In looking back over more than thirty years of conversations about the Eucharist most of what my colleagues and I have discussed has revolved around three things: the relationship between the church\u2019s practice and Judaism; the question of what happens to the bread and wine, if and when a priest blesses them; and the practice of the ritual itself. \u00a0All three are important.\u00a0 But in retrospect, none of the three topics touches on the deeper assumptions behind the Eucharist.\u00a0 Like the rituals in Jerusalem\u2019s ancient Temple, the celebration of Eucharist is based on the conviction that God has a will for the shape of life in this world \u2014 what the Old Testament describes as \u201cthe righteousness of God.\u201d\u00a0 Ancient Hebrews assumed that God\u2019s order prevailed in heaven, but that it was only partially and imperfectly realized on earth.\u00a0 Everything has a place and everything ought to be in its place, but often it isn\u2019t.\u00a0 The Temple sheltered the altar between heaven and earth where the things that were out of place were put back where they belonged \u2014 souls and bodies were cleansed, sins forgiven, and relationships with God and humankind were restored.\u00a0 The Temple and its rituals weren\u2019t about earning God\u2019s grace or assigning blame.\u00a0 They were about making it possible for God to give the children of Israel the gifts he longed to give them.\u00a0 The Eucharist has its own particular language for that, of course, but it is inspired and shaped by the same deep convictions about what God wants for us.\u00a0 I never receive it or administer it without being moved by the gracious act of restoration that is the ritual we call Eucharist.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In looking back over more than thirty years of conversations about the Eucharist most of what my colleagues and I have discussed has revolved around three things: the relationship between the church\u2019s practice and Judaism; the question of what happens to the bread and wine, if and when a priest blesses them; and the practice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":240,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spiritual-perspectives"],"yoast_head":"\n