He inaugurated the Feast of the Table. He gave them something by which to remember Him. Not a book, not a constitution for an institution, not rhetoric and resolution, not dogma and doctrine, but a fellowship of the table.

He would be the host, and He would be the nourishment for the meal symbolized by bread and wine. This is the fellowship which He had in mind. This table was to be one centering in the kind of friendship that was in Him for everyone.

This is the essence of the church. It is a fellowship, a friendship of reconciliation. It is a community of friends who cohere in and express the covenant/community of Jesus.