On the night he was betrayed, Jesus took a cup and said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you" (Luke 22:20). Every time Christians share communion, they hold up a cup that tells a story about what kind of God we worship.
This story about communion, retold in our own words, sets two real ancient vessels side by side. Both are masterpieces of metalwork. They could hardly say more different things about God. It ends with a takeaway you can use before sharing the Lord's Supper or in your own reflection.
Story in this post:
Two Cups: The Gundestrup Cauldron and the Ardagh Chalice
Two great silver vessels have survived from the ancient world of northern Europe, both recovered from bogs and fields, and both now treasured by museums. In his book How the Irish Saved Civilization, the historian Thomas Cahill uses them to tell a story about the difference the gospel makes.
The first is the Gundestrup Cauldron, a huge silver bowl made in the last centuries before Christ and found in a peat bog in Denmark in 1891. Its panels are covered with images of gods, warriors and animals from the pagan world of that era. One famous panel shows a giant figure holding a small human upside down above a vessel, about to plunge him in. Scholars still debate what exactly the scene means, but Cahill reads it as a picture of the old religion: gods with appetites, who demanded human lives to keep them satisfied.
The second is the Ardagh Chalice, made in Ireland in the eighth century after Christ and discovered in 1868 by two boys digging potatoes near the village of Ardagh in County Limerick. By then the Irish had become Christians. The chalice is every bit as beautiful a work of craftsmanship as the cauldron. Its silver bowl is decorated with fine gold filigree, enamel and interlaced patterns.
But it tells a completely different story. There are no hungry gods on it and no victims. It is a cup of peace, made for the Eucharist. When a worshipper lifted it to their lips, they were reminded of a God who does not demand that people be sacrificed to him. Instead, this God gives himself, his own body and blood, for his people.
Takeaway: Every religion has a cup. Some say, "Give me your life or else." The communion cup says, "This is my blood, poured out for you." Paul says that as often as we drink it, "you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). Next time you hold the cup, remember which God is being described.
Source: Reported in Thomas Cahill, How the Irish Saved Civilization (1995); museum details from the National Museum of Denmark and the National Museum of Ireland.
Final thoughts
One cup shows gods who consume people. The other shows a God who is consumed for people. Communion is not a ritual we perform to keep God happy. It is a meal where God feeds us with the gift of himself.
How might this story change the way you come to the Lord's table next time?
More stories you may like:
These stories are retold in our own words for teaching and reflection. Sources are credited under each story.