Can I eat Ugali for Holy Communion?

When you start reading the Bible you will come across the word covenant. You will see it used in various ways like referring to agreements made between human beings (e.g Genesis 21:27), to marriages (Malachi 2:14), friendships (1 Samuel 18:3), vows (Ezra 10:3), commitments (2 Kings 11:4), among other things.
You’ll however not find a definition of the word covenant in the Bible. You’ll only see God “establishing” covenants (Genesis 9:9; 17:7) and “making” covenants (Genesis 15:18, Exodus 34:10) and “remembering” covenants (Genesis 9:15, Exodus. 2:24) and God’s people commanded to “keep” the covenants (Genesis 17:9).

God has covenanted with his people throughout biblical history. Each time he did so, a sign was given for the people to remember the covenant. For Noah, the sign was the rainbow. Every time we see the rainbow we remember God will not destroy the whole earth with a flood. For Abraham, the first Jew, the sign of the covenant was circumcision. All male
descendants of Abraham were to be circumcised to show they were Jews. Moses was also given a sign for the law, the Sabbath. All who kept God’s commands kept the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a day of rest in the Law of Moses. People and animals ceased working.
There were different types of Sabbaths, from the once-a-week Sabbath, to the annual ones.

One of the most important annual Sabbaths was the Passover.
Passover was instituted when God delivered the Israelites from captivity in Egypt. It became the marker for their new year. The whole community celebrated with dramatization of how they left Egypt with haste. The ceremony, which excluded temporary residents of Israel and hired servants, had the Israelites fully dressed, wearing akala, and with a walking stick, and eating quickly the one-year-old lamb/goat slaughtered for the family. Since they left Egypt in a hurry, they did not have time to bake the bread. Unleavened bread was therefore eaten as part of the dramatization. Part of the ceremony included removing yeast from the home days before.

The ceremony, (Passover), was not a pilgrimage holiday. It was initially a nuclear family ceremony. However, it was later coupled with the Festival of Unleavened Bread, a ceremony centered on the Tabernacle (and later the Temple). As a pilgrimage ceremony, it meant people would go to Jerusalem to celebrate. The Israelites, therefore, ate unleavened bread for seven days and didn’t work on the first and last day of this festive week.

There were exceptions to who could eat during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. God allowed purchased circumcised slaves and foreigners to also celebrate.
There is not much novelty in the Old Testament about the Passover ceremony. A few instances of the Israelites celebrating the Passover/Festival of Unleavened Bread are also recorded. We only see innovation in the age of the lamb, or kid, or bull being sacrificed.
Generally, the lamb or kid had to be one year old (Exodus 12:5) but in Leviticus 22:27, we see it could be as young as eight days old or as old as three years old (Genesis 15:9). Same as the bull or ram being offered. Key whole-Israel celebrations of Passover in the Bible are on the first day in Exodus 12, one year after leaving Egypt in Numbers 9, and with Joshua as they were about to conquer Canaan in Joshua 5.

Revolutionizing Passover

It’s in the New Testament that we see the great transformation of this ceremony. Jesus himself revolutionizes this important symbolic ceremony. First, we see him celebrating it every year in Luke 2:41 as a child, then as an adult in John 2:13 when he went to Jerusalem as the Law required. But it is in Matthew 26 where the change of the meaning of the ceremony occurs.

‘On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and
asked, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?” “As you go into the
city,” he told them, “you will see a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time has
come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.’” So the disciples did
as Jesus told them and prepared the Passover meal there. When it was evening, Jesus sat
down at the table with the Twelve. As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed
it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this
is my body.” And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and
said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between
God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. Mark my
words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.” ‘
Matthew 26:17-20,26-29

Up to this time, Jesus had previously identified himself as the bread from heaven (John 6:22-59), been called the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), and had told his disciples he would die for many (Mark 10:45). During this Passover meal he established the new covenant signs with the same Passover elements.

Element	Old Testament Meaning	New Testament meaning
Unleavened Bread	‘Eat it with bread made without yeast. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, as when you escaped from Egypt in such a hurry. Eat this bread—the bread of suffering—so that as long as you live you will remember the day you departed from Egypt. ‘ Deuteronomy 16:3   (Suffering)	‘As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” ‘ Matthew 26:26   (Redemption)
Leaven (yeast)	‘During those seven days, there must be no trace of yeast in your homes. Anyone who eats anything made with yeast during this week will be cut off from the community of Israel. These regulations apply both to the foreigners living among you and to the native-born Israelites. ‘ Exodus 12:19   (sin/impurity)	‘“Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ‘ Matthew 16:6   (sin/impurity/false teaching)
Lamb	‘The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects. ‘ Exodus 12:5   (Substitutionary atonement)	‘The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! ‘ John 1:29   (Substitutionary atonement)
Participants	‘Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “These are the instructions for the festival of Passover. No outsiders are allowed to eat the Passover meal. ‘   Exodus 12:43   (Only Israel and proselyte Israel)	‘ “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.’   John 3:16   (All who believe in Christ)
Wine	‘“From the dew of heaven and the richness of the earth, may God always give you abundant harvests of grain and bountiful new wine. ‘ Genesis 27:28   (The good of the Promised Land/joy)	‘And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. ‘ Matthew 26:27-28     (The blood of Christ/sign of covenant)
Frequency	‘“Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight. ‘   Exodus 12:6   (Once a year).	‘In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” ‘   1 Corinthians 11:25   (As often as possible).

How then should we celebrate the Lord’s supper?

There are three predominant ways in which churches have historically celebrated
communion:

In consubstantiation, the Lord’s supper is called the Eucharist. Here it is taught Christ is present as the elements of the bread and wine are partaken. The substance (elements) do not change, it is the presence of Christ as though administering that makes the Eucharist special.

In transubstantiation, the Lord’s supper is called the Eucharist. Here it is taught the bread and wine convert and become the blood and body of Christ as they are consumed. What remains is the appearance of the wine and bread.

For symbolic celebrations, the bread and wine are used for remembrance of Christ’s work for salvation. It is also called the Lord’s Table or Holy Communion.

In the early church, we learn from Paul that when the believers got together, some hurried to eat their meals without sharing with others (leaving some hungry) while others got drunk. ‘(1 Corinthians 11:21). They took the celebration as a true party. Paul is not amused by them and he asks “What? Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this! ” (1 Corinthians 11:22). Paul then he proceeds to remind us of the purpose of communion.

If what the early church was eating at home is what was served for holy communion, it means it is ok to have unleavened bread, (what we call chapati in Kenya), with chai. Some churches today replace the alcoholic communion wine with grape juice/soda/concentrates, and the unleavened bread with wafers/bread with yeast. There is liberty in what the elements can be if the meaning of the Lord’s supper is upheld. The reason why many churches today don’t cook chapatis as an element for the Lord’s supper may be because of laziness, understaffing, or budget constraints.

Can I therefore eat ugali for holy communion?
Yes. As long as the meaning of the elements are upheld.