The Lord's Supper has been embedded in the liturgies of the historic Catholic churches.
A liturgy is a ritual. As one Catholic scholar put it, “The liturgy, (is) a term that in Greek indicates the ritual action of a people that celebrates, for example, its feasts, as happened in Athens.” The scholar contrasts the sacred liturgy of the Mass to secular liturgies:
The sacred liturgy exhibits this attribute because it is not made in our image -- in this case the worship would be idolatrous, that is, created by our hands -- but is made by the Omnipotent Lord. In the Old Testament, with his presence he indicated to Moses how he had to predispose in its most minimal details the worship of the one God, next to his brother Aaron. In the New Testament, Jesus did as much on defending true worship by expelling the merchants from the Temple and giving the Apostles the dispositions for the Paschal Supper. The apostolic tradition has received and re-launched Jesus Christ's mandate. Hence, the liturgy is sacred, as the West says -- it is divine, as the East says, because it is instituted by God. St. Benedict defines it Opus Dei, work of God, to which nothing must be preferred. Precisely the mediating function between God and man, proper of the high priesthood of Christ, and exercised in and with the liturgy by the priest minister of the Church, attests that the liturgy comes down from heaven, as the Byzantine liturgy states based on the image of revelation. It is God who establishes and hence indicates how he must be "worshipped in spirit and in truth," that is, in Jesus his Son and in the Holy Spirit. He has the right to be worshipped as he wishes. (Source: Zenit interview with Theologian and Liturgist Father Nicola Bux Between Innovation and Tradition)
In this statement we can see how Catholic doctrine considers the Catholic liturgy and God's plan for how we ought to worship Him to be identical. Historically the Lord's Supper, and worship itself, became identified with, and embedded in the liturgy of the Catholic Mass. Protestants called that identification an error and extracted the Lord's Supper from the Mass. That is one historical reason why the Lord's Supper was deemphasized during the Reformation.
But the Lord's Supper is a thing separate in itself and stands apart from all human liturgy, whether Catholic or Protestant. It is not identical with any liturgy we have devised. It has its own place outside of any liturgy of our own because it is prior to all such liturgy. It is the liturgy planned in the “determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God”, it was designed for the Church by God. We say it is prior to all liturgy because the Gospel of Jesus Christ was the mystery of God hidden from before the foundation of the world:
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: (Acts 2:23)
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:8)
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, (1 Peter 1:19-20)
The Gospel was planned in God's determinate counsel and foreknowledge, His eternal plan. Jesus is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”. All things concerning Christ were foreordained before the foundation of the world by God. The Lord's Supper itself was also foreordained, that the Church may celebrate our Lord in the manner He wishes us to.
Though we Protestants may disagree with many things in Catholic doctrine, some of the things said above are true: the Lord's Supper is not made in our image (or by us); God has predisposed the details of worship concerning His Son; Jesus confirmed this in the cleansing of the Temple and other acts; He predisposed the details of the Lord's Supper to the disciples at the Last Supper; the Lord's Supper is sacred and divine because instituted by the Lord Himself; nothing must be preferred to this heavenly liturgy; God has established how He will be worshiped; He has this right.
The Lord's Supper itself is part of that eternal plan, intended to speak simply and elegantly, when rightly understood, of the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to the Scriptures. In it, Jesus indeed is given the preeminence that is rightly His. Also it testifies of Him in the way He chose to be remembered. Therefore its place in congregational worship is to be the central organizing and mediating element; it cannot be replaced by any thing of human invention. What is more, because the Lord's Supper is a figure of the holy, The Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified, it takes on the character of the sacred and the holy (witness Paul's cautions). It lends an aura of the sacred and the holy to the entire assembly gathered around it.
If we analyze the statement about the liturgy by Father Bux, we can find valuable concepts that will enrich our Protestant view of things. Someone might ask why Protestants should care what a Catholic says. My answer is that we get a fresh view of things, which though we may disagree with it, is certainly stimulating. Examine the table below. In the left hand column is the Catholic statement. In the right hand column is a restatement. The intent is to discern the meaning of what is being said, and if it is applicable, or offers worthwhile insight, to restate the thing from a Protestant viewpoint. It should be of interest to note that these things would be applicable from almost any theological point of view. They speak to aspects of the Lord's Supper that inhere despite specific doctrines whether sacramental or memorialist. The value of this exercise lies, I believe, in the fact that we Protestants usually don't spend much time thinking about the Lord's Supper beyond some basic doctrines.
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The Catholic statement |
A Protestant rephrasing |
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1. The sacred liturgy exhibits this attribute because it is not made in our image — in this case the worship would be idolatrous, that is, created by our hands—but is made by the Omnipotent Lord. |
The Lord's Supper is God’s design. It isn't something made by us in our own image, which would be idolatry — It was made for us by the Omnipotent Lord Himself. |
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2. In the Old Testament, with his presence he indicated to Moses how he had to predispose in its most minimal details the worship of the one God, next to his brother Aaron. In the New Testament, Jesus did as much on defending true worship by expelling the merchants from the Temple and giving the Apostles the dispositions for the Paschal Supper. |
God, in the Old Testament predisposed worship in its most minimal details. In the New Testament, Jesus defined spiritual and true worship and gave us the Lord's Supper, for which the Paschal Supper was an Old Testament type. |
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3. The apostolic tradition has received and re-launched Jesus Christ's mandate. |
The Church, following the Apostles, put into practice Jesus Christ's mandate. Though Protestants differ greatly about the question of Apostolic authority. We are following the practices shown in Scripture. |
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4. Hence, the liturgy is sacred, as the West says— it is divine, as the East says, because it is instituted by God. St. Benedict defines it Opus Dei, work of God, to which nothing must be preferred. |
The Lord's Supper is sacred and divine, because instituted by Jesus Christ to speak of Himself. It speaks of the Heavenly pattern, and takes on the aspect of holiness because the Heavenly pattern is holy. Also it is sactified by prayer and thanksgiving. It is a work of God, His invention, to which nothing of our own invention must be preferred. Jesus Christ must have the preeminence in all things, and be over all things. |
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5. Precisely the mediating function between God and man, proper of the high priesthood of Christ, and exercised in and with the liturgy by the priest minister of the Church, attests that the liturgy comes down from heaven, as the Byzantine liturgy states based on the image of revelation. |
The exact image of the revelation of Christ, mediating between God and man as the true sacrifice of which we must partake, portrayed so clearly in the Lord's Supper shows that it is of God's devising. |
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6. It is God who establishes and hence indicates how he must be “worshipped in spirit and in truth,“ that is, in Jesus his Son and in the Holy Spirit. He has the right to be worshipped as he wishes. |
It is God who establishes and hence indicates how he must be “worshipped in spirit and in truth,” that is, in Jesus his Son and in the Holy Spirit. He has the right to be worshipped as he wishes. |
The Lord's Supper is not made by us in our own image, we didn't devise it. It is made by the Lord Himself. It would be idolatrous for us to have done this on our own. God, in the Old Testament predisposed worship in its most minimal details. In the New Testament, Jesus defined true worship. He also gave us the Lord's Supper, that testimony of Himself, and for which the Paschal Supper was an Old Testament type. The New Testament Church, following the Apostles example in Scripture, put into practice Jesus Christ's mandate: “This do …”. The Lord's Supper is sacred and divine, because it is instituted by Jesus Christ to speak of Himself. It takes on the aspect of sacredness because it displays the true Heavenly pattern. And it is sanctified by prayer and thanksgiving. It is a work of God, His invention, to which nothing of our own invention must be preferred. Jesus Christ must have the preeminence in all things, be over all things, be at the center of all things. The Lord's Supper has a mediating function between God and man in that it centers our attention on Jesus, and Him crucified, the true Paschal Lamb. The priesthood of all believers is exercised at the remembrance meeting as we gather in worship of Christ according to the Scriptures. We, the communicants, as priests to our God, are also the celebrants as we show forth the Lord's death until He returns. Thus God's revelation of Himself in His Son is portrayed in the bread and wine, and proclaimed by us. It is God who establishes and hence indicates how He must be worshipped in spirit and in truth, that is, in Jesus his Son and in the Holy Spirit. He has the right to be worshipped as he wishes. Amen.
If what I've said is true what place do you think the Lord's Supper has in our gathering?
Are you availing yourself of what God has given us to enable congregational worship? If you are, what is your understanding of it? I've mentioned some of its value to us in worship, there is so much to this simple feast.
If you are not remembering the Lord as He planned, usually on Sundays, why not? Have you substituted something else?
©FH 2012