What is Going on in the Eucharist: Sacrament of the Body and Blood

 


Outline:

Purpose: To look at how Eucharist is a Sacrament and how we receive the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus in the Eucharist.
  1. The act of αναμνεσις- “Remember Me”
    • Simple translation is "remembrance"
    • The word that is used by Jesus in the Last Supper: "Do this in remembrance of Me." 
    • Not a simple remembering of the past
      • Remember past as if we are present in that event
      • Way Passover was and is viewed by the Jewish People
    • Jesus says in the Last Supper, “this is my body” and “this is my blood of the New Covenant”
      • Live into that in each Eucharist through anamnesis, or “remembrance”
    • 1 Cor. 11:26- "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes."
      • Means we live into the Last Supper and all that follows from it
      • Living into Cross and Resurrection too
      • These events also made present through anamnesis, or “rememberance”
    • Note: this remembrance was given to the Disciples as a group
      • Jesus in Matthew 18:20- “Where 2 or 3 are gathered in My Name, there am I in the midst of them.”
      • All are part of and necessary for the Eucharist
        • Celebrant- go between
          • Represents God to the People
          • Represents the People to God
          • Can look at Ancient Israel and Epistle to the Hebrews for parallels 
        • Not meant to do Eucharist solo, or without others there
          • Became an unfortunate practice by priests in the Middle Ages
  2. Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ
    • Inward signs- know what we receive
    • Different thoughts on how we receive Christ in Communion
    • Prayer Book leaves it open on how reception works
    • Various views:
    1. Transubstantiation
      • Think of it as transitioning substance
      • Bread and Wine retain the qualities that make them bread and wine (shape, feel, smell, taste, etc.)
      • Inner being of the Bread and Wine becomes the Body and Blood of Jesus
      • Based on a misunderstanding of Aristotle pioneered by Thomas Aquinas
      • Primarily Roman Catholic view
    2. Real Presence/Consubstantiation
      • Two different views that are similar
      • In both, Bread and Wine stay bread and wine while Jesus is present in them
      • Consubstantiation says inner being of elements is both bread/wine and Jesus
      • Real Presence says Jesus is there in a real way
        • Mystery remains as to how Jesus is present
      • Real Presence is closest to Martin Luther's view
    3. Receptionism
      • Jesus is received during communion "through the heart of the believer"
      • Something spiritual, not physical, is going on
      • Thomas Cranmer held this view
      • Jean Calvin and others like him also held this view
    4. Memorialism
      • Eucharist is simply an act of remembering Jesus and the Last Supper
      • Ulrich Zwingli, Swiss Reformer, held this view
    • In all our Eucharistic Prayers, we call down the Holy Spirit (επικλησις) upon the elements
      • Do so that 'they may be for us the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ'
        • Each Eucharistic Prayer words this differently
      • Open in how they are the body- could hold to any of these 5 views
    • Note: Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi- “law of prayer [is] law of belief”
      • Commonly referred to as “praying shapes believing”
      • i.e. What words we use shows what we believe
        • True for individuals and churches
      • Have to think through your own view on what is occurring in the Eucharist
    • Because we are recalling Jesus and His death for us, we are called to have reverence no matter what
  • Weekly Reminder
    • Sacraments are how we receive Grace
    • By taking Christ’s Body and Blood (however we understand it), we remember we are part of the Body of Christ in Baptism
    • United in His Death and Resurrection
    • Each week, we are reminded of who we are as Christ Jesus’ own through the Eucharist