Lesson video

Hi, everyone, and welcome to today's lesson on Christian practises.

And today we are looking at the Eucharist.

My name is Mrs. Day and I will be taking you through today's lesson.

So the first thing that you need to do is make sure you have all the equipment that you need.

So you need a pen or a pencil, something to write with.

You need a paper or a notebook, something to write on.

And finally, a different coloured pen so that you can mark your own work as we go through.

If you need to pause the video now and run to get one of these things, please do that and then press resume when you come back.

Great.

So what will we be learning about today? The first thing that we will be thinking about is the definition of the Eucharist.

So what is it? What's it all about? What is involved in it? And then different understandings of the Eucharist, so how it is understood by different denominations.

So firstly, let's consider what is the Eucharist? You might've heard that term or you might have heard another word being used for it.

But before we think about how it's practised, we need to consider what it is.

So some key definitions for you.

A religious practise is a formal action performed because of a belief.

So the Eucharist is an example of a religious practise.

And as we said, this is a practise that is performed because of a belief.

Eucharist is a ceremony or sacrament following the example of the Last Supper, and we will talk about that in a few seconds.

But it is a ceremony or a sacrament which follows the example of the Last Supper.

And finally, what is a sacrament? We've talked about this before, but it's an outward sign of an inward grace.

So something that people do on the outside in the physical world, but that has a meaning inwardly.

So let's look at that all in more detail.

So the Eucharist could also mean thanks giving, and this might start to make more sense to you when you see this image.

I wonder what you think of when you see this image, what pops into your mind? For some of you, you might think, oh, the bread and the wine, the Last Supper, and you would be correct.

So this is what we are thinking of in this lesson.

So the Eucharist can also be called Communion, the Lord's Supper, Mass, Divine Liturgy, so different denominations or types of church call it different things.

And this Eucharist tradition comes from the Last Supper.

And as you may remember, it literally remembers the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

So the bread represents Jesus' body and the wine represents Jesus' blood.

If you forget what the Last Supper is, you can have a look at this image and it might remind you.

So you will remember in the week before Jesus' death, he arrived in Jerusalem.

And that week was full of different events.

Remember on the Sunday, on Palm Sunday, he came into Jerusalem on a donkey, everyone loved him, they were shouting Hosanna in the streets.

But then as the week went on, something started to go wrong.

The Jewish leaders felt threatened by Jesus' authority and what he was teaching and there were even some issues within the disciples, with one of his disciples eventually betraying him.

But the night before his death, Jesus called his disciples together.

And they had this Passover meal that is known as the Last Supper.

And that is the first example of the Eucharist that we see.

This was the first Eucharist, the first Communion that was ever taken.

So now we're going to read through that meal, we're going to read through the Last Supper as it says in the Bible to see what exactly happened during that meal.

So you can follow along on the screen as we read through this together.

The Last Supper.

Then Jesus took a cup, gave thanks to God and said, "Take this and share it among yourselves.

I tell you that from now on, I will not drink this wine until the Kingdom of God comes." So this is the first description.

And notice the bit in pink where it says, "Take this and share it among yourselves." So this is an instruction for Jesus.

He tells people to do this.

He tells his disciples to share this out among themselves.

This is an instruction.

So let's look at what happens next.

Then he took a piece of bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you.

Do this in memory of me." In the same way, he gave them the cup after the supper, saying, "This cup is God's new covenant sealed with my blood, which is poured out for you." As you can see here, Jesus gives them bread, he gives them wine, and he said, "This is my body and this is my blood." What is he referring to here? He is of course referring to his crucifixion which is about to happen.

He's saying that my body and my blood is literally being shed for you, for the forgiveness of your sins.

And if you see here, it kind of describes this as an instruction that the disciples should do carrying on.

And you can notice this where he says, "Do this in memory of me." So this implies that when Jesus is gone, he wants the disciples and future Christians to take this meal in remembrance of him in his memory.

So this is the story of the Last Supper and this is where the whole idea of the Eucharist comes from today.

Let's have a go at some quick-fire questions to see what you remember from what we've learned so far.

The Eucharist can also be called Communion.

Is that true or is that false? Five, four, three, two, and one.

That is of course true.

Remember we said it has many different names that different types of churches refer to it as.

The Eucharist follows the example of Pentecost.

Is that true or is it false? Five, four, three, two, and one.

That is false.

It follows the example of the Last Supper.

Pentecost was when the Holy Spirit descended to earth.

The Eucharist involves bread and wine.

Is that true or is that false? Five, four, three, two, and one.

That is of course true.

Jesus broke the bread and drank the wine and said, "This is my body broken for you and this is my blood poured out for you." Jesus took the Eucharist with his disciples on Palm Sunday.

Is that true or false? Five, four, three, two, and one.

That is of course false.

He took the Eucharist on the Last Supper with his disciples which was the night before the crucifixion.

What I would love you to do now is to have a go at these questions.

So you can pause the video here and complete the task.

If you could answer the questions in full sentences, that would be great.

And when you're finished, you can press resume.

These questions summarise everything that we have learned so far, and they are: number one, how do the events of the Last Supper link to the crucifixion? Number two, what do Christians believe Jesus meant when he said, "This is my body given for you"? Number three, list the other words that mean the same as Eucharist.

And number four, from the story of the Last Supper, why do you think Christians take Communion today? So you can pause the video here and when you've finished, press resume and we will go through these answers together.

Really well done.

Now it would be great if you could lift your other coloured pen so we can go through these answers together.

So number one, how do the events of the Last Supper link to the crucifixion? Christians believe that in saying this is my blood, Jesus is showing that he knew he was going to die.

The Last Supper happens the night before his death.

So as we can see, the Last Supper and the crucifixion link really closely.

Number 2, what do Christians believe Jesus meant when he said, "This is my body given for you"? Christians believe that in these words, Jesus is expressing that his body would be given as a sacrifice.

And when do we see that? We see that on the cross.

We see that in the crucifixion when Jesus dies in order to take sin away from human beings, to pay the price for them to atone for their sin.

Question number three, list the other words that can mean the same as the Eucharist.

So other words you could use are: Communion, Mass, the Lord's Supper, or the Divine Liturgy.

And finally, from the story of the Last Supper, why do you think Christians take Communion today? They might do this as it is instructed by Jesus and follows the example of Jesus, but also helps them to remember the crucifixion of Jesus.

So three different parts there.

So it's instructed by Jesus, it follows the example of Jesus, and it helps them to remember the crucifixion of Jesus.

So feel free to go back and add anything extra to your answers in your different-colored pen.

Well done.

Now that you know what the Eucharist is, it's really important that we consider the different understandings of it, because it all comes from this idea of the Last Supper, but different denominations and different styles of church understand it differently.

And it has different meanings for different people.

So this term, transubstantiation, is really important.

Everyone say that together.

Transubstantiation.

And again, transubstantiation.

I know you're scared you sound a little bit silly, but say it again until you remember it.

Transubstantiation.

What does that word mean? So if we break it down, trans means to change and substance is what a thing is.

So transubstantiation is the belief that the bread and wine changed substance into Jesus' flesh and blood.

So they are bread and they are wine, and then transubstantiation happens, and they're Jesus' flesh and blood.

So that when Christians eat and drink the bread and the wine, they literally take part in Jesus' sacrifice.

Straight away, you probably see that this makes it really important.

If you are taking part in Jesus' sacrifice, this is a huge deal, okay? So the bread and wine literally change into Jesus' flesh and blood.

And this is a Roman Catholic belief.

Say the word one more time, transubstantiation.

So the mass service is where the Eucharist is taken is a central part of the Catholic faith, and the bread and wine must be prepared on an altar.

That is a table at the front of the church.

And the services must be led by a priest.

So if I decided I wanted to go and give out Communion, I couldn't do that in a Catholic church because I'm not a qualified priest.

And the services are liturgical.

Who remembers what that means? Bonus point.

Yes, good, it is follows a set structure.

So they follow a set structure, they use set prayers, readings.

So it follows the structure every single service.

And the bread, once consecrated, is known as the host.

So the bread at the start isn't consecrated, which means it's not holy.

But the bread is then blessed by the priest and then it becomes consecrated or holy.

And this is known as the host.

So what this means as well is that Catholics can't just throw the bread out after because they believe it's holy.

It's literally Jesus' flesh.

So it has to be used, it can't just be thrown in the bin as they leave.

So you're starting to see why this is so important to Catholics, because they believe they're literally taking part in the death of Jesus.

It changes the meaning of it completely.

Now we are going to do a few little quick-fire questions to see what you can remember.

So firstly, which Christians believe in transubstantiation? Is it the church of England, Baptists, Roman Catholic or all Christians? You can point at the screen or you can write your answer.

Five, four, three, two, and one.

It is Roman Catholic.

Well done.

Roman Catholics believe in transubstantiation, which means the bread and wine literally change substance in to Jesus' flesh and blood.

What does transubstantiation mean? The bread and wine change substance, Jesus changed substance, Jesus' death is remembered, or Christians sacrifice an animal? Five, four three, two, and one.

The bread and wine change substance.

So remember, the word substance is in the word transubstantiation.

So trans change, substance substance, so they change substance into Jesus' flesh and blood.

Well done.

What is a sacrament? Something special, something all Christians have, an outward sign of inward grace, or any Christian practise? Five, four, three, two, and one.

It is an outward sign of inward grace.

Well done.

So it means they're doing something on the outside that actually has a really significant meaning inside.

It's when we're receiving God's grace inside.

What is the host? Is it the priest, the person serving tea and coffee, the bread or the consecrated bread? Hard question.

Five, four, three, two, and one.

The answer is the consecrated bread.

So as we said, before it is blessed, it's just normal bread, but after it's been blessed, it's been made holy, and this means that it's consecrated.

And then it's called the host.

Anyone can lead the Mass in a Catholic church.

Is this true or false? Five, four, three, two, and one.

This is false.

To lead the Mass in a Catholic church, you have to be the priest.

Now we are going to consider the Protestant church's belief about the Eucharist.

So some of the ideas are the same and the significance of the Last Supper is the same, but they also have some different views of it.

So let's look at this now.

So in most Protestant churches, the focus of Communion or the Lord's Supper is remembrance.

So it looks forward to the future hope of God's Kingdom of Heaven.

So it's an important symbol and you have to follow Jesus to take part in it.

But the key point here is they don't believe that anything changes into anything else, it's all about remembrance.

So how do they do it? I have chosen one example of a Protestant church to study for this section.

So we're going to look at how Baptist churches take Communion.

So non-alcoholic wine is usually used.

A church member can lead the service, so it doesn't have to be a priest.

So they could ask any member in the church to lead the service.

The bread and wine is distributed along rows.

So people won't go up to the front necessarily, but little cups of wine and bread will be brought to them.

And the wine is in small cups and the congregation all drink at the same time to symbolise unity.

So rather than one person going up and coming back, they will all get their little cups and then they'll all drink at the same time.

And remember, this is all about them remembering Jesus' sacrifice.

Nothing changes.

They don't believe that it is literally the body and the blood of Jesus inside them.

They believe it is an act of remembrance to remember his sacrifice.

So this image might give you an idea of what this will look like in practise.

So as you can see, they will get a little wafer of bread and a little cup of wine or juice to symbolise wine and then they will all eat and drink it at the same time.

They will usually then spend some time in private prayer, thanking God for his sacrifice.

Now we are going to do some quick-fire questions on the Protestant understanding.

Anyone can lead Communion in the Protestant church.

Is this true or false? Five, four, three, two, and one.

This is true.

Communion is an act of remembrance.

True or false? Five, four, three, two, and one.

This is of course true.

Remember, for Catholics, something is literally happening, it's changing into substance.

Whereas for Protestants, it's an act of remembrance.

Alcoholic wine is usually used.

True or false? Five, four, three, two, and one.

This is false.

So in the example of the Baptist church, they usually use non-alcoholic wine or juice to signify the wine.

Great, well done.

So now you know all about how Roman Catholics take the Eucharist and how Protestants take it and the meaning of both of those.

So what I would love you to do is to pause the video now and to complete the following task.

So you need to create a table to show the difference between the Catholic and the Protestant understanding and practise of the Eucharist.

So on one side, you're going to have Catholic understanding and you will have the practise, so what they do, and then the understanding, so what it means.

And same with the Protestants, practise, what do they do, understanding, what does it mean.

And when you're finished that, just press resume and we will go through the answers together.

Really well done.

Let's have a look at what you said and go through some answers together.

You can lift another coloured pen now so you can mark your own work.

Really well done.

So let's go through your answers together.

Let's start with the Catholic perspective.

So practise in the Catholic church is that it will be prepared on an altar by a priest.

The services are liturgical, which means set structure, set prayers, and the bread must be consecrated, which means made holy.

Understanding.

So transubstantiation, this means that the bread and the wine literally change substance into the body and the blood of Jesus.

Transubstantiation means they literally change substance into the body and the blood of Jesus.

Then let's think about the Protestant understanding.

So the practise is the church member can lead a service, it doesn't have to be the priest.

The bread and wine is usually distributed among rows in small cups and non-alcoholic wine is usually used.

You could also say that they all tend to take it at the same time as an act of unity.

And the understanding, it is an act of remembrance.

So it remembers the death of Jesus.

Really well done.

You can add some extra points to what you had.

And now our final task for today is I want you to create a mind map to list all the different reasons why different Christians might take Communion.

So we have talked about quite a few of these reasons today and you can talk about what the reasons might be for Catholics and Protestants or the general reasons.

So pause the video here, and draw out a little mind map.

And you can press resume once you are finished.

Really good work.

Let's go through some of these answers together.

So why Christians take Communion? Firstly, Protestants believe that it's an act of remembrance to remember the death of Jesus.

So for Protestants, nothing magical happens, but it is an act of remembrance.

It is them taking time out of their week to remember the sacrifice of Jesus.

It brings unity to the church.

So the idea that anything that people do together brings unity.

Imagine you go to a sports game, a football match, and everyone's there cheering for their team.

In that moment, you're united with all those other fans.

Exactly the same thing here.

If everyone is taking Communion or the Eucharist at the same time, it brings unity.

It follows the example of Jesus and the Last Supper.

So for all Christians, they do this because Jesus did it at the Last Supper.

Jesus told people to carry out this act after his death.

Catholics believe in transubstantiation.

Remember our new word? And this means that it literally changes into the body and the blood of Jesus.

So the bread and the wine, they are normal bread and wine, then they are consecrated, they are blessed by the priest and they become Holy.

They become the body and the blood of Jesus.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

I know some of that is really complicated, but I think you did really, really well.

And I hope that you all remember the word transubstantiation.

Keep saying it tonight just to make sure it's in your head.

But if you do want to share any of your work with us, please do ask a parent or carer to share your work on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter and tag @OakNational or #LearnwithOak.

Again, thank you so much for joining me today and I hope that you have a really good understanding now of what the Eucharist is and how it is understood by Protestants and Catholics and why people take it today.

Now it would be great if you could attempt the summary quiz to test yourself and see what you have learned.

Thank you for joining and I will see you again soon.