“This is my body, This is my blood.”
Luke 22:14-19
14 When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. 15 He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I tell you, I will not eat ituntil it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
I confess, again, I am at a loss to know how to advocate strongly for a return to the Common Cup and the One Loaf in the Episcopal Church (and elsewhere!) without offending close friends and neighbors who have, for one reason or another, become committed to the intinction of a wafer. Certainly we understand now, as Jesus himself obviously did not understand, that there are people who are severely allergic to modern wheat, or seriously intolerant of gluten, or who have alcohol-related reasons for avoiding the cup altogether.
But these medically based reasons are exceptions to be understood and cared for pastorally, with love. They are not, sisters and brothers, the basis of a general rule to be followed by all.
The general rule is the Gospel warrant, and it is clear: Take the Cup and share it, Break the Loaf and share it. As much as the symbolism of Body and Blood, the symbolism of Sharing is central to the sacrament of the Eucharist.
No one can honestly claim to know when, why, or how the practice of dipping a wafer came into common use in the Church. It is true the first recorded instances are early on, but not as early on as the Upper Room. Here is a good article that explores the question. It is a good idea to read all of it carefully.
Drink ye all, of this . . .
It seems to me that out of all the history, all the reasons, all the passionate arguments that there is a better way to share the Lord’s Supper than the way Jesus shared it with his friends in the Upper Room, there are two reasons that are obviously most prominent: Convenience, and Squeemishness.
It is easier to carry, store, and distribute small disc-like wafers than actual loaves of bread. (By the way, it is also easier for dipping into the cup.)
And since the advent of epidemic AIDS, people have become afraid (a more pastoral word than “sqeemish”) to share the world with their fellow human beings. (They are forgetting that sticking one’s fingers into the cup is far filthier than drinking from it!)
Perhaps there is one more sociological reason that overlays all this – the preoccupation with the modern concept of individualism. If Communion is something to be shared only with God, then intinction with a wafer hardly matters. But individualism does not seem to have been part of the Upper Room experience, nor of the life of the early Church.
Sisters and brothers: lose the commitment to Community, and you lose the reason for going to Church. I suggest to you there is a reason for the steep decline in Church attendance (and Church budgets!) over the last twenty years – the same time period that has seen the nearly wholesale rejection of the Common Cup by Episcopalians. Lose the Common Cup and you lose the Common Bond. Lose the Common Bond and you lose the essence of Ecclesia, the basic nature of the Church. Lose the sacramental experience of church, and you lose the reason for getting up on Sunday morning and traveling to that lovely building.
“Drink from this, all of you.”
As lay members of congregations we cannot immediately effect a change from wafers to a Common Loaf. But this Sunday we can put a stop to the practice of dipping. As the Cup comes around, look to the Sister or Brother before you and think: “You are my Sister/Brother, the salt of the earth, the light of the world. I am deeply honored to share the Cup of Christ with you.”
And then help the chalice bearer to raise the Cup to your lips, and drink.
You will be converted all over again. I promise.
~ Will, ObJN
Filed under: My Thoughts, Prayer, Theology Tagged: Christian community, common cup, ecclesia, Eucharist, Last Supper, Upper Room
