Michael Welker WHAT HAPPENS in HOLY COMMUNION?
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Michael Welker WHAT HAPPENS IN HOLY COMMUNION? i TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION WHAT HAPPENS IN HOLY COMMUNION? A high point of Christian life--or "a dismal enterprise" (Kant)? - Holy communion: seen from the outside - Holy communion: "source and summit of the church's life"? - Dismal personal experiences and good ones - The offensive reality of the risen Jesus Christ as the key to understanding the Supper - The power of the biblical texts - From conflicts between churches to ecumenical understanding concerning the Supper PART 1 HOLY COMMUNION: HUMAN BEINGS THANK GOD AND SYMBOLICALLY CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY MEAL IN A JEOPARDIZED WORLD 1. "DO THIS . " WHO IS SUPPOSED TO DO WHAT? Symbolic community meal--or merely a preparation for that meal? - The sacrifice of the mass and communion--the sacrifice of the mass also without communion? The traditional Roman Catholic position - What do the biblical texts support? - Unanimity among the Reformation, post-Reformation, and Orthodox churches: "The Supper is an act of worship of the community gathered in Jesus' name" - The cautious change in the Roman Catholic position in the last third of the 20th century - The early church's practice of the Supper: unity of a full community meal and a symbolically celebrated meal - Results 2. "IN THE NIGHT IN WHICH HE WAS BETRAYED . " Threatened not only from outside, but also from inside! - The participants in the Passover meal: threatened from outside, but committed in solidarity to the cause--the participants in the Supper: threatened from outside and self-jeopardizing - Was Jesus' last supper a Passover meal or a regular Jewish meal? - How often should we celebrate the Supper? - Results 3. ". HE TOOK BREAD, GAVE THANKS, BROKE IT, AND GAVE IT TO THEM SAYING: TAKE AND EAT . " We must not separate the glorification of God from the mutual acceptance of human beings - Why the Supper is more than a thanksgiving, a "eucharist" - "When the word comes to the element, there is a sacrament." A deficiency even in Augustine and Luther? - Why the Supper is more than a ritual of mutual acceptance and symbolic righteousness - Jesus' meals and the glorification of the Creator - Bread and wine as "gifts of creation": Can they be replaced by other "elements"? - Results ii 4. "WHOEVER, THEREFORE, EATS THE BREAD OR DRINKS THE CUP OF THE LORD IN AN UNWORTHY MANNER . " If God accepts human beings unconditionally, even the community's enemies . How can misuse of the meal be prevented? - What is the meaing of the oppressive references to "unworthy eating and drinking" and to coming together "unto judgment"? - The first recipients of Jesus' Supper: Judas, "who betrayed him"; Peter, "who denied him"; the disciples, "who abandoned him and fled" - Unconditional acceptance: The Supper must not be misused for the purposes of moral or church disciplinary control - In what does the "unworthy eating and drinking" in Corinth consist? First interpretation: unsocially separated in sharing the meal--but nevertheless bound together in the eucharistic community Second interpretation: demonstrative self-absorption and social brutality in connection with the misuse of the Supper - How is the Supper celebrated "worthily"? The tension between "acceptance of the weak" and the preservation of cultic form: When apparently secondary things like grape juice, individual glasses, and wafers become warning signals - Results PART 2 HOLY COMMUNION--CELEBRATION OF THE PRESENCE OF JESUS CHRIST 5. "THIS IS MY BODY . THIS IS MY BLOOD" The much-disputed "real presence" of Christ in the Supper - What have we learned up to this point about the "real presence" of Christ?--The Risen One is recognized in thanksgiving and in the breaking of bread - The unity of reconciliation with God and reconciliation among human beings - "Body and blood": most concrete, perceivable vitality and most internal vital power - "Body and blood" and the freely given gifts of creation of bread and wine - The "personal presence" of Christ: how the Lutheran-Reformed discussion of the Supper found its way out of a dead-end street - Toward a deepening of the notion of "personal presence" - Back to real presence: the essential being of Jesus Christ and the fullness of his person in a certainty given to the senses - Results 6. "AS OFTEN AS YOU EAT THIS BREAD AND DRINK THE CUP, YOU PROCLAIM CHRIST'S DEATH . " What is revealed by the proclamation of Christ's cross in the celebration of the Supper - Can the "real presence" of Jesus Christ in the Supper be separated from the "real presence" of his self-giving death on the cross? - The proclamation of Christ's death as proclamation of his cross - The cross as revelation of the sin and lostness of the world, and of the suffering of God - Supper and sacrifice: a tangled web of problems must be untangled 1. "Atonement" is a salvific event (H. Gese, B. Janowski) 2. "Sacrifice" is always the donation of vital resources, but not necessarily "victimization" (S. Brandt) - Results iii 7. YOU PROCLAIM CHRIST'S DEATH "UNTIL HE COMES" The hope for the complete revelation of God in the whole creation - Why we have trouble imagining Christ's "coming" - The lordship of Jesus Christ and the reign of God "in advent" - The Supper as a "meal of God's reign" and as "heavenly liturgy" - Results 8. "DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME" Why the Supper is not merely a meal of recollection. The memory of Christ as gift of the Holy Spirit and as cultural power - Not only: For your recollection of me - "Collective memory" as cultural power - The living cultural and canonical memory of Jesus Christ - Called into the remembrance of Christ - Results PART 3 HOLY COMMUNION--FEAST OF THE CHURCH OF ALL TIMES AND REGIONS OF THE WORLD, CELEBRATION OF PEACE AND OF THE NEW CREATION, AND JOYFUL GLORIFICATION OF THE TRIUNE GOD 9. "GIVEN FOR YOU"--"SHED FOR MANY" The community gathered here and now and the ecumenical church of all times and regions of the world - Deepest certainty--ecumenical universality that spans the epochs - Does the ministerial office guarantee that the Supper is celebrated appropriately? How can the churches of the Reformation respond to the justified concerns of the pre-Reformation churches? - Should children also be admitted to the Supper? - Results 10. LIBERATION FROM THE POWER OF SIN--OR PRESERVATION FOR ETERNAL LIFE? An ecumenical controversy that still impairs the shared celebration of the Supper on the eve of the third millenium - Forgiveness of sins--pledge of eternal life - Painful ecumenical differences despite great commonality - The church of sinners graced by God? Why can't the churches of the Reformation make a better case for their theological concern? - Consequences for sharing the eucharistic meal - Results 11. GOD'S PEACE BE WITH YOU!--GO IN PEACE! The Supper as celebration of preservation, liberation, and renewal - Making peace and greeting with peace before, after, or in the celebration of the Supper? - The multidimensionality of peace - "God's peace be with you!"--"And also with you!" Joining in the peace of creation - "Christ, lamb of God, give us your peace" - "The God of peace sanctify you through and through . "--"Go in peace" - Results iv 12. IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT The presence and activity of the triune God in the Supper as source of spiritual renewal - From concentration on Jesus Christ to concentration on the living triune God - Thanksgiving to the God of creation, preservation, and new creation - The memory of the saving, crucified, resurrected, and coming Jesus Christ - Invocation of the enlivening, liberating, and uplifting Holy Spirit - The eternal riches of God in the poverty of the Supper - Results APPENDIX Documents of the "Growth in Agreement" of Churches on the Global Level in Questions of Holy Communion, in Chronological Order, 1931-1990 EPILOGUE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS NOTES 1 INTRODUCTION: WHAT HAPPENS IN HOLY COMMUNION? A high point of Christian life--or "a dismal enterprise" (Kant)? Holy communion: seen from the outside What happens in holy communion? A strange question! What do you think?--People sit or stand next to each other. Normally in a space for worship. They pray and they sing. Then words passed down from long ago are spoken, including words from the Bible. Usually they are spoken by the pastor or priest. The words of the Bible that appear in every celebration of the Supper are more or less the following: In the night in which he was handed over, Jesus, the Lord, took bread. He spoke the prayer of thanksgiving, broke the bread, and said: This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same manner after the meal he took the cup and said: This cup is the new covenant in my blood, poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. Then each person present receives a piece of bread, and in many churches a swallow of wine or grape juice. With a word of blessing the whole thing is over. That's all that happens in holy communion! Such an answer to the question "What happens in holy communion?" is not wrong. Rather, it briefly describes what can be observed from the outside. However, it does not say anything about the meaning of this celebration. It also does not say anything about why Christian churches attach such great significance to the Supper. It brackets out interesting and difficult spiritual and theological questions. Puzzling statements and ones that sound weird or offensive to many people today remain unclear (my body . given for you; my blood . poured out for you; forgiveness of sins . ; in remembrance of me). The simple and external description also gives no response to very simple and very external questions that many people often ask.