Remembrance

I once asked a very scholarly theologian why Christians often disagree about the Communion elements. (The bread and wine used in the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist.)

To be honest, three years ago I was an ignorant Evangelical when it came to anything liturgical or even historical about the church. I was just young.

Should it ever be possible to figure things out, I know I’ve got a long way to go. But I’ve grown so much, thanks to my relationship with Jake and thanks to many, many smart individuals in my life.

Anyway, that scholar, I loved what he said,

“Things would be a lot easier if Jesus said this is a symbol of my body, wouldn’t it?”

But Jesus did not say that. He said the elements are His blood and body … a very squirmy idea for non-Christians, and even some Christians. The truth is, this, what is supposed to be the most-unifying tradition, is often the basis for fundamental disagreements. It breaks my heart to no end. This may honestly be the single enduring struggle in my faith. Why can’t we break bread together?

Plenty of theologians possess theories about the words of the institution. And I’ve read a lot of them. I’m just not there, yet. I’m not yet ready to adopt someone else’s doctrine. I’ve asked God for answers and I think I am destined to learn this for myself.

So I am starting from the beginning, the gospel by Luke:

“And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.’”

That word remembrance is most important to me. It also seems to be where a lot of different Christians develop their ideas about what exactly the function of the Eucharist is. So I scanned the Bible for wherever else the word appears.

This is my favorite, it’s from Exodus:

“During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.
And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.”

Because I know God could never forget his covenant, it appears on His part that remembrance denotes action.

And that’s where I am.