The pandemic has changed the way we partake of the Lord’s Supper. The communion trays used to be filled with refrigerated grape juice on Sunday morning. The unleavened bread was from a package that was no more than a month old. We had become used to the taste of these elements.

To avoid contamination through unnecessary human contact, we switched to using elements that are prepackaged in one small container sealed on both ends. One compartment contains a small square of unleavened bread. The other contains grape juice. Some of us were impressed with this packaging. Others were confused. However, we weren’t prepared for the new taste.

“Styrofoam. It tastes like Styrofoam!” That’s what we heard one another say. In fact, I remember seeing a meme on social media that said, “We will know the pandemic is over when the Lord’s Supper stops tasting like Styrofoam and Robitussin.” While I can appreciate the reaction to the change in taste, I hope we realize there is something more important to consider regarding the observance of the Lord’s Supper.

The Lord did not establish this memorial to provide us with a pleasant culinary experience. While taste is one of our five senses, the Lord made it clear that our hearts were to be stirred in the observance of the Lord’s Supper, not our tongues. “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you’” (Luke 22:19-20, emphasis mine - HR). The Lord does not care what it tastes like on our tongues. This is a memorial of His suffering and death for our sins. What must He think of us when we observe the Supper and complain about how it tastes?

Jesus established the Lord’s Supper as He and His disciples were observing the Passover. A part of this observance was the eating of bitter herbs (Ex. 12:8). These bitter herbs were not pleasant to consume, but they served an important purpose in the memorial meal. Consider this entry from Smith’s Bible Dictionary on bitter herbs: “The Israelites were commanded to eat the Paschal lamb ‘with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs’ Ex 12:8. These ‘bitter herbs’ consisted of such plants as chicory, bitter cresses, hawkweeds, sow-thistles and wild lettuces, which grow abundantly in the peninsula of Sinai, in Palestine and in Egypt. The purpose of this observance was to recall to the minds of the Israelites their deliverance from the bitter bondage of the Egyptians.”

The Lord’s Supper is not an opportunity for us to become food critics. It is a time to humbly remember our Lord’s suffering and death. Instead of complaining, let’s have the frame of mind that we are grateful to live in a time when precautions can be made to allow us to scripturally observe the Lord’s Supper while keeping ourselves as safe as possible from the spread of Covid. This has been going on for almost two years now, but in the big picture, it is only temporary. I think we can endure Styrofoam and Robitussin for the time being. The Lord isn’t looking for food critics. He is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24).