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Notes for the Forumite's Remembrance Supper

Carolyn Kendall reports that the Forumites observed remembrance suppers long before the publication of the Urantia Papers. These following notes were used by the Forum members in the preparation and observance of the supper. This observance continued after publication and is still followed today by First Society.


THE REMEMBRANCE SUPPER

"The remembrance supper is the believer's rendezvous with Michael. When you become thus spirit conscious, the Son is actually present and his spirit fraternizes with the indwelling fragment of his Father." (p. 1942.5) 

"Jesus took great pains to suggest his meanings rather than to commit himself to precise definitions. He did not wish to destroy the individual's concept of divine communion by establishing a precise form; neither did he desire to limit the believer's spiritual imagination by formally cramping it. He rather sought to set man's reborn soul free upon the joyous wings of a new and living spiritual liberty." (p. 1942.3) 

"As they brought Jesus the third cup of wine, the "Cup of Blessing," he arose from the couch, and taking the cup in his hands, blessed it, saying: 'Take this cup, all of you, and drink of it."' (p. 1941.7) 

"This shall be the cup of my remembrance. This is the cup of the blessing of a new dispensation of grace and truth. This shall be to you the emblem of the bestowal and ministry of the divine Spirit of Truth. And I will not again drink of this cup with you until I drink it in new form with you in the Father's Eternal Kingdom." (p. 1941.7) 

Therefore, ministering in His name, we now pass it on to you and say as He did: "Take this cup, all of you, and drink of it." (p. 1941.7) 

(Refer to Order of Service)

 

RITUAL

 

PASSING THE WINE

 

After the Leader has spoken the words, "Take this cup, all of you, and drink of it," he hands the trays of wine to the two who are to serve it. One of the two then turns to serve the Leader, who is seated. (p. 1941.7) 

(It is the custom for the servers to avoid crossing in front of the communion table.) 

After the Leader has been served and has returned his empty cup to the tray, the two servers pass the wine to the communicants (who remain in their seats), and wait to receive the empty cups. 

After all are served, the servers return (together) to the front, hand the trays in turn to the Leader, and are seated. The Leader then serves the wine to all four of the servers. 

(After the 4 servers have returned their empty wine cups to the tray, the leader reads the following:)

 

"When they had finished drinking this new cup of remembrance, the Master took up the bread and, after giving thanks, broke it in pieces and directing them to pass it around said: 'Take this bread of remembrance and eat it. I have told you I am the bread of life. And the bread of life is the united life of the Father and the Son in one gift. The word of the Father as revealed in the Son is indeed the bread of life."' 

Therefore, ministering in His name, we pass it on to you and say as He did: "Take this bread of remembrance and eat it." (p. 1942.2)

 (Refer to Order of Service)

 

RITUAL

 

PASSING THE BREAD

 

After the Leader repeats the words, "Take this bread of remembrance and eat it." he passes the trays of broken bread to the two servers, and returns to his place and is seated. (p. 1942.2) 

One of the servers then serves the Leader, after which, the two serve the communicants. 

After all are served, the two return to the front, hand the trays to the Leader, and are seated. 

The Leader then serves the bread to all four of the servers.

 (The Leader reads the following:) 

When Jesus had thus established the Supper of Remembrance, He said to the twelve: "And as often as you do this, do it in remembrance of me. And when you do remember me, first look back upon my life in the flesh, recall that I was once with you, and then, by faith, discern that you shall all sometime sup with me in the Father's eternal kingdom. This is the new Passover which I leave with you, even the memory of my bestowal life, the word of eternal truth, and of my love for you, the outpouring of my Spirit of Truth upon all flesh." (P. 1943.2) 

In closing this service of remembrance, let us all stand and repeat the prayer which Jesus taught his disciples:,

 

"Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come; your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our bread for tomorrow;
Refresh our souls with the water of life.
And forgive us every one our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors.
Save us in temptation, deliver us from evil,
And increasingly make us perfect like yourself." 

(p. 1620.1)

 

SOME SUGGESTIONS REGARDING SERVICE

 

Possible seating arrangements of the officiating members, in order to avoid confusion: The Leader sits directly back of the communion table (which holds two trays of tiny wine cups already filled and. two trays of very small bread cubes or broken pieces). 

On either side, and back a little, to allow room to get through, are the four chairs for the servers (two on each side). Since the wine servers are first in duty, they should sit one on each side on the chairs closest to the Leader,. where one could easily serve the Leader, and the two of them could then advance from either side to serve the communicants.

(At some time the two who are to serve the bread could move into the seats vacated by the wine servers, so that they could be conveniently located to serve the bread.) 

When the bread servers return, there could be another exchange of seats to avoid passing in front of any one at any time.

 

REMEMBRANCE SUPPER

Introduction

 

Jesus enjoyed a sublime and wholehearted faith in God. He experienced the ordinary ups and downs of mortal existence, but he never religiously doubted the certainty of God's watchcare and guidance. His faith was the outgrowth of the insight born of the activity of the divine presence, his indwelling Adjuster. His faith was neither traditional nor merely intellectual; it was wholly personal and purely spiritual. (2087) 

The human Jesus saw God as being holy, just, and great, as well as being true, beautiful, and good. All these attributes of divinity he focused in his mind as the "will of the Father in heaven." Jesus' God was at one and the same time "The Holy One of Israel" and "The living and loving Father in heaven." The concept of God as a Father was not original with Jesus, but he exalted and elevated the idea into a sublime experience by achieving a new revelation of God and by proclaiming that every mortal creature is a child of this Father of love, a son of God. (2087) 

Jesus did not cling to faith in God as would a struggling soul at war with the universe and at death grips with a hostile and sinful world; he did not resort to faith merely as a consolation in the midst of difficulties or as a comfort in threatened despair; faith was not just an illusory compensation for the unpleasant realities and the sorrows of living. In the very face of all the natural difficulties and the temporal contradictions of mortal existence, he experienced the tranquillity of supreme and unquestioned trust in God and felt the tremendous thrill of living, by faith, in the very presence of the heavenly Father. And this triumphant faith was a living experience of actual spirit attainment. Jesus' great contribution to the values of human experience was not that he revealed so many new ideas about the Father in heaven, but rather that he so magnificently and humanly demonstrated a new and higher type of living faith in God. Never on all the worlds of this universe, in the life of any one mortal, did God ever become such a living reality as in the human experience of Jesus of Nazareth. (2087) 

Remembrance Supper 

For a few moments after the Master had gone to his place, not a word was spoken. Jesus looked them all over and, relieving the tension with a smile, said: "I have greatly desired to eat this Passover with you. I wanted to eat with you once more before I suffered, and realizing that my hour has come, I arranged to have this supper with you tonight, for, as concerns the morrow, we are all in the hands of the Father, whose will I have come to execute. I shall not again eat with you until you sit down with me in the kingdom which my Father will give me when I have finished that for which he sent me into this world." (1938) 

As they brought Jesus the third cup of wine, the "cup of blessing," he arose from the couch and, taking the cup in his hands, blessed it, saying: "Take this cup, all of you, and drink of it. This shall be the cup of my remembrance. This is the cup of the blessing of a new dispensation of grace and truth. This shall be to you the emblem of the bestowal and ministry of the divine Spirit of Truth. And I will not again drink this cup with you until I drink in new form with you in the Father's eternal kingdom." (1941)

 

PASS WINE

 

The apostles all sensed that something out of the ordinary was transpiring as they drank of this cup of blessing in profound and perfect silence. The old Passover commemorated the emergence of their fathers from a state of racial slavery into individual freedom; now the Master was instituting a new remembrance supper as a symbol of a new dispensation wherein the enslaved individual emerges from the bondage of ceremonialism and selfishness into the spiritual joy of the brotherhood and fellowship of the liberated sons of the living God.(1942)

 

PASS BREAD

 

Early in their ministry the Apostles had desired Jesus to give them a prayer which they would teach the new disciples. James Zebedee said: Master, we do not desire a form of prayer for ourselves so much as for the newer believers who frequently beseech us," Then Jesus said, " . . if you . . . desire such a prayer, I would present the one which I taught my brothers and sisters in Nazareth.": 

 

Page 1620:

 

Our Father, who is in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our bread for tomorrow:
Refresh our souls with the water of life.
And forgive us every one our debts
As we also have forgiven our debtors.
Save us in temptation, deliver us from evil,
And increasingly make us perfect like yourself. 

In instituting this remembrance supper, the Master, as was always his habit, resorted to parables and symbols. He employed symbols because he wanted to teach certain great spiritual truths in such a manner as to make it difficult for his successors to attach precise interpretations and definite meanings to his words. In this way he sought to prevent successive generations from crystallizing his teaching and binding down his spiritual meanings by the dead chains of tradition and dogma. In the establishment of the only ceremony or sacrament associated with his whole life mission, Jesus took great pains to suggest his meanings rather than to commit himself to precise definitions. He did not wish to destroy the individual's concept of divine communion by establishing a precise form; neither did he desire to limit the believer's spiritual imagination by formally cramping it. He rather sough to set in motion man's reborn soul free upon the joyous wings of a new and living spiritual liberty. (1942) 

When Jesus had thus established the supper of the remembrance, he said to the twelve: "And as often as you do this, do it in remembrance of me. And when you do remember me, first look back upon my life in the flesh, recall that I was once with you, and then, by faith, discern that you shall all sometime sup with me in the Father's eternal kingdom. This is the new Passover which I leave with you, even the memory of my bestowal life, the word of eternal truth; and of my love for you, the outpouring of my Spirit of Truth upon all flesh. (1943) 

CONCLUSION 

"Peace be upon you. That which my Father sent me into the world to establish belongs not to a race, a nation, nor to a special group of teachers or preachers. This gospel of the kingdom belongs to both Jew and gentile, to rich and poor, to free and bond, to male and female, even to the little children. And you are all to proclaim this gospel of love and truth by the lives which you live in the flesh. You shall love one another with a new and startling affection, even as I have loved you. You will serve mankind with a new and amazing devotion, even as I have served you. And when men see you so love them, and when they behold how fervently you serve them, they will perceive that you have become faith-fellows of the kingdom of heaven, and they will follow after the Spirit of Truth which they see in your lives, to the finding of eternal salvation. (2044) 

As the Father sent me into this world, even so now send I you. You are all called to carry the good news to those who sit in darkness. This gospel of the kingdom belongs to all who believe it; it shall not be committed to the custody of mere priests. Soon will the Spirit of Truth come upon you, and he shall lead you into all truth. Go you, therefore, into all the world preaching this gospel, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the ages." (2044)