Within Christianity there is a sacrament that acts as an amazing unifier. The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist, Communion etc) works to unite us with God and with the wider body of Christ – the Church – both past, present and future.

The Westminster Confession of Faith says this about the Lord’s Supper:

Our Lord Jesus, in the night wherein he was betrayed, instituted the sacrament of his body and blood,  called the Lord’s Supper, to be observed in his church unto the end of the world, for the perpetual remembrance of the sacrifice of himself in his death, the sealing all benefits thereof unto true believers, their spiritual nourishment and growth in him, their further engagement in all and to all duties which they owe unto him, and to be a bond and pledge of their communion with him, and with each other, as members of his mystical body.

It could be argued that this is the central sacrament (I say that not at the expense of the value of the others) for it is the regular practice whereby we express and enter unity with him who denied himself fully for the benefit of humanity and we enter with his body here on earth, the Church.

By undertaking Lent we express something similar. We express, through this rich tradition, a desire to draw nearer to the divine and by engaging this practice we stand in solidarity with all those who have engaged in it before us. We stand in the story and journey of the Christian Church, rich in depth before us. By walking through lent we walk through a common practice unique to the Christian faith. Though it’s elements may not be unique, its motivation is and the hero of the story, Jesus himself, is also.

Today, take the time to ponder the shoulders you stand on and the union you have not just with people of faith that you immediately associate with, but also with every person who engages and has engaged in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper and the practice of lent before you, some of whom have lost their lives for those very practices. Alongside that, also consider the great evils that have been committed by those who have engaged those practices. It is all part of our diverse history and story. It is a story littered with pain and horror, but also triumph, humility and love. It is a human story. You are part of that story and lent helps to draw you further into it.

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