After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia. 2 When he had gone through those regions and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. 3 There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. 5 These went on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas, 6 but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days.
7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. 9 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” 11 And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. 12 And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.
I recall – even in my youngest years in a non-sacramental church – believing the Lord’s Supper is a very special meal. I didn’t realize that my understanding was misguided that the bread and wine (grape juice, in my earlier days) were symbols of Jesus’ body and blood. My friend, Jerry, made a good point, however, saying, “Jesus said, ‘this is my body.’” That’s all it took. I don’t need to know how it is Jesus’ body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, together with the bread and wine. I am happy simply to believe that when we celebrate this meal we receive Jesus’ body and blood together with the bread and wine. That’s not transubstantiation, not consubstantiation (something some accuse Lutherans of teaching – which we don’t). It’s Jesus’ words – a miracle and mystery in a meal.
Luke references both the days of Unleavened Bread and breaking of bread in these few verses. The two are linked in significant ways. Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper during the Jewish Passover meal. This meal was celebrated during the days of Unleavened Bread. Matthew records:
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. – Matthew 26:26-29
Once the church was born (cf. Acts 2), Jesus’ followers did as Jesus commanded. They met in their homes and “broke bread.” This would refer both to eating a meal together as well as celebrating the Lord’s Supper. The gathering on the first day of the week to break bread became the norm for followers of Jesus. In this gathering and breaking of bread a miracle of Jesus presence becomes real, and the mystery of Jesus’ incarnation is recalled.
This is a blessing too easily and often ignored by Christians today. Too often we treat gathering for public worship to be an add-on to life, rather than a springboard of grace into the week ahead. Covid certainly put a dent in people’s appreciation and practice of public worship and sacrament. But it is not only a mystery and miracle. It is a treasure not to be despised or abandoned.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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