Would Jesus mind us using apple cider for communion?

It seems like Jesus used the elements of a common meal to symbolize something spiritual. Jesus used what grew in the area. Around where I live apples grow in abundance, and tons of apples are going waste - left on the ground. There are so many. Shouldn't we here use the fruit of our land - like apples for communion?Diane

Hi roadsign...!It seems like Jesus used the elements of a common meal to symbolize something spiritual. Jesus used what grew in the area.I suppose this is the mistake -- it was not a common meal. The Lord's supper was the fulfillment of a particular Jewish feast, The Feast of Unleavened Bread during the celebration of Passover. There was alot of important symbolism during this feast -- sort of a type and shadow of what was actually fulfilled by the Lord. If you ever have the opportunity, I suggest that you attend a Passover Seder (including a Messianic Passover Seder) in your community. It reveals alot about the meaning of the "Lord's Supper" that is often misunderstood or not comprehended by many believers. There are certain guidelines that must be followed during the meal. It seems that most of this is overlooked by modern churches. But the sacrifice of Christ's death seems to be understood with greater clarity by Christians who attend such dinners. The fruit of the vine as used in the dinner (both historically by jews, and by Christ) is central to the story of Christ's sacrifice. There are also prescriptions for using unleavened bread rather than bread containing yeast. In the past, as a young believer, I would often take communion alone -- sometimes even using crackers and grape soda pop. I imagine that the Lord smiled upon me because of my desire to celebrate without the "official" meal prep. Once I understood the importance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Passover, I have tried my best to celebrate and fellowship with the Lord's death with greater understanding. But I do agree that many churches have often turned the act into a religious sacriment lacking proper understanding. If you do a Google search, you are sure to find many articles about this. I hope it helps! :-)

Have you asked Him? :-)

Diane,I don't think He would mind, as long as we do it, as unto Him.We are His Children, and He delights in us, and rejoices over us with singing.I have often thought about doing Communion alone.I would most likely use grape juice, but would also use Apple Cider if I had any.God's Blessings to you.I enjoy your posts.Nellie :-)

I have to admit that the thread topic is not really an issue with me. I guess I’m not really asking this question as such, as much as just looking at the ritual of communion/Eucharist itself. It is practiced by all denominations that come under the umbrella of “Christian” It is considered very sacred by all (more or less). There have been plenty squabbles around this ritual – like people refusing to take communion because someone else in their congregation is “not right with God” and thus they can’t “fellowship” properly. ( I don’t see that instruction anywhere in Scripture) I wondered if someone was going to set me straight by bringing up the issues raised in 1 Corinthians 11 like division, indulgence, lost focus, unworthy manner, and those who were sick and had “fallen asleep. Clearly Paul was concerned about spiritual issues and sins of the heart. I suspect even today, God would be more concerned about our spiritual condition: Do we really know Christ? Have we really entered his rest? Are we living in the New Covenant Promises or just giving intellectual assent to them? If we are still plagued with worry, fears, guilt, and unbelief, then I’d say that the symbols aren’t going to do much good. We need to experience the real thing. We need to constantly remember what Christ has done for us by setting us free, because we are so prone to wander away from that promise, and find our own methods of appeasing our guilt.Keeping communion connected with the Passover is probably right – only if we do that, then we should also have it once a year – like Maundy Thursday. I have to ask, would yearly observance harm anyone’s relationship with God? And, conversely, is it beneficial to observe communion more frequently, like weekly? Perhaps we would remember better by reading the word, letting God examine us, being in tune to the Spirit… etc. . Generally speaking, I don’t see communion serving its intended purpose, and it seems to have become a dead ritual for the most part. So then, does it really matter what kind of juice we serve?Diane

I vote for beer and pretzels. (I'm KIDDING! Stop throwing the stones!)Diane, you do bring up some very good points. By some of your words (Eucharist, Maundy Thursday) am I to gather that you have some experience with liturgy?It's probably safe to say that the early Church celebrated communion every time they met, I would suppose at the end of what I would describe as a "pot luck" dinner.As far as connecting the Churches' sacraments to the Jewish festival's, I can't see going very far with that, in light of Pauls letter to the Galatians. (Although there are correlations that can be drawn.)Ron B, if you're out there share with us some of your wisdom on the subject!

You're right. It can be a dead ritual, especially when we change what it's really about.Now, I know that most churches take communion on the first Sunday of the month, and from my understanding, it's mostly because of tradition that this timetable is set.But I've known families that look at "whenever you do this, do so in rememberance of me" to mean that whenever we partake of a meal, not just at the feast of unleavened bread, we should do it as a communion. What do you guys think of this? I myself particularily like gathering friends and family with a purpose. And praying and remembering Christ with every meal is a pretty awesome purpose. Just curious if anyone knows more of the details on why it is a once a month ritual, vs. an everyday one, or an annual one.Grace and Peace...

I know that most churches take communion on the first Sunday of the month,I suspect that you mean, "Most evangelical churches" The Chatholics, Anglicans, Bretheren, Lutherans, and maybe the Orthodox, I'm not sure... do it weekly, Presbyterians: some quarterly, some bi-monthly ....Jehovah Witness: annually (only for those who are "born again") Mormons: ? I don't know about a lot of the others. All I know that it is a very important ritual to all all Christian churches, and the frequency has nothing to do with how well they truly understand the teachings of Christ. There is always a certain measure of control on who is eligable. Diane

Just a question a little off topic, but do you consider Jehova's Witnesses and Mormons christians, roadsign?Grace and Peace...

Hey, well put, Karl. I agree that it's an over-picked issue. I don't believe that there is a problem with alcohol if two rules are in place- drink in moderation and don't get drunk, and don't cause a brother to fall; i.e., if it'll cause a brother or another to stumble seeing you drink, don't do it.Grace and Peace...

The frequency of observing communion for some is that it replaced the passover which was held once a year. However, in Acts it sounds like it was done oftener. Having it done so often can make it seem too commonplace. Then there is another question:what about feet-washing? will they do it also? Jesus includes this when he instituted it as written in John 13. We wash feet and it is a very meaningful ritual. When we have communion and feet washing it involves the entire church service and is very meaningful. We do it once a year. Some do it twice so you have the opportunity to do it once [a year] in case you had to miss it for some unavoidable reason. Anybody else here wash feet as part of the communion service?ginnyrose

Check out the history of Welches Grape Juice:http://www.welchs.com/company/company_history.htmlInteresting, huh?Yeast causes wine to ferment, and yeast is quite often used to represent sin. But even Christ used yeast to represent the Kingdom of God, so we must be careful in taking parables too far.Don't be too Phariseetical (is that even a word!?) with the communion thing. Do what the Spirit leads, and be mindful of not spotting your testimony.