Questions From Readers

Can anything be done if an infirm anointed Christian finds it impossible to attend the congregation’s commemoration of the Lord’s Evening Meal?

Yes. Something can and should be done out of consideration for an anointed Christian who is infirm and perhaps bedridden and therefore unable to be present when the congregation observes the Memorial of Christ’s death. In such a case, the body of elders can arrange for an elder or other mature Christian male to take portions of the emblematic bread and wine to that fellow believer on the same night before sunrise.

Depending on the circumstances, the visiting elder or other brother could make brief comments and read appropriate scriptures. He can follow the pattern established by Jesus when He instituted the Lord’s Evening Meal. For instance, Matthew 26:26 might be read and the unleavened bread presented after a prayer. Next, the visiting brother could read Matthew chapter 26, verses 27 and 28, with the wine then being presented after another prayer. Brief comments could be made on the significance of each emblem, and a closing prayer would be appropriate.

Of course, every reasonable effort should be made to be present for the congregation’s observance of the Lord’s Evening Meal. But what may be done in an extreme situation involving an anointed Christian who is gravely ill, hospitalized, or otherwise prevented from observing the Memorial after sundown on Nisan 14? Such an anointed one can avail himself of a precedent in the Mosaic Law and commemorate it privately 30 days later.​—Numbers 9:9-14.