The Chalice
The Chalice represents the Eucharist, Sacrament of Holy Communion.  

I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day
when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.
Matthew 26:29

In the Eucharist, we pour wine into a chalice and mix in a little water. During the dinner that Jesus celebrated with His disciples before his death, He took the chalice and poured wine and water in it and instructed the disciples to drink from it, to accept it as a symbol of forgiveness of sin.

The Chalice that He used was probably not the ornate examples we see as works of art. The Chalice was not the object of beauty – but it’s contents are. The wine and water symbolize Christ’s death and the water and blood that flowed from His side. They symbolize the forgiveness that His sacrifice provides for us, the covenant that has been established for eternity. John the Baptist spoke of the repentance necessary for forgiveness of Sin. In the Chalice that we share, along with the bread, we commemorate the meal and forgiveness that Jesus HAS PROVIDED FOR US.

An early Church Father, St. John Chrysostom, wrote: “The table was not of silver, the chalice was not of gold in which Christ gave His blood to His disciples to drink, and yet everything there was precious and truly fit to inspire awe.”

This is the experience we are offered every time we celebrate the Eucharist.

The Rev. Becky Sparks, Deacon