Scholarly Reflections
LaVerdiere, Eugene. "Chapter Four: In the Following of Christ: The Eucharist in Mark's Gospel." The Eucharist in the New Testament and the Early Church. Collegeville, Minnesota: The Liturgical Press (Pueblo), 1996, 46-64.
LaVerdiere points out that the canonical Gospel accounts were written later than some of the New Testament epistles, and that they were retellings of material which was already traditional (LaVerdiere 1996, 47). LaVerdiere sees Mark's Gospel as focused on baptism and eucharist, with the imagery running throughout the narrative. This emphasis would have been natural to the evangelists, as after the resurrection Jesus appeared to and ate with his disciples. They would have naturally taken the eating as significant of Jesus' presence in the resurrection.
The eucharistic narrative, as was passed to and by the apostle Paul, was part of the practice as a matter of liturgy, before the time of composition of the Gospels (LaVerdiere 1996, 47-48). LaVerdiere asserts that, although the liturgical words had been present, Mark was the first person ever to write the account of the Last Supper. He takes this to be in the period of 66-73, during the first Jewish revolt against Rome (LaVerdiere 1996, 48). In a time of distress such as that, the Christians needed the hope of Jesus in powerful ways. Therefore, Mark focused on "the beginning" of the Gospel, rather than the end of days. The Gospel was intended to bring new hope (LaVerdiere 1996, 49).
Though the high point of eucharist in Mark is at the Last Supper in chapter 14, LaVerdiere sees the bulk of the body of the Gospel as emphasizing eucharistic themes (LaVerdiere 1996, 51). Since the liturgy was already known to Christians, those who read the Gospel account would be able to see the themes, such as breaking bread, bread in a desert, and the like. The first eight chapters of Mark focus on a mission which is universal in its scope. It is about gathering all nations together in Christ, and it does it frequently through breaking bread and feeding crowds (LaVerdiere 1996, 52). LaVerdiere explains at some length how details in the narrative point both to Old Testament examples of God's provision for all nations and also to elements of eucharistic liturgy (LaVerdiere 1996, 54ff).
After chapter 8, LaVerdiere sees Mark pursuing the importance of the cup and the theme of drinking (LaVerdiere 1996, 58ff). Again, he sees and examines points where a cup, wine, or drinking point to God's redemption and specific elements of eucharistic liturgy.