The Eucharist - God's feast for his people

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? 
The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? (1 Cor 10:16)

Along with baptism, sharing the body and blood of Christ, "a sacrament of our redemption by Christ's blood", is one of the two "Sacraments of the Gospel" recognised by The Book of Common Prayer. In the Anglican Church this act of worship goes by many names. In some churches it is called, 'Holy Communion' to stress the meeting of God with his people-the 'communion' between them-which occurs in our worship. This was the name Thomas Cranmer choose for the Book of Common Prayer. In other churches, especially Roman Catholic ones, it is called the 'Mass', perhaps from the Latin verb, mittere, 'to send out' used in the dismissal, emphasising the ministry of all God's people , who are 'sent out' to be disciples in the world. In some Free Churches it is called 'The Lord's Supper', a reminder that it is celebrated in obedience to Christ's command to 'do this in memory of me'. In others, perhaps most these days, it is sometimes called the 'eucharist', from the Greek verb, eucharisto, 'I give thanks', a celebration of God's presence with his people, now and throughout history, which brings us blessings in abundance. All these names are useful reminders of the many things that happen in this meal.

From the beginning, Christians gathered to 'break bread together' (Luke 24:35, Acts 2:42, 20:7, 1 Cor 10:16), for all the reasons mentioned above. Often this sacred meal was part of an ordinary meal (1 Cor 11:21 ff) shared by the whole community. In time it became separated from this secular meal, and took on the form we know today. Only relatively recently has it been restored to its rightful place as the main Christian act of weekly worship. Until the middle of this century, Matins, or Morning Prayer, was the most common form of worship. In parishes where Holy communion according to the Book of Common Prayer is celebrated as well as the modern Common Worship rite, you will notice some differences between the services. This is due to the liturgical revision of the last forty years, which has sought to return from the medieval mass (more or less Cranmer's model) to the worship of the church in the first centuries.

Some churches have expended a lot of energy and stirred up grievous disputes trying to determine exactly what happens in the eucharist. Roman Catholics teach, or used to teach, that the bread and the wine are changed invisibly but effectually (their outward appears remains the same, but in their inner substance they are changed). This is called 'Transubstantiation'. Others, free church for the most part, are trenchant in their belief that the eucharist is only a memorial, a remembering of what Christ did at the Last Supper. The bread and wine are visual aids but nothing more. Mainstream Anglicans have always been wary of entering into this debate, which produces more heat than light. Instead they have regarded it as more important that it happens, than how it happens. They have been content with a statement attributed to Queen Elizabeth I:

'Twas God the word that spake it,
He took the bread and brake it;
And what the word did make it,
That I believe and take it.
                         -Elizabeth I (1533-1603)

In their shape, our contemporary eucharists fall into two parts, divided by the Greeting of the peace. The first half is sometimes called the Ministry of the Word; the second part the Ministry of the Sacrament. This is unfortunate, as the Ministry of the Word, especially the Gospel reading is a sacramental event (an outward and visible sign of an inner and spiritual truth-Christ's presence amongst his people), and the sacrament proclaims God's sacrificial love and grace as clearly as the gospel. Nevertheless, the first part of the service is taken from the Jewish service of worship, which contains the same rhythm of readings, psalms, hymns and prayers. It takes the shape of a dialogue between God and us, his people, as we enter a conversation, alternately hearing from God's word, responding ourselves with hymns and psalms, then hearing God again. It often concludes with the confession and absolution, the most intimate of conversations, saying sorry and being forgiven. This new unity between us and God spills over into community as we celebrate together the peace we share. Then the Ministry of the Sacrament takes us into particularly Christian territory, where we offer bread, wine, our monetary offerings and ourselves, "our souls and bodies, as a living sacrifice" to festival of thanksgiving and celebration, which culminates in the act of communion itself.

As a meal, this act of communion, echoes the many different meals in Scripture, as well as the Last Supper. It is a fore-taste of the heavenly banquet of God's elect (Isa 38:10-20), and thus a pledge of our redemption. It is an echo of the feeding of the multitude stories in the Gospels, in which Jesus takes compassion us, and as our Shepherd, feeds his flock. It is an enactment of the meals Jesus ate with sinners and outcasts, a meal of inclusion and justice in which all find a place, dramatising by their presence, God's gracious acceptance of all creation.

The rich symbolism of the eucharist can jog many associations and meanings out of us. What does the service mean to you. Where is the most important part for you? Has it always been the same?