Intro

The power and benefits of the Eucharist are made personal, according to Martin Luther, by the words, "given and shed for you". With no uncertainty he finds comfort and consolation in the Eucharist when he writes,

While the personal blessings and mysteries of the Eucharist are many (comfort, consolation, forgiveness, salvation, etc.), the focus of this essay is the Eucharist's call to re-enter corporate, daily life with renewed energy and commitment. The words and actions of the ritual itself develop the disposition and skills needed to carry the riches of the Eucharist into our daily tasks. "Therefore, it is appropriately called the food of the soul since it nourishes and strengthens the new [person]." The Eucharist nourishes and strengthens each person for a purpose that endures when the meal is ended. It calls us to (1) practice reconciliation, (2) respond with humility, (3) express gratitude, (4) demonstrate respect, (5) submit to transformation for the sake of community, and in so doing (6) participate in God's mission.

According to the Augsburg Confession, "the chief purpose of all ceremonies is to teach people what they need to know about Christ." Knowing about Christ includes the realization that we are empowered in him to participate in God's mission. The essence of the Eucharistic message is Jesus Christ crucified and raised, unifying all things in heaven and on earth in himself. The experience of the Eucharist is the experience of God's mission being realized and fulfilled. We are gathered in Christ, justified, and given new life. God continues to extend his grace in Jesus Christ into the world outside our assembly and so infuses us with that mission, empowering us in the Eucharistic Meal through the Holy Spirit.

The genius of the Eucharist is the rhythmic, patient submersion of the assembly in the Body of Christ. Word and Sacrament are the process and means of achieving Church and orienting every member to the likeness of Jesus. The end goal is not that we have performed the Eucharist, but that the Eucharist has formed and enabled us for life as Christians.

Through our participation in the Eucharist, we learn how to live our lives in the context of community and God's ongoing mission. Through the words and actions of the Eucharistic Meal, we experience and practice Christian responses to God's mission that contribute to unity in Christ.

Practice Reconciliation: Sharing of the peace

Confident of our restored relationship with God, we practice reconciliation with our neighbors through the sharing of the peace. The sign of peace may be a kiss, hug, handshake, or simple smile and is accompanied by the words, "The peace of the Lord be with you." The peace serves as the bridge uniting the Liturgy of the Word with the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The proclaimed Word of life and unity enables us to practice peace, readying and welcoming each other to the banquet of life and unity that is the Eucharist.

If we, as the Body of Christ, are not invested in living out the unity that is established and proclaimed in the Eucharist, we mock the very purpose of the sacrament. Paul chides the Corinthians for similar discontinuity, "When you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord's supper. For when the time comes to eat, each of you goes ahead with your own supper, and one goes hungry and another becomes drunk." Instead, we recognize our only hope for reconciliation is Christ. As the Body, we bear that reconciliation to the world. The sharing of the peace is uncomfortable at times, as when our palms are clammy or when the pews make it difficult to greet anyone beyond close proximity. It is also unnatural on days when we worship in a foul mood or continue to bear burdens from a particular relationship. Yet, in the sharing of the peace, we recognize that God works in ways that we cannot evaluate and we submit to the process. "The peace is a sign that those who participate in it open themselves to the healing and reconciling power of God's love and offer themselves to be agents of that love in the world." Confident that the healing and reconciling power of God's love endures when the Eucharist is ended, we daily and intentionally seek peace.

Respond with Humility: Offering, setting of the table,

Recognizing that all gifts and even life itself come from God the Creator and Provider, we respond with humility and use our time, talents, and possessions for the good of others. The offering, setting of the table, offertory, and offertory prayer embody this humility.

We are seated for the collection of the offering, resting our bodies on a bench that supports us. It is humbling to consider our vulnerability and dependence on the braces below. As the plate is passed we must release the grip of our hand to place something in the common collection. We are dependent and vulnerable in the arms of God, and humbly release our human grip on the divine gifts. Even the bread and the wine for the Eucharist will be carried forward with the offering, moving from the heart of our assembly. "The offering of the bread and wine is a sign of what human labor has done to the gifts of God - making wheat into bread and grapes into wine. Thus we offer our whole lives to him." Initially, the offering of our whole lives requires no words; we sit and contemplate God's providence.

As the offering is collected, the ministers are setting the table. Their respectful and diligent service of preparation reminds us of God's hospitality. The finest linens and vessels are readied for the feast. Humbly we recall that Jesus is preparing a place for us. And if he is preparing a place for us, he will come again and take us to himself, so that where he is, there we may be also. Anticipating being with Jesus in this Eucharist and sharing in the procession of the gifts, we stand in praise and respond with the offertory:

Let the vineyards be fruitful, Lord, and fill to the brim our cup of blessing.

Gather a harvest from the seeds that were sown, that we may be fed with the bread of life.

Gather the hopes and dreams of all. Unite them with the prayers we offer.

Grace our table with your presence and give us foretaste of the feast to come.

The earthy petition for a ripe harvest is not lost on urban ears. "It focuses on what God has done and is still doing in our lives." Whatever gifts the Lord brings forth can be used in his service. Fed with the bread of life, we are responding in humility by submitting all our hopes, dreams, and prayers to be united in this community. The presence of the Lord has stirred a hunger for community from our proud individualism.

The offertory prayer acknowledges that the Father receives the gifts that were first his own, "We offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us--our selves, our time, and our possession, signs of your gracious love." Then our attention is turned to Jesus' and his response of humility as we pray according to his merit, "Receive them for the sake of him who offered himself for us..." The perfect sacrifice of Christ's self for us inspires and empowers us to respond with self-giving and discover our purpose. "In this self-offering the person accepts the meaning of life from God's hand rather than claiming to define the meaning of his or her own existence."

The Eucharist reorients each individual to a humble position, both materially and interpersonally, within God's realm of providence. We are called to serve humbly as stewards of the gifts God has given us. Christians distinguish needs from wants, employ moderation and simplicity, and offer self, time, and possessions for the good of all people. Humility also includes an interpersonal dimension. The Liturgy teaches us how to release our grip of control and appropriately submit to one another. We do not need to dominate every conversation or assert every opinion. In the big picture of God's mercy and graciousness to us, we find the freedom to respond in appropriate, life-giving humility.

Express Gratitude: Great thanksgiving and preface

Knowing that God acts consistently in kindness and love, we express gratitude in all circumstances as evident in the great thanksgiving and preface. The anticipation for the banquet is mounting as the bread and wine are made ready. The ministers are positioned behind the freestanding altar and we stand facing them. "[This] indicates the nature of the Great Thanksgiving as both praise and proclamation at once, or more precisely, a third kind of address--thanksgiving--which embraces both praise and proclamation." We praise God by expressing our gratitude for all he has done and all he continues to do.

God's acts of kindness and love in the past warrant due praise and thanksgiving. In addition we acknowledge his presence and activity in today's Eucharist and anticipate his kind and loving work in the feast to come. At the words, "Lift up your hearts," the presider's hands are raised and the community responds, "We lift them to the Lord." These two phrases "keep our attention on God. Every thought is now on the one who planned our salvation and who sent Jesus to accomplish it…" Perhaps by lifting our eyes, head, or hands slightly, we could encourage our hearts and minds to an even more focused attention on the moment. The worries and anxieties of the week, the tasks left undone, and the swirling self-centered obsessions are paused to consider salvation. The presider continues, "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God." Expressing our consent to the prayer and praise about to be spoken, we proclaim, "It is right to give him thanks and praise."

There are no exceptions within this brief dialogue. Neither the call to lift up hearts nor the invitation to give thanks have small print that make allowance for rainy days or exhaustion. Our attention, thanks, and praise are inspired by the consistency of God's kindness and love, not the prerogative of our assembly. "Give thanks in all circumstances," reads a letter to the Thessalonians. To some degree, gratitude is a discipline. The great thanksgiving does not rely on present comforts or human satisfaction for motivation. The discipline of gratitude in this setting focuses our attention on the broader context of God's loving kindness toward creation.

The preface affirms incessant gratitude, "It is indeed good, right, and salutary that we should at all time and in all places give thanks to you, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and ever living God." At all times naturally includes Monday through Saturday. If the people of the Old Testament expressed gratitude for a promise that was to come, surely we who have received that promised Redeemer can also express gratitude. In the spirit of the ancients, we also look forward to the Redeemer's coming again, "You comforted your people with the promise of the Redeemer, through whom you will also make all things new in the day when he comes again to judge the world in righteousness." No matter what adversities arise this week, we are called to express gratitude. God is consistent in his kindness and love. The Redeemer has come. The Redeemer will come again. With hope and gratitude we respond with all creation, "And so with the Church on earth and hosts of heaven, we praise your name and join their unending hymn…"

Demonstrate Respect: Sanctus

Joining the heavenly, global, and timeless assembly, we exercise cosmic reverence and demonstrate respect for others and all creation in the Sanctus. Inspired by the words of Isaiah 6:3 and Mark 11:9 we sing,

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might:

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna. Hosanna. Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

Isaiah heard the hosts of heaven singing "Holy, holy, holy" around the throne of God. Mark records the words of the crowd as Jesus the King road into Jerusalem on a donkey, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" The Eucharist ushers us into the company of heaven and the King. There are no divisions of time, nations, or orders of creation. His presence commands corporate respect. All bow before the Lord Almighty in reverence and awe. We demonstrate respect in our song and praise, but also in our treatment of our "co-praisers". At the foot of the throne, all created things are equal and called to reverence for eternity. The Liturgy allows us to stretch our muscles of respect on a cosmic scale so that we can offer the gift of respect in small ways throughout the week. There is only one worthy of eternal praise. Respect for each other blossoms from the unity and responsibility we share at the foot of his throne. Creation itself--land, air, sea, living things--is called to praise. The Eucharist calls us to sing "Hosanna!" together and avoid attitudes, abuses, and complacencies that would divide our efforts.

Submit to Transformation: Eucharistic prayer, Lord's prayer,

and distribution

The Eucharistic prayer, Lord's prayer, and distribution are inextricably linked. The foreshadowing liturgical actions of sharing of the peace, offering, setting the table, offertory, offertory prayer, great thanksgiving, preface, and sanctus all point to this climax in the Eucharistic drama. From the perspective of the Eucharist as a call to action, the Eucharistic prayer, the Lord's prayer, and the distribution function together as mysteries of transformation. Encountering the Incarnate Lord, we are called to submit to these mysteries for the sake of community. The Eucharistic prayer exemplifies the transformation of our sense of time as "now" into a sense of time as "then, now, and not yet." The Lord's prayer exemplifies the transformation of our self-living into self-giving. Finally, the distribution exemplifies the transformation of individuals into community.

Transforming our sense of "now" into a sense of "then, now, and not yet": Eucharistic prayer

In our immediate gratification, make-your-own-way culture, the Eucharistic prayer welcomes us into the heritage of the Christian faith and incorporates us into the salvation history that will be ultimately and completely fulfilled when Christ comes again. Our sense of "now" is transformed into a mysterious, expectant sense of "then, now, and not yet." The Eucharistic prayer has seven parts that aid the transformation: narrative of praise and thanksgiving, narrative of institution, narrative of remembrance, the remembrance, invocation of the Holy Spirit, prayer for unity looking forward to the last day, and the doxology. The Eucharistic prayer ushers us into a brisk brush with eternity in which the Trinity is active and present, challenging our temporal assumptions and preconceptions.

Through our participation in the narrative of praise and thanksgiving, we realize our celebration of the Eucharist is firmly rooted in the salvation that God set in motion at creation, promised to Abraham, annunciated through the prophets, accomplished in Jesus Christ, and will fulfill when the Lord comes again.

You have filled all creation with light and life; heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Through Abraham you promised to bless all nations.

Through the prophets you renewed your promise;

Concepts of space, time, and genetics are absorbed into one eternal moment where God is King and all things are as he intends them to be. In this moment, we find the identity and purpose that shape our expectations and priorities in life. The narrative of institution is not a reading or a conflation--it is our telling the story now. This story is our story. This Eucharist is the same Eucharist as the Lord's Supper. The presider deliberately raises the cup and the host, but "the gestures are not so much to imitate what Jesus did at the Last Supper as to connect his words of promise visually with this bread and this cup."

The narrative of remembrance unites the "then" of the Last Supper, the "now" of the Eucharist, and the "not yet" of the feast to come, "For as often as we eat of this bread and drink from this cup, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." Imagine the eternal purpose our lives have! We proclaim the Christian faith: "Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again." "The liturgical memorial of Jesus Christ gives the worshipers a share in his love of God and neighbor, driving them to action in the rest of their lives of faith." The remembrance (anamnesis), with the bread and the cup, remembers the life that Jesus offered for us (then), confesses our belief in his resurrection (now), and hopes for his second coming in power (not yet). "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." The invocation of the Holy Spirit calls for the work of transformation both in the bread and wine and in the assembly, "that we who receive the Lord's body and blood may live to the praise of your glory." The prayer for unity looking toward the last day combines our petitions with all saints of every time and place in our great high priest until he comes as victorious Lord of all. "The hands [of the presider] are joined before the breast to emphasize the unity the prayer speaks of." Finally, during the doxology the bread and cup are lifted along with the words of praise, "Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all honor and glory is your, almighty Father, now and forever. Amen." "The elevation here should be interpreted as Luther interpreted it--a gesture of praise to accompany the praise-filled words for the confession and adoration of Christ's presence."

In this rapid overview of the Trinity's action throughout history, our place in his presence today, and the hope of his continuing work and the final coming, we stand in a sacred space outside of time. The chronological, immediate sense of "now" that usually dictate our day has been transformed into a sense of "then, now, and not yet." The call of the Eucharist is to submit to this transformation in order that the experience of this moment may flavor and emblazon our sense of "now" when the meal is ended.

Transforming our self-living into self-giving: Lord's Prayer

The Lord's prayer summarizes the prayers and praises of the Eucharistic Liturgy to this point and asks that we might find purpose and joy in the mission of God, sharing our life with others. The world consistently speaks a message contrary to God's mission. Media and market schemes exploit our predisposition to live for ourselves. The consumer index that serves to measure the growth of our national economy is based on our spending, often spending we cannot afford. Self-help books are the first display at the entrance of most bookstores. "You deserve it." "You have power." "Who cares what anyone else thinks?" The Eucharist grounds our identity in a different reality and calls us to serve others. Self-living is transformed into self-giving. He himself has given us the words of the Lord's prayer through Jesus--his greatest demonstration of self-giving.

Our Father is sincerely concerned over our needs. In this prayer we submit to his tender ways of transformation, that his "kingdom would come" and his "will be done" in and through us. Our futile and persistent attempts to gain satisfaction through living for ourselves have left us broken and desperate. We are in no state to love our God or those around us.

The Eucharist makes visible for us the fulfilling of the 10 commandments in Christ's obedient self-giving. The Father is praised as God alone, we are forgiven as the community is restored and reconciled, and we are strengthened for the trials and temptations of daily life. In the words of Jesus, we learn the submission that welcomes God's transformation of our self-living into self-giving.

Transforming individuals into community: Distribution

James White argues that celebrating the Eucharist silently is a powerful and profound way to experience the transformation of individuals into community:

We seldom experience such a realization of community in our daily lives. Usually we are confined alone despite the many people around us in traffic jams, cubicles, or check out lines. Our greatest worry is generally personal convenience rather than community. The Eucharist escorts us into lived experience of community and Church during the distribution. Men, women, and children are drawn from their seats by the presence of Christ. We stand together, as one body, receiving from the one bread and one cup. Perhaps the greatest disappointment the Manual expresses is the use of individual cups at communion,

Submitting to community presents a challenge to our accustomed standards and patterns as individuals. The Eucharist is a counter-cultural call. If the simple use of individual plastic cups has the effect of confusing our sacramental symbol, we must become aware of the messages that our decisions and individual preferences in daily life communicate. Christian community is not a convenience or a club that we are able to tack on to an already busy week. Community shapes who and how we exist. The sacrament communicates our ongoing submission to be transformed from individuals into community.

Participate in Mission: Blessing and post-communion canticle

Enabled by Christ and the Spirit's strength within us, we go from the Liturgy of the Eucharist to participate in God's mission by practicing reconciliation, responding with humility, expressing gratitude, demonstrating respect, and submitting to transformation for the sake of community. Although the Manual on the Liturgy makes allowance for a blessing after the Eucharist, it suggests that such a verbal blessing pales in comparison to receiving the Body and Blood: "Words, in fact, seem to fail after the experience of the Eucharist, and this blessing may well be omitted. Having received the blessing of the sacrament, what more can be added?" The sacrament is itself the blessing.

The post-communion canticle embodies the new life that is freshly formed at the Eucharist, "Thank the Lord and sing his praise; tell everyone what he has done." Standing joyfully and singing boldly as the Body of Christ, we encourage one another to share the message and participate in the mission by word and deed. Then we pray for the lost sheep and for those who are seeking, "Let all who seek the Lord rejoice and proudly bear his name." After all, God is faithful and fulfills his promises. See! He has done it hear today; he has gathered us in Christ, raised our song and now sends us into the world…"He recalls his promises and leads his people forth in joy with shouts of thanksgiving. Alleluia. Alleluia."

Stemming from the canticle, the final prayer asks the Lord to perpetuate these benefits of the Eucharist for the sake of God's mission.

The Eucharist is refreshing, healing, and a gift of life. Yet, this is not the end. The prayer asks God to strengthen us in faith for service to others. The dismissal and response should be said vigorously; "Our service of God does not end, but rather it assumes a different form as the people go about their daily tasks."

Conclusion

Considering the Eucharistic liturgy as a call to participate in the mission of God encourages us to recognize God's active love and the profound role of the Eucharist in communicating that love in and through daily Christian life. To accomplish his vision of uniting all things in heaven and on earth in Jesus Christ, God employs our ordinary lives and gifts in extraordinary, Spirit-led ways. In the Eucharist he unites and transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. His lovingkindness elicits and empowers the behaviors and responses that support his mission. The Liturgy of the Eucharist emboldens believers with exactly the Christ-filled witness that this world needs.

Reference List

Tappert, Theodore, trans., ed. 1959, Book of Concord. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.