{"id":514,"date":"2011-08-24T21:32:00","date_gmt":"2011-08-24T21:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/standingonmyhead\/2011\/08\/last-supper-or-marriage-supper\/"},"modified":"2011-08-24T21:32:00","modified_gmt":"2011-08-24T21:32:00","slug":"last-supper-or-marriage-supper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/standingonmyhead\/2011\/08\/last-supper-or-marriage-supper.html","title":{"rendered":"Last Supper or Marriage Supper?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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I attended Mass some time ago celebrated by an aged priest who was clearly of the 1970s \u2018we are church\u2019 brigade. He celebrated Mass reverently enough, but like many of his ilk, he altered the words when it suited his particular agenda.<\/p>\n

When it came to elevating the host and saying, \u201cHere is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, Happy are those who are called to his supper.\u201d He said, \u201cThis is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, Happy are those who are called to share in this Last Supper.\u201d Now this interested me because, I must admit, I sometimes change the words here myself and (anticipating the new translation) say, \u201cBehold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb\u201d The new translation is: Behold the Lamb of God. Behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those who are called to the supper of the Lamb.\u201d<\/p>\n

The contrast is between \u201cHappy are those who are called to this Last Supper\u201d and \u201cBlessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.\u201d Now, we don\u2019t want to be too persnickety but the difference in the choice of words indicates an important difference in perspective on the Eucharist.<\/p>\n

Is the Eucharist a re-enactment of the Last Supper? In the liturgical life of the church, the Eucharist is not actually a re-enactment of the Last Supper. The solemn re-enactment of the Last Supper is on Holy Thursday. The Holy Thursday liturgy is not only a re-enactment of the Last Supper, but also a commemoration of the establishment of the priesthood and the institution of the Mass.<\/p>\n

The Mass is not therefore, (and never has been) a re-enactment of the Last Supper, but a re-presentation of the One, Full, Final Sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross. The Mass is a re-presentation of the mystery of the Death of our Lord\u2013not a re-enactment of the Last Supper.<\/p>\n

So why does a liberal priest impose on the Mass words of his own which are foreign to the sacrifice of the Mass? Because he does not like the idea that the Mass is a sacrifice. He wants it to be a fellowship meal, and the shift from sacrifice to fellowship meal is an attempt to make the Mass more \u2018people centered\u2019. He want the Mass to be all about our fellowship around the table of the Lord, and the Mass as re-enactment of Last Supper fits that agenda better. Furthermore, and at a deeper level, he is uncomfortable with the whole idea of the death of Christ being an atonement for sin. He doesn\u2019t really like the \u2018primitive\u2019 idea of blood sacrifice \u2018appeasing an angry God\u2019. He feels that a supernatural explanation of the cross as a cosmic sacrifice of the Son of God which expiates the sins of humanity is somehow \u2018inaccessible\u2019 to modern man. It is \u2018not helpful\u2019 and \u2018difficult for modern people to connect with.\u2019 A fellowship meal, on the other hand, is more understandable\u2013more relevant and more politically correct for a \u2018fellowship meal\u2019 can carry all sorts of justice and peace connotations as well. Suddenly the Mass is all about \u201ccaring and sharing for one another and welcoming all to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

I am not saying these are concepts which are totally alien to the Mass, but they are subsidiary and secondary considerations of the meaning of the Mass. They are not primary.<\/p>\n

So where does the Mass as \u2018the marriage supper of the Lamb\u2019 fit in? Well, this is an allusion to the Book of Revelation where the worship in heaven is said to be the \u2018marriage supper of the Lamb.\u2019 This builds on the nuptial imagery throughout the New Testament (especially in the Epistle to the Ephesians. In this language of mystery the church is the bride of Christ, and heaven is the final consummation of the mystical marriage between Christ and his Church. There in heaven the two are one. Bride and groom have been united in a mystical marriage of pure and eternal love.<\/p>\n

The Mass is the re-presentation of the full, final sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, but if it is a supper it is not the Last Supper, but the Ultimate Supper\u2013it is a foretaste of heaven. It is a glimpse of glory. It is a participation here on earth in the mystical and everlasting worship of heaven. It is the consummation of all things, the harvest of souls and the rapture of divine love within the human soul.<\/p>\n

And these sublime ideas and these beautiful beyond words images should be reduced to some sort of fellowship meal? As if the Holy Mass were not much more than a pot luck supper?<\/p>\n

Please. Give me a break.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I attended Mass some time ago celebrated by an aged priest who was clearly of the 1970s \u2018we are church\u2019 brigade. He celebrated Mass reverently enough, but like many of his ilk, he altered the words when it suited his particular agenda. When it came to elevating the host and saying, \u201cHere is the Lamb […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":557,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nLast Supper or Marriage Supper?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I attended Mass some time ago celebrated by an aged priest who was clearly of the 1970s 'we are church' brigade. 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