The Last Supper
After the Sanctus, the Eucharistic Prayer describes
"the outpouring of [Jesus'] infinite loving-kindness to us"
[30]. The Prayer recalls God's repeated attempts, detailed in the Old
Testament, to coax mankind back from the vain and sinful distractions
of this life to the loving security of God. This culminates in the
sacrifice of God's only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the Cross
as a redemption for our sinfulness.
"The world-saving Cross...the occasion of our redemption" [30]
is perpetuated for us in our celebration of the Lord's Supper. The
Eucharistic Prayer narrates this event, quoting Christ's own words: "Take,
eat; this is my body...Drink this all of you. This is my blood" [31
]. Our celebration of the Badarak rests on the authority of these words
of the Lord. We repeat the Lord's Supper in the Divine Liturgy not
by any human authority, but because our Lord told us to do so [Mathew
26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26].
Our Eucharistic Prayer declares: "Your only-begotten, beneficent
Son gave us the commandment that we should always do this in remembrance
of him" [31].
>> The Epiclesis
