COMMUNION

An analysis focuses on the Last Supper and the sacrament of Holy Communion.

While it’s generally accepted that receiving Communion is a practice central to Christian life, it’s just as widely misunderstood, argues Desir. The author examines the symbolic link between Communion and the Last Supper that inspired it. According to Desir, Communion is “our personal Calvary,” a concrete means by which every individual can not only understand, but also personally participate in the magnificence of Jesus’ “total sacrifice.” Communion then is much more than a ceremonial gesture—it is a way of dwelling “in Jesus,” growing closer to one’s Savior, and remembering an act of forgiveness that serves as a model for his disciples’ emulation. In addition, Communion furnishes a link between the Old Testament and the New Testament since the Passover bread anticipates Jesus’ offering of his body in the same symbolic form. Besides being a “spiritual food,” the reception of which is the necessary condition of salvation, Communion is a gateway to a more moral life: “Jesus is promising us that, as we cultivate our connection with Him through Communion, we will also grow in releasing control of our daily lives to Him. The ultimate we can strive for is to be fully in tune with Jesus’s will, as Jesus is with the Father’s will.” Desir offers an unfailingly clear and scrupulously careful exposition of the Bible as well as an impressively comprehensive account of the Last Supper and its theological implications. But not every reader will be open to the unconventional suggestions that Communion can be used to cure serious illnesses or cancel curses and “demonic covenants.” In addition, despite its exegetical rigor, this book is still closer to a sermon than a scholarly work. Paragraphs routinely end with exclamations: “Glory to God!”

A meticulous and wide-ranging exploration of a key biblical event.