1 / 18

The Sacraments

The Sacraments. Part 6: What Happens in the Meal?. Holy Communion. Eucharist. Mystery. Mass. Lord’s Supper. What’s In a Name?. “…he took bread, gave thanks…”. God’s saving act in Christ is the climax of a long history ( Heilsgeschicte ) Creation Flood Covenant with Abraham

jess
Download Presentation

The Sacraments

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Sacraments Part 6: What Happens in the Meal?

  2. Holy Communion Eucharist Mystery Mass Lord’s Supper What’s In a Name?

  3. “…he took bread, gave thanks…” • God’s saving act in Christ is the climax of a long history (Heilsgeschicte) • Creation • Flood • Covenant with Abraham • Passover/Exodus • Witness of the prophets • Exile and Return

  4. “…he took bread, gave thanks…” • Through the Holy Spirit, God’s saving activity continues • The Church participates in this saving missio Dei • In the meal, we offer our Eucharistic sacrifice of thanks and praise for all that God has done, is doing, and will do

  5. “…gave it to his disciples…” • Participation in the Supper is clearly not based on personal worthiness • Judas, who betrayed him • Peter, who denied him • The others, who abandoned him • Rather, this meal is about Jesus’ self-offering love for the unworthy • In Christ, God has reconciled us and entrusted us with the mission of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19-20)

  6. “…gave it to his disciples…” • In this meal we celebrate holy communion with Christ… • We are reminded of our unconditional acceptance by the grace of God • We become participants in the scandalously inclusive table fellowship of Jesus • And with one another • We practice that same acceptance and inclusivity with one another

  7. “…gave it to his disciples…” • The meal bears witness that: • “you did not choose me; I chose you” (John 15:16) • “You can pick your friends, but not your family” (Galatians 3:26-29) • “That which unites us (i.e., Christ) is greater than that which divides us” (1 Corinthians 1:10-15)

  8. “Do this for the remembrance of me” • The Lord’s Supper is a memorial meal • “In the night in which he was betrayed…” • We are reminded of the lengths God will go to in order to be reconciled with us • Also reminded… • That “the Word became flesh and lived among us” and of “all that I have commanded you” • That “therefore God also highly exalted him”

  9. “Do this for the remembrance of me” • The meal is a remembrance of Christ’s life-giving passion and death • It is also a remembrance of his life and ministry, his resurrection and ascension, and his promise to come again

  10. “…this is my body…this is my blood” • In the meal, the mystery (or paradox) of our faith is held in tension: • Christ’s promise to be present to the missional community gathered in his name • Christ’s declaration (and the manifest reality) of his absence • The meal defies our attempts to flatten or resolve this tension (and the tension of other mysteries of our faith)

  11. “…this is my body…this is my blood” • The meal is both “feast of victory” and “foretaste of the feast to come” • When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim our Lord’s death until he comes • The meal is the meal of the In-Between Times, of the Already-But-Not-Yet • Christ is present to us in the meal, yet we eat because Christ is absent

  12. “…this is my body…this is my blood” • The meal comforts us with the continuing, real presence of Christ in tangible, sensible form • The meal also whets our appetite, stirring within us the longing for the intimacy and fullness of the communion we will one day share with him

  13. “…given for you…shed for many” • The meal is given to the church, to be shared with the world • The community gathered around the missa is dismissed into the world in mission • The community that gathers around the “breaking of the bread” 17x in Acts is the community Jesus declared would be his witnesses (Acts 1:8)

  14. “…given for you…shed for many” • Jesus promises his presence to the church 3x in Matthew • When two or more gather for prayer in his name (18:20) • In the meal (26:26-29) • When the church engages Jesus’ disciplizing mission in the world (28:20) • The meal of the church is inseparable from the missional nature of the church

  15. What’s In a Name? • Eucharist • Thanksgiving for all of salvation history • Holy Communion • With Christ & each other • Lord’s Supper • Commemoration, remembrance • Mass • Missa, sending, the missional meal • Mystery • Presence and absence

  16. Holy Communion Eucharist Mystery Mass Lord’s Supper What’s In a Name?

  17. Practical Concerns • Who is invited? Non-Lutherans? Non-Protestants? The Orthodox? The unbaptized? Why or why not? • What about children? At what age? Why? • How often? Why? • Who presides? Why? • Wine or grape juice? Beer and pretzels? Why?

More Related