Several traditional acts of worship accompany the receiving of the Lord’s Supper. Some form of “fraction,” or breaking of the bread, is found in most observances of the rite. In addition, the distribution of the Eucharist may incorporate the Agnus Dei (“Lamb of God”), the acclamation “Christ Our Passover,” and a concluding prayer of thanksgiving.
Fraction
Fraction is the liturgical term for the breaking of the bread by the officiant during the celebration of the Eucharist. The fraction may occur during the singing of the Agnus Dei or other hymn; in many churches, however, especially Protestant communities, the fraction occurs during the words of institution, at that point where the text mentions Jesus’ breaking of the bread (Matt. 26:26; 1 Cor. 11:24).
The Lord’s Supper is a dramatic re-presentation of Jesus’ last meal with his disciples. The fraction is perhaps the most vivid and original action in this reenactment; it gives visible—and even auditory, if a wafer or crispbread is used—expression to the remembrance of the broken body of the Lord. The visual impact of the fraction is greatest when the congregation is served from a single loaf, broken apart for distribution; such a practice preserves the symbolism of the unity of the church, as articulated by Paul: “Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf” (1 Cor. 10:17).
“Lamb of God” (Agnus Dei)
In historic Christian liturgies, the hymn or prayer, known as the “Lamb of God” or Agnus Dei, is sung during the breaking of the bread and the final preparation of the elements for distribution to the people. The text of this hymn, as it occurs in contemporary liturgies, is the following:
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world:
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world:
Have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world:
Grant us peace. Amen.
The New Testament symbolism of the lamb, as applied to Jesus Christ, is based on the sacrificial rites of Israelite worship, in which unblemished animals were offered in atonement for sin to maintain the covenant and restore communion between the Lord and his worshipers (Lev. 1–6). In addition, a lamb was eaten in the Passover meal, which celebrated the events of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt; the blood of a lamb, applied to the doors of their homes, protected the Israelites from the wrath of the Lord visited upon their enemies (Exod. 12).
The writings of the apostle John especially refer to Jesus as the Lamb. The Agnus Dei is a quotation from the words of John the Baptist, as recorded in the fourth Gospel (John 1:29, 36); in the Revelation to John, the victorious Christ is often simply called “the Lamb” in both the dramatic narrative and its accompanying hymnody (Rev. 5:12; 7:9–10; 12:11; 13:8; 17:14; 21:22–23; 22:1–3). Peter also compares Christ to the sacrificial lamb: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Pet. 1:18–19). Paul alludes to the lamb of Passover in declaring, “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival” (1 Cor 5:7–8).
The title “Lamb of God” recognizes the centrality of Jesus’ sacrificial death in bringing about the reconciliation of God and his people, the restoration of the relationship violated by sin. Thus the Agnus Dei, or “Lamb of God,” appropriately accompanies the distribution of the Lord’s Supper in traditional worship. The Supper is a memorial of the death of Christ, through which God’s forgiveness has been made available to repentant humanity and continues to be applied to the faithful who confess their sins (James 5:15; 1 John 1:9); the hymn, therefore, petitions the Lamb, “Have mercy on us.” The Lord’s Supper is also the Christian Passover, the covenant meal; since “peace,” or wholeness of life, is the content of the covenant, in this hymn the worshipers petition the Lamb of God, “Grant us peace.”
Christ Our Passover
In some liturgical traditions the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 5:7–8 may be spoken or sung responsively at the distribution of the Eucharist:
Alleluia, Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us;
Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia.
This acclamation is not part of any specific teaching about the Lord’s Supper but is found in the context of Paul’s admonition to the Corinthian church to purify itself of immorality. In the New Testament, leaven, or yeast, is a symbol of false teaching and corruption (Matt. 16:6; Mark 8:15; Luke 13:21; Gal. 5:7–9). Just as the Passover bread must be free from any contamination of leaven, so the body of Christ must be free from moral permissiveness and the teaching that encourages it: “Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor. 5:8). In Paul’s exhortation, the common life of the Christian community is analogous to the keeping of the feasts prescribed in the Mosaic Law, in particular the Feast of Passover. It is this analogy to the theme of festival, rather than the note of purification, that forges the link between Paul’s words and the observance of the Lord’s Supper. The church’s life together, including its worship centering in the Lord’s Table, is a feast to be celebrated with great joy.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
In the early church, the congregation was dismissed by a deacon immediately following the distribution of the Lord’s Supper. By the fifth century, however, an additional prayer of thanksgiving had been added before the dismissal, a practice retained in many liturgies today. The prayer of thanksgiving returns to, and sums up, the eucharistic motif with which the great thanksgiving begins, as the congregation reflects on the benefits mediated through participation in the Lord’s Supper. This example is from a Lutheran service:
We give you thanks, almighty God, that you have refreshed us through the healing power of this gift of life; and we pray that in your mercy you would strengthen us through this gift, in faith toward you and in fervent love toward one another; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
271 w Benediction (Blessing)
As traditional Christian worship begins with acts of entrance, it also closes with acts of dismissal, chiefly a benediction. The benediction invokes the blessing of the Lord upon the congregation and sends the worshipers forth in the strength of God.
Historic worship typically concludes with a blessing or benediction (from a Latin term meaning “pronouncement of good”), spoken over the assembly by one of the officiants in the liturgy. In the church of the early centuries, the benediction was spoken by the bishop just before the Eucharist, but by the second millennium, it had become common for priests to say it at the conclusion of the service.
In Scripture, a blessing (brakhah) is more than the mere recitation of a formula. Words, in biblical psychology, convey the “soul,” or life force, of their speaker; a powerful person utters powerful words, with a telling impact on those to whom they are directed. As the Almighty, God speaks the most powerful Word of all, through which all things have come into being and are sustained (Pss. 33:6; 107:20; John 1:3; Heb. 1:3). The word of a king (Prov. 8:4), a family patriarch (Gen. 27:34–35), a priest (Num. 6:22–27), or a prophet of the Lord (1 Sam. 3:19) is more effective, both for blessing and for curse, than the word of a person of lesser station or presence. Certain people, such as Balaam, son of Beor, were known to be especially effective in such utterances (Num. 22:6).
The blessing, or pronouncement of favor and peace, by a community leader is part of the process by which the welfare of the community is furthered and sustained. Thus Jacob blessed his sons before his death (Gen. 49:28), and Moses blessed the tribes of Israel before their entrance into Canaan (Deut. 33). Paul sometimes included benedictions in the conclusion of his epistles (Rom. 15:13; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 6:23–24). The blessing of the congregation by their spiritual leader is frequently recorded in accounts of biblical worship. Aaron and Moses blessed the people as they presented their offerings in the wilderness (Lev. 9:22–23); David “blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty” when the ark of the covenant was brought up to Zion (2 Sam. 6:18); Solomon blessed the people during the dedication of the house of the Lord (1 Kings 8:14) and at the conclusion of the ceremony (1 Kings 8:55); the Levitical priests blessed the assembly following the renewal of the Passover observance under Hezekiah (2 Chron. 30:27). The customary posture of blessing is the lifting of the hands (Lev. 9:22); in departing from his disciples, the risen Christ lifted up his hands and blessed them (Luke 24:50).
The blessing of the worshiping congregation is the pronouncement of the Lord’s blessing, the invocation of his name upon the people. This is exemplified in the best-known of the biblical benedictions, widely used today in Christian worship, the priestly blessing with which Moses directed Aaron and his sons to bless the people:
The Lord bless you, and keep you;
The Lord make his face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up his countenance on you,
And give you peace. (Num. 6:24–26 NASB)
Another traditional Christian benediction, invoking the Trinity, is based in part on Paul’s words in Philippians 4:7; it is cited here from a 1932 Methodist hymnal:
May the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
Several biblical passages often pronounced at the conclusion of traditional Protestant worship, such as Hebrews 13:20–21 or Jude 24–25, are not properly benedictions but doxologies, expressions of praise and glory to the Lord. Nevertheless, a blessing in Scripture is a reciprocal act; while the Lord, through his spokespersons, may bless his people, the worshipers may also bless the Lord and give him glory (1Chron. 29:20; Neh. 9:5; Pss. 34:1; 103:1; 134:2; 135:19–20; James 3:9).