A recent gracEmail explained why leavened bread is permissible in the Lord's Supper, to which a subscriber in Asia responded: "You may be a scholar, but some of us have a working knowledge of Greek. We also understand that gracEmail contains your views and opinions and we need not agree with each and every thing you write. Do you mean that we should be flexible in our choice of elements for the Lord’s Supper? (No malice intended.)"

If the Last Supper was a Passover meal (which Matthew, Mark and Luke all seem to say), it is a given fact that it involved unleavened bread and fermented (alcoholic) grape juice (wine). The Gospel writers had specific words at their disposal to indicate these particulars. They could have said “unleavened bread” (azymos) and they could have said “fermented (alcoholic) grape juice” (oinos).

However, they did not use either of those specific, limiting, narrow words. Instead they used the generic, broad, inclusive word for “bread” (artos = usually leavened, but includes unleavened also) and the broad, inclusive phrase for grape juice ("fruit of the vine" = includes both fermented and unfermented). To my mind, this shows us that Christ and the Gospel writers did not intend to be specific regarding the elements of the Lord’s Supper beyond “bread” and “fruit of the vine.”

In view of the above, it is inconsistent to demand unleavened bread because “Jesus used it,” but not to demand fermented wine because Jesus used it also. I conclude that we should be flexible about using either leavened or unleavened bread – both are "bread." We should be flexible about either fermented or unfermented grape juice – both are "fruit of the vine." Most of all, let us remember that Christ's body and blood were given for us, and let us "feed on him in [our] hearts, by faith, with thanksgiving" (Book of Common Prayer).

NOTE: Responding to this explanation, the subscriber wrote: "I never saw it this way. I was so fixated to (and blinded by) the traditional approach that I never thought it could be any other way! Thanks for this perspective. I am greatly enriched."

For more on the Lord's Supper, click here.