Chained to the altar
my heart that wants to go to flight
on the altar is the lamb that was slain
on the altar is the Word become flesh
on the altar is God, among us
come to bear the suffering of the world,
of my suffering
come to bring healing for this broken heart
so I chain my heart
that wants to flight
I keep it before its Hope and Healing
Showing posts with label Eucharist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eucharist. Show all posts
03 December 2017
29 August 2011
The Great Thanksgiving
In the approach of the Lord's Table there is a prayer called the Great Thanksgiving. It summarizes, sometimes at length, the work of God in the world. St. Andrews Anglican Church in Versailles, KY uses the Nigerian liturgy. Their Great Thanksgiving is similar to the Book of Common Prayer, the United Methodist Book of Worship, the Free Methodist liturgy, but with an added and appreciable twist:
_____
Prayer of Thanksgiving:
L - We remain standing for thanksgiving and remembrance
L - Is the Father with us?
P - He is.
L - Is Christ among us?
P - He is
L- Is the Spirit here?
P - He is.
L - This is our God.
P - Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
L - We are his people.
P - We are redeemed.
L - Lift up your hearts
P - We lift them to the Lord
L - Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
P - It is right to give him thanks and praise.
____
I love the question and response that leads to the prayer because it brings to the heart and mind the last words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, that He would be with us to the very end of the age. I need that constant reminder, more than once a week, that the Triune God is with me, with us, with the world.
_____
Prayer of Thanksgiving:
L - We remain standing for thanksgiving and remembrance
L - Is the Father with us?
P - He is.
L - Is Christ among us?
P - He is
L- Is the Spirit here?
P - He is.
L - This is our God.
P - Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
L - We are his people.
P - We are redeemed.
L - Lift up your hearts
P - We lift them to the Lord
L - Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
P - It is right to give him thanks and praise.
____
I love the question and response that leads to the prayer because it brings to the heart and mind the last words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, that He would be with us to the very end of the age. I need that constant reminder, more than once a week, that the Triune God is with me, with us, with the world.
18 January 2011
06 May 2010
A Happy Meal
During his ministry Jesus was accused of eating and drinking with sinners. After his death and resurrection, he continued to do this. He still does it with us at Eucharist. We're the sinners he eats with. Talk about a "happy meal". . .
"The Little White Book" published by the Diocese of Saginaw. Thursday, Fourth Week of Easter.
"The Little White Book" published by the Diocese of Saginaw. Thursday, Fourth Week of Easter.
18 March 2010
Handed Over
One of the devotional books I've been reading this lenten season is produced by the Little Books of the Diocese of Saginaw. The title for their lenten book is "The Little Black Book." (click on the title and it will take you to their web site.) The little book follows Mark's account of the Passion of Jesus for its scripture text and meditation. Here is a portion of today's devotional:
Mark 15.15 - So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to the crucified.
Mark says that Jesus is "handed over to be crucified." This is part of a chain of "handing-overs", one after another, into unfriendly hands. It began when Judas handed him over to the chief priests . . . who handed him over to Pilate . . . who handed him over to the executioners. In the end, Jesus will hand himself over to the Father in death. At last, he will be received into friendly hands.
Those same friendly hands await me, not only at death, but at every Mass (Eucharist). I can place myself on the altar and join with Christ as he gives himself into the Father's hands.
Mark 15.15 - So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to the crucified.
Mark says that Jesus is "handed over to be crucified." This is part of a chain of "handing-overs", one after another, into unfriendly hands. It began when Judas handed him over to the chief priests . . . who handed him over to Pilate . . . who handed him over to the executioners. In the end, Jesus will hand himself over to the Father in death. At last, he will be received into friendly hands.
Those same friendly hands await me, not only at death, but at every Mass (Eucharist). I can place myself on the altar and join with Christ as he gives himself into the Father's hands.
31 December 2009
The Sacred Meal
Yesterday I finished Nora Gallagher's reflections on communion that she offers under the title, "The Sacred Meal". It's published by Thomas Nelson and in a series called, The Ancient Practices Series. Not surprising, the series editor is Phyllis Tickle. It was Tickle's stamp that drew me to this series that has had a great deal of focused writing. The a priori of the writer and publisher must be that a fresh work on these practices are needed for a generation of people who have now encountered Christ, are exploring the practices of Christianity, especially ancient, and are essentially devoid of theological reflection.
Gallagher's writing style is extremely accessible. Her stories and reflections keep the text moving. She doesn't however do a great deal of plumbing the ancients. It certainly could have been stronger on that front.
She advances some present understandings of the meal that would not have been shared by the ancients. She claims this ability because not every early account is to be seen as being a universal practice. For instance, she writes of Justin Martyr's depiction of the Sunday practices of the Christian in Rome in the early 2nd century. Gallagher then determines to quote Paul Bradshaw and offers this for a reading of the ancients: "there is no justification that what these authors describe as practices familiar in their region were necessarily the universal customs of the time." (p.102).
She surprised me with a (paraphrased) quote that I rather agree with, delivered by Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong. Before this quote I wasn't sure I could agree with on much of anything with Bishop Song.
"Did Jesus come to give us a religion, to give us the right way to worship? No.
Well then, did Jesus come to teach us how to follow the law, be righteous, be ethical? No.
Did Jesus come to teach us the truth, the one truth against which all other claims can be measured, all heresies decried? To give us orthodoxy?
No. Jesus came to give us life, and life abundant."
Out of this quote she adds: "The early followers of Jesus didn't have a creed or a codified set of prayers. They did not all worship in the same way. They had some form of baptism and some forms of prayers over bread and wine, and that was about it. They didn't have many of the religious traditions that today we call "Christianity." I suspect they were living by the seat of their pants."
A serious question for her writing will be to see if she directs her readers toward embracing ancient practices, or if in her interpretation, they are jettisoned from the practices of the church? I fear that subjecting this work to strict philosophical consistency would reveal a work of Swiss cheese, but in the new emergence, that is acceptable, even laudable.
While not thrilled with her rationale, her Myth and Tradition reflects a Wesleyan(theological) perspective on the table. She writes: "Jesus practiced a radical faith: everyone was welcome at his table. You are welcome at this table. The altar is the big table. This is the table that wants everyone there: poor and rich, women and men, children and older people, mentally disabled and depressed . . . The gospel reading that makes the most sense to me about the Eucharist is the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus didn't ask those thousands of people camped on that hillside whether they had confessed their sins or how clean they were. He fed them." (92)
And possibly her best quote: "Taking Communion every Sunday is a creative act, and it makes no more "sense" than writing a poem, or, for that matter, reading one. It isn't going to get you anywhere in the world; it's not networking; it has no practical worth. Every creative act, Simone Weil said, is a 'folly of love'." (95)
Gallagher's writing style is extremely accessible. Her stories and reflections keep the text moving. She doesn't however do a great deal of plumbing the ancients. It certainly could have been stronger on that front.
She advances some present understandings of the meal that would not have been shared by the ancients. She claims this ability because not every early account is to be seen as being a universal practice. For instance, she writes of Justin Martyr's depiction of the Sunday practices of the Christian in Rome in the early 2nd century. Gallagher then determines to quote Paul Bradshaw and offers this for a reading of the ancients: "there is no justification that what these authors describe as practices familiar in their region were necessarily the universal customs of the time." (p.102).
She surprised me with a (paraphrased) quote that I rather agree with, delivered by Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong. Before this quote I wasn't sure I could agree with on much of anything with Bishop Song.
"Did Jesus come to give us a religion, to give us the right way to worship? No.
Well then, did Jesus come to teach us how to follow the law, be righteous, be ethical? No.
Did Jesus come to teach us the truth, the one truth against which all other claims can be measured, all heresies decried? To give us orthodoxy?
No. Jesus came to give us life, and life abundant."
Out of this quote she adds: "The early followers of Jesus didn't have a creed or a codified set of prayers. They did not all worship in the same way. They had some form of baptism and some forms of prayers over bread and wine, and that was about it. They didn't have many of the religious traditions that today we call "Christianity." I suspect they were living by the seat of their pants."
A serious question for her writing will be to see if she directs her readers toward embracing ancient practices, or if in her interpretation, they are jettisoned from the practices of the church? I fear that subjecting this work to strict philosophical consistency would reveal a work of Swiss cheese, but in the new emergence, that is acceptable, even laudable.
While not thrilled with her rationale, her Myth and Tradition reflects a Wesleyan(theological) perspective on the table. She writes: "Jesus practiced a radical faith: everyone was welcome at his table. You are welcome at this table. The altar is the big table. This is the table that wants everyone there: poor and rich, women and men, children and older people, mentally disabled and depressed . . . The gospel reading that makes the most sense to me about the Eucharist is the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus didn't ask those thousands of people camped on that hillside whether they had confessed their sins or how clean they were. He fed them." (92)
And possibly her best quote: "Taking Communion every Sunday is a creative act, and it makes no more "sense" than writing a poem, or, for that matter, reading one. It isn't going to get you anywhere in the world; it's not networking; it has no practical worth. Every creative act, Simone Weil said, is a 'folly of love'." (95)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)