"This do,...,in remembrance of Me."

Was Christ saying that we are to take bread and wine only once a year?
by Garry D. Pifer

1 Corinthians 11:24-26 “And when he had given thanks, he brake [it], and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.  After the same manner also [he took] the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink [it], in remembrance of me.For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.”    Did Christ indicate by these instructions  that we are to partake of the bread and the wine only once a year?  A quote from some old WCG literature says this is the case.  Note, “Some have misunderstood verse 26, which says: ‘For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup,’ and interpret it to say ‘take it as often as you please.’  But it does not say that.  It says ‘as often’ as we observe it, ‘you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.’  And Jesus commanded, ‘This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me’ (verse 25).  We do it in remembrance of the Lord’s death–a memorial of his death.  And memorials of momentous occasions are always observed annually, once a year, on the anniversary of the event they commemorate.”  But, is this what Christ meant when He said to do it in “remembrance” of me.  He did not say to do it as a “memorial.”  Is “remembrance” the same thing as a “memorial” once a year?

The word “remembrance” used in this passage is anamnesis from the Greek, #364 in Strong’s.  Note the meaning as given in the lexicon, “a remembering, recollection.” A totally different Greek word, mnemosunon, #3422 in Strong’s, is translated “memorial.”  The Lexicon’s definition is similar.  It is, “a memorial (that by which the memory of any person or thing is preserved), a remembrance.”  Even in English the word “memorial” doesn’t mean what is indicated from the WCG quotation above.  A “memorial”,used as a noun, is defined as a “monument commemorating a person or event.”   Used as an adjective, it means “commemorative.”  The word “memorial” (from #3422)  is used three times in the New Testament and in each of the usages it is used to “ remember” someone or an event.  Notice Matthew 26:13 (and Mark 14:9 records the same event.)  “Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, [there] shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.”  The notion of “once a year” doesn’t even fit with the usage of “memorial.”   

Perhaps the confusion comes from the usage in the United States of “Memorial Day.”  This, of course, is a national holiday.  The dictionary says, “originally commemorating those who died in the Civil War but observed now as a day of remembrance for all Americans killed on active service.”  Obviously, as a holiday, there is a day set aside for that “remembrance.”  However, I should think that one could and should remember those who died in service throughout the year.  In this country, in our nation’s capital, we have built the “Vietnam Memorial” to remember those who died in the conflict in Vietnam.  It is open for that remembrance every day, not just one day a year.  And, I believe this is exactly what Christ instructed us to do.  He tells us to remember Him when we take bread and wine.  The word “remembrance” has been incorrectly defined in order to disregard the clear statement of Jesus Christ that as “often as” you eat bread and drink wine you are to do it in “remembrance” of Him.

Weymouth’s translation, I believe, makes these verses quite clear. “ and after giving thanks He broke it and said, ‘This is my body which is about to be broken for you. Do this in memory of me.’   In the same way, when the meal was over, He also took the cup. ‘This cup,’ He said, ‘is the new Covenant of which my blood is the pledge. Do this, every time that you drink it, in memory of me.’   For every time that you eat this bread and drink from the cup, you are proclaiming the Lord's death--until He returns.”  Notice again the way he makes these verses quite clear.  “Do this, every time that you drink it, in memory of me.”  And, “For every time that you eat this bread and drink this cup...” 

As was pointed out, the Greek word anamnesis (Strong’s #364) is translated “remembrance” here in 1 Corinthians 11.  I believe it is helpful to also look at the root word, anamimnesko, #363 in Strong’s.  It is defined as “1.) to call to remembrance, to remind, to admonish.  2.) to remember, to remember and weigh well and consider.”

Mark 11:21 “And Peter calling to remembrance (#363) saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.”  This is not an indication of once a year but merely a recalling, remembering an event. 

Mark 14:72 “And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind (#363) the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.”  Peter “called to mind,” he remembered what Jesus had said.

1 Corinthians 4:17 “ For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance (#363) of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church.”  Timothy was to remind them, to help them remember, to “jog” their memories if you will, of Paul’s ways which were in Christ. 

Hebrews 10:32 “But call to remembrance (#363) the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;”   The instruction here was to call to mind, to remember, days and times that were past.   

Luke 22:19 “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake [it], and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance (#364) of me.”  Jesus is telling them to take bread and remember Him.  By His statement there is no indication of it to be an annual, once a year activity. 

The specific usage of these two Greek  words is that of remembering, calling to mind.  It does not give the connotation of doing something once a year.  The annual event of eating bread and drinking wine, while it can be said it is done to remember the Lord’s death, does not seem to be what Christ had in mind.  I believe we need to be remembering the broken body and shed blood every day, every time we eat bread and drink wine. The giving of His body to be beaten and broken and the shedding of His blood was the most important event to occur in all of mankind’s history.  And, to relegate the “remembrance” of it to one time per year seems totally inadequate and contrary to what the Scripture truly indicates.