What about Communion?

Yes. Jesus is the bread from Heaven.

But also Jesus warns us to beware the leaven of the Pharisees...

The Bread from heaven is unleavened……...no mistaking it. We in Christ do not hear other than the voice of the Good Shepherd……...never the hypocrites.

you may well be right.

at the same time, Christians throughout history have tended to regard communion as something more than a standard meal.

of course one can say that they are not concerned with what other Christians have said in history. but then, where does the table of contents for the particular Bible that one uses come from?

an interesting article
https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2008/august/early-christian-eucharist.html

I think breaking bread is an expression and I don’t think it equates with what most today think is an “ordinance”. There’s more to be said on this... But I have a few more comments.

1 Corinthians 10:16-17 KJV
[16] The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? [17] For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

Our communion is of the blood and body of our Lord. WE are one bread, and partakers of that one bread!

Paul is talking like Jesus did.

Thanks for carefully considering this. The truth of scripture most certainly is our authority. I think famous commentators have far too often relied on tradition to interpret scripture. It's crazy how we proclaim that Christ nailed the handwriting of ordinances to the cross and yet we establish all kinds of rules and damnation surrounding religious practices. It's all about Jesus but mankind is so inclined to create a system of religious works he can perform.

When Jesus said do this in memory of Me, it was not a suggestion.

the scriptures themselves do not say which writings are scripture and which ones are not.

to decide that, one looks outside of the scriptures, from what I've seen.

the Protestant Bible? The Catholic Bible? The Eastern Orthodox Bible? the Muratorian list of writings?
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/muratorian-metzger.html

How does one look outside of Scripture to determine what is Scripture?

By looking at Christian tradition, what Christians have said throughout history. That's what happens in most every case that I've seen.

Occasionally, people will claim personal revelation, something like God told them this particular Bible is the scriptures.

I think it's strange that we assume Jesus is setting up a some religious ordinance here when he is talking to his disciples here. As often as they were to break bread together, remember him in doing so, and his body which is broken for them (and for us).

This is a far cry from keeping some command or statute. "Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant."

Furthermore, Paul never said he delivered unto them some ordinance to keep, he simply delivered the account of what happened that night to them, and he used this as his backdrop for explaining how they failed to have communion with one another. Christ gave of his own body (and blood) but when the Corinthians came together to break bread there were divisions! Some went hungry and others had their fill. They were so uncaring about their brothers and sisters that there were some who were sickly or who had passed away under their radar. It was a shameful state of affairs they were in, but yet people make this passage all about how to observe some ordinance! What in the world!?

I do not consider any of what Jesus teaches me as a statute or commandment or new law unless He says so, but if you see what I posted first in this thread you may understand what I belie it means to each of us.

It is not a ceremony, ritual or beginning of one of the multitude of sects named denominations, it is a tribute to our Savior.

You see true communion with Jesus Christ is not eating bread or drinking wine, it is living His Word and Example and following Him as best we each are given todo....He is that prsonal.

If yu see religion in this it may be you are hung up on such things as obstacles. Be free of those obstacles and understand only by the HOly Spirit. He will give us all this I believe.

What I want you to see is that Paul isn’t talking about how to perform some solemn memorial of Christ’s death, and that’s what people read into his letter.

Paul says you want to eat THIS bread and drink THIS cup, then examine yourselves, because you guys showing up to break some bread and drink some wine with you and your little groups is NOT what the Lord was showing his disciples at that supper. Jesus said my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink, so like you said, it’s about the living Word. Paul’s words here are actually refuting what people make this passage about.