Day 2 of the Workshop was mainly devoted to a Bible Study led by Bruce Chilton, an Episcopal priest who is also fluent in Aramaic, the language spoken by the Jews of ancient Palestine in the time of Jesus. Since it is different meanings of the Eucharist that often define the differences between denominations, Chilton's focus was the different understandings of the Eucharist in the New Testament. He presented five models, which I've simplified into five functions of what the Holy Eucharist does for, and to us.1. Celebration. The Eucharist is a celebration of God's kingdom in the world: a kingdom in which truth and mercy are no longer opposed to each other, a kingdom where more and more and people are fed physically and spiritually. That need to celebrate God's reign in our world is one reason I bid you all to stand after communion. We have been nourished by Jesus and now we are ready to charge out into the world, strengthened to feed those around us.
2. Atonement. The Eucharist is the means by which we are reconciled to God and our sins forgiven. When we repeat Jesus's words at the Last Supper, we recall his sacrifice for the sins of the world and receive the blessed assurance that we are no longer separated from God.
3. Fellowship. In the Eucharist we become "living members," that is, arms and legs of Jesus's Body. In that same action we also become living members of each other, bound together in a loving fellowship in which we become mothers and brothers and sisters and children of each other. And in that Eucharistic fellowship we care for each other.
4. Joining. When we share in the bread and cup, we join that community which confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. More particularly, we join that part of the Church called Episcopal, with its own particular understanding of the Christian faith and its customs that seem quite peculiar in this region.
5. Union. In the holy Eucharist, each of us becomes one with Jesus Christ. And in that incredible mystery, Jesus is as present to each one of us today as he was 2,000 years ago. And that, my friends, is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Which of those functions do you think our Eucharistic celebration best serves at Christ Church? Which of those functions speaks to your deepest need in Sunday? Perhaps Chilton's explanation doesn't quite fit your experience of the Holy Eucharist. What happens to you, and for you, on Sunday morning? The better we understand what we bring to the Lord's Table, the more we will receive from our Lord.
I have two workshops to attend tomorrow morning, then Laura and I are flying home. See you all Sunday.
1 comment:
Debby Simmons emailed me and said that nos. 3 and 5, Fellowship and Union are the most meaningful to her when she receives communion. For me, I would pick 1 and 5 as the most personally important. The prophet in me like that part of the Eucharist that prepares you all for the ministry of reconciliation in the world. The mystic in me loves the presence of Christ in the Sacrament.
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