Epiphany

We’re in Epiphany, the season when we celebrate “showing forth,” telling others about Jesus. The question: celebrate it—or do it? Is it enough to recognize the season in the church year on a few Sundays? To act generally benign toward others, sort of “his life would make no sense if there were no God”? Or am I to trudge the countryside and city streets, handing out tracts and “proclaiming” the good news? Remember the last few verses of the gospel according to St. Matthew, where Jesus himself, not Paul or any other chronicler, enjoins us to spread the word? [Never mind that these verses were added years after the rest of the book, they’ve still been considered part of the Word for many centuries.] So where does that leave mes—how AM I to do this proclaiming, anyhow? Do I wear a cross? Ask out loud “What would Jesus do?” at every opportunity? Plaster a “Honk if you love Jesus” bumper sticker on my car? Do I bring him into every conversation? Is it enough to do nice things for people without expecting thanks, let alone recognition? Need I volunteer on Church committees? How does his “Great Commission” translate into what He expects of me, flowing out of my love for him as a response for his love for me? How? How?

The Eucharist

Eucharist [meaning “Thanksgiving,” and also known as “Holy Communion,” “Mass,” and “The Lord’s Supper”] is recognized as the central act of worship in the Episcopal/Anglican liturgy, as well as that of our mother church, Roman Catholic, and its affiliated orthodox branches. Have you ever considered these words from the various approved forms for the consecration of the elements in our Book of Common Prayer?
A. “Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of your Son, the holy food and drink of new and unending life in him.” [p. 363]
B. “Send your Holy Spirit upon these gifts that they may be the Sacrament of the Body of Christ and his Blood of the new Covenant.” [p. 369]
C. “Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.” [p. 371]
D. “We pray that your Holy Spirit may descend upon us and upon these gifts, sanctifying them and showing them to be holy gifts for your holy people, the bread of life and the cup of salvation, the Body and Blood of your Son Jesus Christ.” [p. 375]
E. “Vouchsafe to bless and sanctify, with thy Word and Holy Spirit, these thy gifts and creatures of bread and wine, that we…may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood.” [p. 335]
F. “Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.” [p. 403]
G. “Send your Holy Spirit upon these gifts. Let them be for us the Body and Blood of your Son.” [p. 405]
Are the differences in the wording significant? Are the elements MOLECULARLY changed [see B & C], or SPIRITUALLY changed, or is their SIGNIFICANCE changed]? And did He mean for everyone [see B], for all Christians [see A, D, & F], or just for those gathered [see E & G]? What did He mean by “EACH TIME you do this, do it in for the remembrance of me”—each Passover, each holy day, each supper, each meal, or each Thursday? Is the Eucharist a simple memorial—a chance to remember him [as the words suggest]—or is it more? How much more? What do YOU believe? And finally, the real question: how critical are these considerations to understanding our faith?