Seek Ye First...

"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

This verse has always been one of my favorites. It always strikes me on two different levels. The first is also the most obvious given the context of the verse. Do not worry about where your next meal is coming from, or how you will get clothing, but seek ye first...

This is clearly addressing the simple concerns of daily life. Making a living, providing for yourself and your family, making money. Its not at all that these things are some how bad for as the verse before says "...your heavenly Father knows that you need them all." These things are good things. It is said in scripture "if a man will not work, let him not eat." and Paul said "let it be your ambition to work with your hands..." Good honest work is a virtue. Providing for your family is a virtue. Paul also said that any man who didn't provide from his family was worse than an infidel.

What this verse speaks about is priority. We should work, we should earn our keep, we should provide for our families. First of all, however, we should seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.

Often we common christians are content to sit in the pews on sunday, but leave the theology to greater minds. Our lot is to work, to build something that we can pass on to our children. Really what good is theology to a dry wall hanger, or a carpenter, or a salesman?
This verse stands to remind us that knowing God is EVERY christian's business. It is our vocation.
Dusty tomes of theology and debates on fine points of doctrine are not for everyone, to be sure. The question, however, is not "what good is theology to a carpenter?" but "what good is a carpentry when you reason for existing is to know God?"

Now carpentry probably does have some value when it comes to knowing God. All of life, all of creation, is revelation of God. A tree is not God, a rock is not God, but they do reveal things about God. They were born in the mind of God.

So often we focus on piling up temporal wealth, posessions, and so on, that we leave ourselves little time for seeking the Kingdom of Heaven. What is the priority in your life? If you don't know for sure, it is probably the thing to which you devote most of your time. When you examine your life, do you find that thing to be the Kingdom of Heaven... or your own kingdom?

The second level on which this verse always strikes me is related to another one of my favorite verses. "Seek and you shall find". I take this verse as a promise, but also a warning. Seek and you shall find.. but be wary what you seek, because that is what you will find. We seek for many things in life; enjoyment, fun, comfort, wealth. Probably the greatest and most enduring quest in human history is the quest for Truth and wisdom. You might think truth and wisdom are two seperate things, but truth is ultimately a standard, and wisdom is the knowledge of that standard, and understanding of how it should be applied to life. So they are not very far apart.

I once pondered the question of why, if Jesus promised "seek and you shall find" do so many people who are seeking truth end up in false religions and philosophies. The answer I was given was that these people were not really seeking Truth, they were seeking a truth that pleased them, a truth that they were comfortable with, a truth that excited them. Perhaps the greatest danger humans face on the quest of Truth is that of self deception.

At least three different times in my life I have been in situations where the beliefs I had been raised with and held dearly were seriously challenged. I noted that my first reaction and a very strong one at that, was to simply dismiss out of hand that which challenged me. Beliefs are precious to us, they form the foundation of who and what we are, so when they are challenged it is a threatening and frightening experience.
My second response after the initial urge to dismiss the opposition out of hand, was to find whatever resources I could to prove my beliefs to be correct. Essentially to look specificly for information which supported what I already believed.
Only after getting through those two instinctive responses did I come to the place where I began to examine things with the purpose of finding the truth.

Many people don't get past the first instinctive response, and most don't get past the second.

In my experiences I found one time that my beliefs were vindicated and another time my views were partially vindicated and partially changed. The last time, I found my beliefs to be lacking and was forced to change them. It has never been a comfortable experience. I remember the last time I went through this experience and was convinced that a number of my views were wrong, feeling like I had wasted years learning things that I now had to admit were lacking.

This is not an admonition that you should always consider every idea every time it is tossed at you. It is ok to make up your mind on things but you should becareful about what you set in stone.

I believe 100% in Jesus Christ, that he was the Son of God incarnate and that he died and rose again and ascended into heaven. Nothing will change that.

I believe that the Scriptures are the inspired word of God and are reliable and authoritative in everything they teach.

those things are settled in my mind. There were times when they came into question, but no more, I have decided and will not turn back.

Before you settle on doctrines, and teachings, you should look carefuly at why you believe them, and at what other view points hold. If you are presented with a view point that you had never considered before, consider it carefully and honestly.

Through all depend upon the grace and mercy of God and this promise, which I have relied upon, that God gives wisdom freely to all who ask.

You will get wisdom, you will find truth, if you seek them. You have only to make sure of what you are seeking.

The Cup of Blessing: Part III

--Continued from Part II---

We were looking at John chapter 6 in which Jesus offends and alienates many of his followers by claiming to be the bread of life which came down from heaven and telling them all that they must feed on his flesh and drink his blood if they wish to have life eternal. Now we look at the conclusion of the chapter where Jesus speaks with the 12 disciples about this issue.

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said,
“This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in
himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take
offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending
to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of
no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But
there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning
who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)
65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless
it is granted him by the Father.”
66 After this many of his disciples
turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the Twelve,
“Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to
whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have
believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of
you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he,
one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.

Jesus own disciples (not referrencing the 12 only but the many that followed him) were no less offended and troubled by this teaching than the people in the synagogue. Many of them turned away as a result of this teaching. The truth, however, is that these people turned away because they had not really believed in Jesus. They had been following his teaching, and his miracles, but they did not believe in Him. Never-the-less Jesus explains it once again for his offended disciples. He says "do you take offence at this, then what if you say the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?" Jesus points once again to the fact that the real issue is they do not believe in him. They do not believe he is who he claims to be, and they do not believe in what he has come to do. They saw him only as a teacher and a doer of signs... not as the Bread of Life.

Jesus goes on to say "It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life". This phrase has caused many to misunderstand, or has been used by many to misunderstand because they do not see what Jesus has really been talking about this entire time. When Jesus says "the words I have spoken to you are spirit and life" many immediately interpet this to mean two things #1 Jesus' words, ie his teachings are the real food. #2 Everything Jesus has just said is allegory and not meant to be taken literally.

Both views are wrong. In much of the protestant church we have adopted a mindset that "spiritual" means "non literal" it means "allegorical" or "symbolic". None of that is true. "spiritual" simply means that which deals with the spirit. It is no less real, no less literal than that which is physical. If anything it is more so. Further, when Jesus says "The words I have spoken are spirit and life." He is referring not to everything he ever said, but specificly to what he has just finished saying. The words he just spoke are all about spirit, and life. Remember that Jesus began this entire conversation by saying "don't seek physical food, seek spiritual food which will bring eternal life".

Peter recognized this in his response at the end of the chapter "you have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and we have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." The words of eternal life are those that Jesus has just been speaking. The message that we must believe in him, that he came down from heaven to be the Bread of Life, to give his flesh and blood for the world.

It should be recognized that Jesus is referring directly to his sacrifice on the cross when he says in this chapter "And the bread of life that I will give for the world is my flesh". The breaking of his body, the shedding of his blood are the bread of life.

It is also obvious in this passage that Jesus is fortelling the communion. The communion instituted at the last supper fortold the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Jesus in is forming a connection between communion, and his sacrifice on the cross. As we leave this passage from John keep this quote in mind "he who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him".

I'm sure we all know the story of the last supper in which Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it saying "this is my body which is broken for you, take and eat all of you" and he took the cup and said "this is the new covenant in my blood, shed for many for the remission of sins, take and drink all of you". The new covenant, eterna life, our spiritual food is provided by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, his body broken, his blood shed. I'm sure you all remember the phrase which Jesus said at the last supper that we repeat today as well "do this in rememberance of me". A simple phrase in english, but with profound conotations in greek. The word translated "rememberance" is in greek "anamnesis".

The prefix "ana" means "again" and mnesis comes from the root meaning "to bring to mind". So the word means to bring to mind again.. ie to remember. So whats the big deal? The word anamnesis carries with it certain conotations that can not be ignored in the context of what Jesus is saying. The conotation of "anamnesis" is re-enactment. Plato used this conotation in a very complex theory he made about knowledge using the word "anamnesis". The idea behind this is that in the act of anamnesis you are not merely thinking about a past event, but rather you are bringing that event into the present. You are making that event present in you.

Does that seem far out, mind blowing.. maybe even far fetched?? Then compare it to what Paul says in 1st Corinthians 10:16

"The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?"

Communion is our participation in the blood of Christ, it is our participation in the body of Christ. When we "remember" him in communion, we are joined to his eternal once for all sacrifice. He is made present in us. Remember that quote from John 6 "he who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him". Remember the disciples on the road to Emmaus "he was known to us in the breaking of the bread".

Take it all together.

It is in the communion that we find relationship with Christ, it is in the communion that Jesus is revealed to us, and made present in us. It is through communion that we are participate in him.
Furthermore, through all this we can see that the relationship Jesus wants with us is not what like we have with friends.. it is much deeper and more intimate. "He abides in me, and I in him".

this is a mystical truth because in it we see that Jesus is revealed to us internally, through faith and participation in communion. This idea seems very strange to the modern, humanistic mind but it is true, it is what the scriptures tell us, it is what the church has practiced and believed. We meet him in communion... thats why its called communion.

The Cup of Blessing: Part II

"They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread."

--- Luke 24:32-35

The evangelist and teacher Ravi Zacharias has written a number of books. Among them is one called "Jesus among other gods". The point of this book is to examine Jesus Christ and see if he really is unique, or if it is true that all religions are really the same. In this book Mr. Zacharias makes a profound statement. A statement that gets at the very heart of Christianity. If you examine all other religions you will find teachers who point the way. Muhammed says, if you follow my teachings you will be righteous and a friend of God. Buddha says if you follow my teachings you will find enlightenment and freedom from suffering. Hinduisms prophets and mystics claim that their teachings show the way to enlightenment. Mr. Zacharias points out in his book that Jesus alone, among all others says "I am the way, the truth, and the life...". Jesus alone says "I am the bread of life", "I am living water, drink of me".

Too many christians in the protestant world have missed this point entirely. We have confused Jesus with his teachings. Its not that his teachings aren't important, or that they don't need to be obeyed, but HE is the bread of life, HE is the way, the truth, and the life, HE is the water of life. Jesus said "He that believes IN ME will never die".
In protestant circles we talk alot about 'relationship'. We say its all about relationship, not religion. That is true, but we have missed the true significance of those words. When it comes to answering the question "how does one have a relationship with Jesus" we answer with, reading the bible, praying, singing, etc. All those things are good and necessary and they are part of relationship God. They are not what our relationship with Christ is founded upon, however.
Part of the problem here is that we have defined our "relationship" with Christ as like those that we have with friends, but the relationship that Jesus intends is much more intimate and something much greater and deeper than any simple friendship.


So what is this relationship, and where do we find it? The first clue I offer up is the event described in Luke 24 which I have quoted at the end of my last post, and at the beginning of this one. The road to Emmaus. In this passage Jesus appears to some of his disciples who are journeying from Jerusalem to the town of Emmaus. As they walk they are discussing the crucifixion and the rumors that Jesus' tomb was empty. Jesus joins them on the road and asks what they are talking about. They do not recognize him and begin to tell him of the events. Jesus responds by giving them what undoubtedly was one of the greatest teachings on the fortold death and resurection of the messiah, ever given. Luke tells us that beginning with Moses and the prophets Jesus explained EVERYTHING in scripture concerning himself. I can hardly imagine how amazing a teaching like that would be... and yet... these men who had known him for three years, heard his teachings, walked with him... did not know him. They did not recognize him.

So at the end of their day's journey they reached the town of Emmaus and these men asked Jesus to come in and stay with them because night was falling. Jesus came in and as they settled down for supper, Jesus, the guest, became the host. Luke tells us that Jesus took bread and blessed it (just as he had at the last supper) and then he broke it and gave to each of them (just as he had at the last supper). In that moment, in the breaking of the bread, they knew Jesus. Then he miraculously vanished from their sight. They were amazed.. they recalled how their hearts had burned within them at the truths He taught them while they walked, but they had not known him then.
Immediately these men who had spent the entire day travelling leapt up and ran back to Jerusalem that night. They found the Apostles and told them how the risen Christ had appeared to them, and that they had known Jesus in the breaking of the bread.

It is so significant here that we see, Jesus taught them all about himself from the scripures, but they never knew him till he blessed the bread and broke it for them. We can know about Jesus from teaching and study, but that is not how we know Him.

One of the most controversial passages on this topic is John chapter 6. It was just as controversial when Jesus said it as it is now. The result of what Jesus taught in this passage was that many of his followers left him because what he said was to hard and strange for them. We will begin looking at this passage in verse 25.

25 When they found him on the other side of the
sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered
them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw
signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the
food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son
of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”
28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him
whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that
we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate
the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven
to eat.’” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was
not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true
bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread
always.”

The context of this passage is that Jesus has just finished feeding the five thousand. The next day the crowds came looking for him again.
Jesus makes a point of framing the conversation in terms of food. He tells them that they come looking for him not because they saw signs and wonders, but because they themselves ate their fill of the miraculous loves and fishes. He then tells them not to labor for temporal food, but for eternal food, food that leads to eternal life. He says that this food is the food that the Son of Man will give to us.

The people seem to ignore what Jesus is sayin, perhaps they didn't understand it, but they redirect the conversation "what must we do to be doing God's works?". Jesus answers them, redirecting back to his original points "the work of God is to believe in him that God sent." Here again we see the subtle distinction that our belief is not in teachings, but in Jesus himself.

The people continue in their misunderstanding and ask " What sign do you do that we may believe you." Note that they do not get the distinction between believing Jesus, and believing in Jesus. The theme of food continues as the people suggest to Jesus that in the days of the exodus, Moses gave them bread from heaven, mana. Jesus corrects them and says that it was not Moses who gave them bread from heaven, but it is the Father who now, present tense, give them bread from heaven, and that bread is "He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." The people still do not understand that he is speaking of himself, and they ask him to give them this bread from heaven. We continue the passage in verse 35

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall
not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to
you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father
gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of
him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should
lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.
40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son
and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the
last day.”

Here, Jesus finally lays it all on the line. He has been telling them from the beginning that He is the food of eternal life, that the work of God is to believe IN him, and they have not understood. Jesus finally says "I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. He lays bare their own hearts that they have seen and heard him from the beginning but the truth is that they do not believe. This statement, as we shall see angers many, but Jesus has just begun to get controversial.

41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came
down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose
father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to
me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last
day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’
Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that
anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread
of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This
is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this
bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the
world is my flesh.”

The people were upset by Jesus claims because they did not believe in him. Jesus goes on to tecah "whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life." The point of this teaching from the beginning has been about spiritual food. It is about food that brings eternal life. The message is that Jesus himself is that food. It is not enough to believe teachings, to do works, (though those things are good and necessary) we must feed on Jesus Christ himself. Jesus makes this final point in shocking terms. "If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." To the jews, as to us today this is shocking. Many try to avoid the shock of this statement by making the same mistake that the Jews had been making all through this conversation, by thinking that Jesus is not talking about himself, he's talking about his teachings. The reason Jesus makes this shocking statement is so that there can be no doubt exactly what he is talking about. He is not talking about moral codes, teachings, or anything like that, he is talking about himself.

52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them,
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and
drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and
drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever
feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the
living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me,
he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from
heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live
forever.” 59 Jesus said these things in the
synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

The Jews are already suitably outraged because Jesus has said that he came down from heaven, that he is the bread of life and because he has said he will give his very flesh to be the bread of life for the world. Jesus pushes one step further with the statment "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." Now this conversation has gone beyond offensive, beyond insane, and into sacrelige. Jesus here touched on something absolutely forbidden under Jewish law, drinking blood. Jesus then says something that is crucial to our question of relationship. "for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him."

Food and drink sustain life. Jesus framed this conversation in terms of food and preceeded it by doing a miracle of feeding people. He began the conversation by telling people to seek food that brings eternal life. He claimed to be the food and drink which brings eternal life. The whole point, and what these people can not believe is that its not about works, its not about a moral code, its not about teachings.. ultimatly it is all about Jesus. Does he abide in us? and we in him?

We have just begun to delve into this topic but for the sake of the reader I will make this a to be continued. I will pick up where I left off in John Chapter 6 and continue with the question of how we know Jesus, and what our relationship is really meant to be....

The Cup of Blessing which we Bless...

"The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?"

----- 1st Corinthians 10:16 (ESV)

In this post I would like to talk about Communion. Growing up in the Evangelical Protestant Church Communion was not often thought about, and even less taught about. In my particular church we celebrated Communion about once a month, although it was not uncommon to pre-empt our monthly communion service for a normal church service. We believed that there was a vague danger in taking Communion unworthily, but that Communion was primarily a symbol meant for a rememberance of Christ's sacrifice. We took Communion once in a while because it was an 'ordinance' commanded by Jesus, but we never viewed it as a normal part of worship.

I remember how strange it seemed to me that the traditional churches (Anglican, Lutheran, Catholic, and Orthodox) celebrated Communion every service, or nearly every service. In the last two years I have learned much about the traditional view point, and I'd like to talk about it here.

The traditional churches refer to Communion as The Eucharist. Eucharist is a Greek word which means "thanksgiving". The main points of traditional belief about the Eucharist are as follows...

#1 Sacramental - The traditional churches believe that Communion is a "sacrament"

#2 Real Presence - The traditional churches believe that Jesus is present in Communion

#3 Central/High Point - Communion is the central and high point of worship

#4 Sacrifice - The traditional churches believe that Communion is a sacrifice.


Point #1 Sacramental

The First issue here is to explain what exactly a sacrament is. In the traditional view a sacrament is a physical action or ritual through which God works grace in the lives of those who participate with faith. It is important to note that although an action is required on the part of the person, the work of the sacrament is done by God because the work is grace and is spiritual in nature. In other words, taking part in a sacrament does not earn you anything, but if you have faith, God will use the sacrament to work his grace in you. The most important point here is that something spiritual is accomplished by God, through the sacrament.


Point #2 Real Presence

The traditional view of Communion holds that Jesus Christ is really present in the Communion. This means that when you take Communion, you are taking Christ within yourself. There are a couple of different views on what exactly the Real Presence is.

Transsubstantiation (Catholic)
Consubstantiaton (Anglican/Lutheran)
Mystery (Orthodox)

The Orthodox prefer to not explain the Real Presense any further than to simply say that the bread is his real body and the wine is his real blood, the how doesn't matter. This is th answer you will receive from virtually any Orthodox person. However, if you really dig into it you will find that the Orthodox really hold with the doctrine of transsubstantiation, they just don't like to define it as rigerously as the Catholics do.

The Catholic doctrine of Transsubstantiation holds that the elements of the Communion, the bread, and the wine, really change from one substance to another. The bread becomes flesh, and the wine becomes blood. This view holds that the bread and the wine cease to exist as substances.

Consubstantiation was originally proposed by John Wyclife and is widely held by Lutherans and Anglicans. Consubstantiation holds that the real body and blood are present in the elements, but that the bread and wine do not cease to exist as substances. Thus both body and bread, blood, and wine are held to exist within the elements of the Communion.

At this point I need to explain a common misconception about transsubstantiation. This doctrine was stated by medieval scholastics who were working based on definitions of Aristotelian philosophy. Thus when they used the word "substance" it had a very specific meaning. Many people today think that Catholics believe the bread and wine physically become flesh and blood. This is not exactly correct. The word substance used by the scholastic means, in simple terms, what a thing IS, not what it is made of. What a thing is, is said to be its substance, what a thing is made of is said to be its accidents. For example the substance of a chair is "chair" but the accidents of a chair could be wood, metal, leather, and so on.
So when they say that the substance ceases to be wine, and becomes blood, they do not mean that it has ceased to be made of fermented grape juice, or that it has become made of hemoglobin and plasma. They mean that while the bread is still made of wheat and glutin, it has ceased to be bread in substance, and become body. The accidents remain the same, only the substance changes.

The importance of Real Presence is wrapped up in what Communion is all about. When the believer partakes in Communion they are taking Christ inside them. When the participant eats the elements, he is feeding on Jesus Christ as spiritual food. This requires that the Communion is more than just a symbol. It requires that Jesus is truly present in the elements.


Point #3 Central/High Point

In the traditional churches Communion is the central point of every, or nearly every service and it is seen as the highest form of Christian worship.


Point #4 Sacrifice

The Communion is seen as a sacrifice in two ways. First it is seen as a sacrifice of Thanksgiving and Praise. This is reflected in the name "Eucharist". In traditional services the Communion portion of the service is referred to as "the Great Thanksgiving".
Secondly, protestants often say that the Catholics are re-enacting the sacrifice of Christ on the cross in the Communion. This of course is seen as a violation of the scripures which state that Christ was sacrificed once for all, and that it is a grave sin to put Christ on the cross again. This, however, is a misunderstanding of the traditional view point.

In the bible it is said that Jesus was "slain from the foundations of the world". We know, of course, that his sacrifice was within time. It was made at a specific time in a specific place. The bible also tells us that his sacrifice was eternal. It is applied to all who have faith in all times and all places. In this sense, the sacrifice of Christ is eternal, it is outside of time.

In the traditional view, when the elements (the bread and wine) of the Communion are consecrated, the sacrifice of Christ is made present in that moment. It is important to note, this is not a re-enactment, it is not a re-sacrifice.. it is making the once for all sacrifice present in that moment. In a sense, the eternal is being brought within time so that the worshipers can partake in it and be in communion with it. While this undoubtedly seems very mystical to us protestants, it isn't the "re-sacrificing" of Christ that it is often alledged to be.

This is a very general look at the Traditional view of Communion. In the next post I will examine some of these ideas in more detail, and look at what the scriptures have to say about Communion.

"So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight."

-------- Luke 24:28-31 (ESV)