The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Exodus 24:3-8 (JB)

A reading from the book of Exodus

This is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you.

Moses went and told the people all the commands of the Lord and all the ordinances. In answer, all the people said with one voice, ‘We will observe all the commands that the Lord has decreed.’ Moses put all the commands of the Lord into writing, and early next morning he built an altar at the foot of the mountain, with twelve standing-stones for the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he directed certain young Israelites to offer holocausts and to immolate bullocks to the Lord as communion sacrifices. Half of the blood Moses took up and put into basins, the other half he cast on the altar. And taking the Book of the Covenant he read it to the listening people, and they said, ‘We will observe all that the Lord has decreed; we will obey.’ then Moses took the blood and cast it towards the people. ‘This’ he said ‘is the blood of the Covenant that the Lord has made with you, containing all these rules.’

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Exodus 24:3-8 (NRSV)

A reading from the book of Exodus

Moses came and told the people

all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances;

and all the people answered with one voice, and said,

“All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.”

And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord.

He rose early in the morning,

and built an altar at the foot of the mountain,

and set up twelve pillars,

corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel.

He sent young men of the people of Israel,

who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed oxen

as offerings of well-being to the Lord.

Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins,

and half of the blood he dashed against the altar.

Then he took the book of the covenant,

and read it in the hearing of the people;

and they said,

“All that the Lord has spoken we will do,

and we will be obedient.”

Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people,

and said, “See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you

in accordance with all these words.”

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Ps 115:12-13, 15-18 (JB)

R. I will take the cup of salvation,

and call on the name of the Lord.

or

R. Alleluia!

How can I repay the Lord

for his goodness to me?

The cup of salvation I will raise;

I will call on the Lord’s name. R.

O precious in the eyes of the Lord

is the death of his faithful.

Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;

you have loosened my bonds. R.

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make:

I will call on the Lord’s name.

My vows to the Lord I will fulfil

before all his people. R.

Hebrews 9:11-15 (JB)

A reading from the letter to the Hebrews

The blood of Christ will purify our inner selves.

Now Christ has come, as the high priest of all the blessings which were to come. He has passed through the greater, the more perfect tent, which is better than one made by men’s hands because it is not of this created order; and he has entered the sanctuary once and for all, taking with him not the blood of goats and bull calves, but his own blood, having won an eternal redemption for us. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer are sprinkled on those who have incurred defilement and they restore the holiness of their outward lives; how much more effectively the blood of Christ, who offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to God through the eternal Spirit, can purify our inner self from dead actions so that we do our service to the living God.

He brings a new covenant, as the mediator, only so that the people who were called to an eternal inheritance may actually receive what was promised: his death took place to cancel the sins that infringed the earlier covenant.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Hebrews 9:11-15 (NRSV)

A reading from the letter to the Hebrews

Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come.

He passed through the greater and perfect tent not made with hands,

that is, not of this creation.

He entered once for all into the Holy Place,

not with the blood of goats and calves,

but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.

For if the blood of goats and bulls,

with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer,

sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified,

how much more will the blood of Christ,

who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God,

purify our conscience from dead works

to worship the living God!

For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant,

so that those who are called

may receive the promised eternal inheritance,

because a death has occurred that redeems them

from the transgressions under the first covenant.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

John 6:51-52 (JB)

Sequence

Sing forth, O Zion, sweetly sing

The praises of thy Shepherd-King,

In hymns and canticles divine;

Dare all thou canst, thou hast no song

Worthy his praises to prolong,

So far surpassing powers like thine.

Today no theme of common praise

Forms the sweet burden of thy lays –

The living, life-dispensing food –

That food which at the sacred board

Unto the brethren twelve our Lord

His parting legacy bestowed.

Then be the anthem clear and strong,

Thy fullest note, thy sweetest song,

The very music of the breast:

For now shines forth the day sublime

That brings remembrance of the time

When Jesus first his table blessed.

Within our new King’s banquet-hall

They meet to keep the festival

That closed the ancient paschal rite:

The old is by the new replaced;

The substance hath the shadow chased;

And rising day dispels the night.

Christ willed what he himself had done

Should be renewed while time should run,

In memory of his parting hour:

Thus, tutored in his school divine,

We consecrate the bread and wine;

And lo – a Host of saving power.

This faith to Christian men is given –

Bread is made flesh by words from heaven:

Into his blood the wine is turned:

What though it baffles nature’s powers

Of sense and sight? This faith of ours

Proves more than nature e’er discerned.

Concealed beneath the two-fold sign,

Meet symbols of the gifts divine,

There lie the mysteries adored:

The living body is our food;

Our drink the ever-precious blood;

In each, one undivided Lord.

Not he that eateth it divides

The sacred food, which whole abides

Unbroken still, nor knows decay;

Be one, or be a thousand fed,

They eat alike that living bread

Which, still received, ne’er wastes away.

The good, the guilty share therein,

With sure increase of grace or sin,

The ghostly life, or ghostly death:

Death to the guilty; to the good

Immortal life. See how one food

Man’s joy or woe accomplisheth.

We break the Sacrament, but bold

And firm thy faith shall keep its hold,

Deem not the whole doth more enfold

Than in the fractured part resides

Deem not that Christ doth broken lie,

‘Tis but the sign that meets the eye,

The hidden deep reality

In all its fullness still abides.

Behold the bread of angels, sent

For pilgrims in their banishment,

The bread for God’s true children meant,

That may not unto dogs be given:

Oft in the olden types foreshowed;

In Isaac on the altar bowed,

And in the ancient paschal food,

And in the manna sent from heaven.

Come then, good shepherd, bread divine,

Still show to us thy mercy sign;

Oh, feed us still, still keep us thine;

So may we see thy glories shine

In fields of immortality;

O thou, the wisest, mightiest, best,

Our present food, our future rest,

Come, make us each thy chosen guest,

Co-heirs of thine, and comrades blest

With saints whose dwelling is with thee.

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the living bread from heaven, says the Lord;

whoever eats this bread will live for ever.

Alleluia!

John 6:51-52 (NRSV)

The optional sequence (Lauda Sion) is intended to be sung; otherwise it is better omitted. The shorter version (Ecce Panis) begins at the asterisk.

Praise, O Zion, Christ our glory; To the Shepherd let us sing,

Tell to all the world the story; Laud with all our might the King.

Bread of life and source of living! Lacking, still our praises ring.

This our special theme for singing, Christ the Lamb for us was slain.

At the paschal meal he taught us, To the twelve he made it plain:

Flesh as food for us was giving, Therefore let your faith not wane.

On this day of Christian feasting, With full voices we delight:

Instituting our salvation, In the sacred meal that night,

Christ the ancient law fulfilling, Fills all people with new sight.

To obey the call Jesus, Gathered we as chosen band.

Bread and wine Christ is transforming, Flesh and Blood are now at hand.

From his words and actions learning, Love we share at his command.

Gathered at this solemn table, Darkness now has taken flight.

In the bread and wine partaking, Christ is for each one the light,

Then as food to us disciples, Gives our souls a new delight.

To all people Christ is giving, Truth in word and sacrament.

By the sacrifice redeeming, All into one covenant.

One in Jesus’ name assembling: Faith and love our testament.

To our minds these signs disclosing, To our senses must unfold:

Bread is broken, Blood outpouring; Christ the myst’ry, awe untold!

Flesh and Blood to sight revealing: This the story to be told.

Undivided is his body, Yet Christ gives himself to all.

Word made flesh with us abiding, For without him we must fall.

Christ the Pasch we are consuming, One in spirit is our call.

Good and evil are all sharing, Seeds of destiny are sown.

To new life our Saviour guides us; Death prevails when on our own.

Life immortal, for those seeking, Is fulfilled in Christ alone.

When the sacred bread is broken, All receive the Christ as one.

By his love Christ is transforming, Though so many we are one;

All the scattered are united, All the lonely welcomed home.

* Come, behold, the bread of angels, This our strength on pilgrims’ way.

For the children God is giving, Manna for our bread each day.

Now the sign of Isaac telling: Christ has conquered on this day.

Hear our prayers, O kindly Shepherd, Be for us true living bread.

Grant us peace in all our doings, To our resting place be led,

Forth with all the saints now dwelling, We the body, you the Head.

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the living bread from heaven, says the Lord;

whoever eats this bread will live for ever.

Alleluia!

Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 (JB)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

This is my body. This is my blood.

On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, his disciples said to Jesus, ‘Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the passover?’ So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the city and you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow him, and say to the owner of the house which he enters, “The Master says: Where is my dining room in which I can eat the passover with my disciples?” He will show you a large upper room furnished with couches, all prepared.  Make the preparations for us there.’ The disciples set out and went to the city and found everything as he had told them, and prepared the Passover.

And as they were eating he took some bread, and when he said the blessing he broke it and gave it to them. ‘Take it,’ he said ‘this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, and when he had returned thanks he gave it to them, and all drank from it, and he said to them, ‘This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many. I tell you solemnly, I shall not drink any more wine until the day I drink the new wine in the kingdom of God.’

After psalms had been sung they left for the Mount of Olives.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 (NRSV)

A reading from the holy gospel according to Mark

On the first day of Unleavened Bread,

when the Passover lamb is sacrificed,

the disciples said to Jesus,

“Where do you want us to go and make the preparations

for you to eat the Passover?”

So Jesus sent two of his disciples, saying to them,

“Go into the city,

and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you;

follow him, and wherever he enters,

say to the owner of the house,

‘The Teacher asks, “Where is my guest room

where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”‘

He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready.

Make preparations for us there.”

So the disciples set out and went to the city,

and found everything as he had told them;

and they prepared the Passover meal.

While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread,

and after blessing it he broke it,

gave it to them, and said,

“Take; this is my body.”

Then he took a cup,

and after giving thanks he gave it to them,

and all of them drank from it.

He said to them,

“This is my blood of the covenant,

which is poured out for many.

Truly I tell you,

I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine

until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

When they had sung the hymn,

they went out to the Mount of Olives.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.