this fall that you're looking forward to?
• How many Autumns have you spent in North Carolina, and how are they different from where you lived before?

• What most resonated with you from Sunday morning?
• What key points or ideas have stayed with you?

Read

• Mark 14:10-25
• Thoughts and impressions?
• Read v18-21, then discuss why there is seemingly no bread or wine withheld from anyone in v22 and v23.
• Contrast v11 and v22-23. What label would you put on the two different men?

Discuss

• Which label hangs over your relationships with others more, the label you gave Judas or Christ? Explain your answer.
• If you feel more like Judas in your dealings with others - one who embraces self-interest more than others-centeredness - how do you react thinking Christ hands the bread and cup to you anyway?
• Thinking creatively, Jesus hands his disciples bread and says this is my body. Paul refers to the community of followers as "body". In effect, Jesus could be heard as saying two things simultaneously. This is my body, and this group receiving it is my body. Broken and broken. How does communion remind us that we all need to receive and give grace, the sacrifice of the broken Body for the broken body?

Read

• 1 Corinthians 11:20-30
• Thoughts and impressions?

Discuss

• Worthiness is a tricky concept. Knowing that love of each other, across the divides and hierarchies instituted by human beings, is in view- how do you understand v27
• Outside of the sacrament of taking communion, in the rest of our week, what does the application of what v27 teaches look like?

Leader note: Discuss ways we handle the presence of Christ in an unworthy manner as we work, play, buy, travel, talk, etc. It means far more than how we conduct ourselves during the literal eating and drinking of the elements, or one might argue it means nothing at all.

Apply

• The taking of bread and the cup not only celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, but are checks for us, the body, in our relating to each other no matter what seeks to divide us. How can your group celebrate communion as a way of remembering the Judases and the James and Peters sit at the same table, each invited to become like Christ? Monthly? Weekly? 

Leader note: Taking the bread and the cup together isn't necessarily a solemn moment of silence. Consider having a regular rhythm of communion in your group, a moment dedicated to talking about ways each is learning/discovering forgiveness, grace and oneness while eating the bread and drinking the cup. A COUPLE IMPORTANT NOTES- many in our church come from a background where only certain men may preside over the elements, and only in a consecrated setting. This is to be respected. We don't want to, in the name of unity, dismiss someone's desire to be as honoring as possible. Feel free to contact me in the comments below for ideas on how to handle this tension from a theological/psychological/philosophical standpoint. Additionally, feel free to use grape juice or wine. In the latter case, only if you have put in the work and time to know whether struggles with alcohol exist within your group.