Monday, March 16, 2026

It is the 16th of March 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Hey- it’s Monday where you are? How’s it going? I’ll be there soon.

And because it’s Monday, we head to the mailbag and a special question- I’d say 98% of the questions come from the mailbag, but this question came to me from a friend at church the other day- they know what I do- and I get asked lots of good questions. Like this one, from Erin in Ladera Ranch, California. It’s been a census-designated planned community, which makes perfect sense to us weirdos out here. As a census-designated place, it is younger than my oldest son.

Ok- Erin said, and I think this is fair- I didn’t ask her- but she’s very cool and wouldn’t mind. She said that she gets a little bit of a shiver during communion when she hears “this is my body, broken for you,” and she said, “wait a second…in the Gospel of John it specifically says that his bones weren’t broken- this is part of the prophecy and so… what gives?”

Well, well, well… another Communion question. Of course, the irony is that this is supposed to bring us together, and it has been the cause for division- or we might say, it reveals divisions in understanding, and so sometimes division occurs around the sacrament (or ordinance, or Lord’s Supper, or Sacrament of the Altar, or Breaking of the Bread).

The one we’ll deal with today is that bit of the service when the person officiating and those helping to distribute the elements, and when the bread is presented, or elevated, or broken, the minister says- well, there are different versions. But I’m headed to 1 Corinthians 11:23 in the King James first.

23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: 24 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.

So, you caught that? “This is my body which is broken for you,” but the King James uses a slightly less reliable textual tradition- it might be why your church uses the NIV, ESV, NRSV, etc., and let’s go to the NIV- same text:

23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

In the critical texts- the most reliable (according to many, and those who I have come to trust) the verb “broken” doesn’t appear- the way the greek reads “this is my body the on behalf of you”- Bill Mounce (who taught greek to so many of us) suggests this is why there will always be an issue here because the greek doesn’t translate precisely. It seems later scribes added “broken for you” because the bread, which “is” the body, seems to follow. But it’s probably not there.

Because of the parallel structure, you can choose to add “broken” to refer to the body- but it’s not there explicitly. It’s also fair to note that “body broken for you” could be understood symbolically- not “bones broken” but took on the punishment, the divine curse, etc, so what should you say? This is the beauty of the individual and autonomous church body that might bring this up with its leadership, and at least make it a teaching moment. And speaking of teaching, I’ll see you on Wednesday night, Erin… I do teach in person- what you don’t know is I can only do 6-8 minutes at a time, and I must always be played in by an acoustic guitar.

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and from Acts 9- another story about blindness:

10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Anani′as. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Anani′as.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul; for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen a man named Anani′as come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Anani′as answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to thy saints at Jerusalem; 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon thy name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Anani′as departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized, 19 and took food and was strengthened.

For several days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And in the synagogues immediately he proclaimed Jesus, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 16th of March 2026, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who probably doesn’t have HOA’s or Mello-roos in Random Lake, he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who doesn’t understand the mello-roo tax, but loves to say it as much as he can- I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.