What does Holy Communion do for us?

Bread-GrapesI have been contributing to the Church building's Renewal and Reform stream on developing lay leadership, and one of the questions that has come upwardly is: 'What does the Church of England actually believe about the laity and lay leadership?' I am not referring here to what some accept called 'ecclesial lay leadership', that is, the leadership of lay people within the gathered church at services, such as being a Reader, leading the intercessions, leading small groups then on, important though these are. I am referring to the vision (if any) that the church as a whole has of the leadership that Christians do in their daily occupations by virtue of existence baptised followers of Jesus in an unbaptised globe. (This is rightly called 'leadership', since a leader is anyone that others are post-obit, and we practice leadership when nosotros influence others and society effectually us to modify in the calorie-free of our religion in Jesus.)

To know what 'the Church of England believes' officially (rather than asking what the collection of people who happen to identify every bit Anglican think at any particular fourth dimension), you need to look at the canons and at the liturgy, since this is where the C of E articulates its doctrine. This would include looking at canons and liturgy relating to ordination, exploring what calorie-free that sheds on the whole people of God. Simply a key part of the liturgy is the Communion service, and particularly the concluding movement (following Gathering, Liturgy of the Word, and Liturgy of the Sacrament) of the Dismissal. The Latin for dismissal is the origin of the Roman Catholic term 'Mass', so this is non an insignificant part of the service; the goal of gathering together, hearing God'southward word to the states and receiving the tokens of his grace in the bread and wine are that we might be sent out into the world, equipped and transformed.


The end of the service in the Book of Common Prayer consists of the Lord's Prayer, one of two quite long thanksgiving prayers said past the government minister, the Gloria (deliberately placed hither so that we do not offer anything to God earlier we have received from him), and the blessing. The ASB significantly revised this: the Gloria moved earlier; the Lord's Prayer came before administration; and two new thanksgivings were introduced, a shorter one start 'Almighty God, we thank you…' said together, and a longer 1 'Male parent of all, we give you cheers…' said by the president. Mutual Worship tweaked this by offer both prayers to be said congregationally, with the event that the second prayer is now used very much more than often. If nosotros want to know what the liturgy thinks Communion has washed for united states of america, and what we are now prepared to do as we get out the service, then nosotros need to reflect on this prayer.

Father of all…

The prayer starts by addressing God as 'father', the distinctive Christian accost following Jesus' own distinctive practice, and then hitting that information technology is preserved in the NT in hisipsissimum verbum 'Abba' from Aramaic. Our feel of God every bit father is obtained for the states by Jesus' death and resurrection and delivered to us by the presence of the Spirit in our lives.

The qualified 'of all' draws on some of the 'universalist' language nosotros find in places like 1 Cor 15.22: 'For as in Adam all die, then in Christ will all be made live.' Just this can simply be understood as referring to universal conservancy by detaching information technology from all Paul's other language virtually judgement and the need for a response to Jesus and reception of the Spirit of God. We should then read this as 'We take experienced God as Father through Jesus by the Spirit…and that this experience is offered to all.'

…we give you lot thanks and praise, that when nosotros were still far off you met the states in your Son and brought us home.

This is a fascinating expression for several reasons. The first thing to note is that, where the beginning, shorter prayer makes explicit reference to Communion itself ('we thank you for feeding u.s.a. with the torso and claret of your Son…'), this prayer moves straight past what we have really been doing and focusses merely on its theological significance—we have experienced meeting God.

Simply, even more interesting, it expresses this theology in terms parallel to the shape of the Eucharistic Prayer, using our understanding of conservancy history. The 'nosotros' who 'were still far off' is not the congregation gathered hither, nor the particular people maxim the prayer—after all, many of united states of america had church backgrounds and might have had niggling sense of being 'far off' at whatever time in our lives. No, the 'we' hither is the whole of humanity, and this is the story of God's love for and activeness towards his earth.

And this salvation story is expressed past borrowing the language from the parable of the prodigal son and the loving begetter in Luke 15.

But while he was withal a long mode off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms effectually him and kissed him (Luke fifteen.20).

In receiving Communion, we accept experience the running father, filled with compassion, throwing his artillery around the states and kissing us. And this is expressed in the kind of implicit Trinitarianism nosotros find in all the gospels, but especially in John: in coming together Jesus, we encounter God the Father, since Jesus is the presence of God tabernacled amongst u.s.a..

Dying and living, he declared your love, gave us grace, and opened the gate of glory.

The get-go phrase here is a reference less to Jesus' earthly ministry (for which the prayer would say 'living and dying') and more a reference to his death and resurrection, as a complete act, something reflected in both Paul's preaching in Acts and his theology in his letters. The triple phrase that follows combines the annunciation of good news, its significance, and its effective commitment to us. The linguistic communication of 'celebrity' reflects the way John'southward gospel talks of the cross, equally the place of glorification of Jesus which reveals the glory of the Father.

May we who share Christ'due south body alive his risen life;

There is an ambiguity here most 'sharing the body'; does it mean the physical sharing of the bread nosotros have just done, or does information technology (as well-nigh scholars now remember near 1 Cor 11.29) refer to the participation in the body of Christ by all those who believe? The 'living his risen life' has echoes of Romans half dozen, where Paul argues that the movement into the water in baptism signifies our participation in Jesus' death by the death of our 'old' self, and the movement out of the water signifies our participation in Jesus' resurrection ('from the waters of decease') so that the life we at present live is that resurrection life of Jesus, in anticipation of the age to come. The move from 'sharing' to 'living' has a parallel in Gal 5.25; if we have been given life past the Spirit/Jesus, allow united states of america walk past the Spirit/live Jesus' resurrection life.

we who potable his cup bring life to others;

The parallel of the 'cup' to the 'bread' might suggest that both are references to Communion. Only in the NT, to 'drink a loving cup' means to undergo an experience, particularly of suffering, as in Mark 10.38. So as nosotros endure considering of our obedience to God, afterwards the pattern of Jesus' true-blue testimony, we withal offer the word of life to others.

we whom the Spirit lights give low-cal to the world.

This tertiary saying within this group brings the work of the Spirit in parallel with all that has happened, in line with Anglican understanding of the 'epiclesis', the invitation of the Spirit in the Eucharistic Prayer, which is on the people and not the elements, and so that we might sympathize and receive aright. 'Giving light to the world' picks upwards on Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount that we are a low-cal, just the implication is that the calorie-free shines in the darkness, which is expressed in powerful binary contrasts throughout John's gospel.

Keep united states business firm in the promise yous have set before united states of america, so nosotros and all your children shall be free, and the whole globe live to praise your name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Following the blueprint of the Eucharistic Prayers, we movement from the past (what God has done in Christ for us and our reception of that), the present (what we face in the world as nosotros go out) to the future—the ultimate time to come of the hope of Jesus' return, and the universal elements we observe throughout Scripture that the whole earth will, in some sense, exist redeemed and transformed.


This, so, is what the Church of England believes nearly the role of the 'laity', the people of God in the world. Nosotros take experienced the unique grace of the Fatherhood of God in Jesus by the Spirit, and nosotros are to offer that to all. We live distinctive lives which proclaim not our goodness, but the grace of God, bringing light into dark places, demonstrating a shared life in a broken earth. And nosotros live in hope that God will complete his purposes, and that one day 'the kingdom of the globe has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for e'er and always' (Rev 11.15).

This is a high calling, and 1 that our practise has not always reflected. But is it ane we actually sympathize? I was discussing this with a (lay) friend, who has been a lifelong Christian and a member of the C of Eastward for 25 years. 'Have yous always reflected on this prayer, or been taught about its meaning?' I asked. 'Not in one case' was the reply. As Stanley Hauerwas argues, we do not need to invent new initiatives, or grasp new strategies, so much equally learn to exist what we are. This challenges each of our traditions—for evangelicals to use this liturgy, for Catholics to teach this liturgy (and not just presume it volition do its piece of work), and for liberals to believe this liturgy. Then, mayhap, the whole people of God might find what they need to exist true-blue witnesses in the world.

Father of all,
nosotros give you cheers and praise,
that when we were still far off
you met us in your Son and brought us domicile.
Dying and living, he declared your love,
gave us grace, and opened the gate of celebrity.
May nosotros who share Christ's body alive his risen life;
nosotros who drink his cup bring life to others;
nosotros whom the Spirit lights requite calorie-free to the world.
Go along u.s. firm in the hope you have prepare before us,
then nosotros and all your children shall be free,
and the whole earth live to praise your proper name;
through Christ our Lord.

(First published 2016)


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