All Saints Below and Saints Above

In my ongoing engagement with the matter of real presence and so forth, I keep going back to the "Hymns on the Lord's Supper." Historically for Methodists (particularly outside the United States), the hymns were the primary means of catechesis. Unfortunately, the "Hymns on the Lord's Supper" was not generally the hymnal most Methodists used (obviously because it was an issue specific hymnal). The standard hymn book used by the Methodists in Wesley's day was his "Hymns for the Use of the People Called Methodists." They supplied other supplementary hymn books that focused on particular points of doctrine or times of the year (for example, the "Hymns on the Trinity" or the "Hymns on the Lord's Supper" or the "Hymns on the Nativity" and so forth). At any rate, in my own theological and liturgical reflections, I keep coming back to the notion of how it is that we receive Christ in the Eucharist who is the paschal lamb who is at the same time offered "once for all". Classic protestantism found this to be irreconcileable. I, however, don't think so, and the reason is connected to the notion of time in relation to eternity. What does it mean for Christ to be an "eternal sacrifice"? Liturgically (and I suppose this is a bit more eastern, maybe in connection with the liturgy of St. Chrysostom), time and space seem to suspend while the altar becomes the axis mundi of reality. Therefore, we see the very Paschal Lamb slain on Calvery, while at the same time we behold the glorified and risen Christ with whom we are joined as "a holy and living sacrifice." Where do I support this "time suspension" theory scripturally? I look at Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4. I contend that the prophet Isaiah and John of Patmos are beholding the very same scene: Christ crucified, glorified, and almighty ( pantocrator). With this in mind, the classic protestant critique that Catholics re-sacrificed Christ (or attempted to) is false. Yes, it is Christ crucified, but because in the context of worship, time and space are suspended and the entirety of God's economy converges at the altar (vertically) and disperses out into and among the people (horizontally) (this is why we talk about the Eucharist as the sacrament of sanctification and indeed the greatest of the sacraments). Ok. Why am I going on about this? I pulled out the "Hymns on the Lord's Supper" and all this that I had been ponduring over the past many months about time/space and real presence seemed to be summed up in one hymn. Here it is:

Let all who truly bear
The bleeding Saviour's name
Their faithful hearts with us prepare,
And eat the Paschal Lamb.
Our Passover was slain
At Salem's hallowed place
Yet we who in our tents remain,
Shall gain his largest grace.

This Eucharistic feast
Our every want supplies;
And still we by his Death are blessed,
And share his Sacrifice.
By faith his Flesh we eat,
Who here His Passion show,
And God out of His Holy Seat
Shall all his gifts bestow.

Who thus our faith employ,
His sufferings to record,
Even now we mournfully enjoy
Communion with our Lord.
And though we everone
Beneath his cross had stood
And seen him heave, and heard him groan
And felt his gushing blood.

O God! Tis finished now!
The Mortal pang is past!
By faith his head we see him bow
And hear him breath his last!
We too with him are dead,
And shall with him arise;
The cross on which he bows his head
Shall lift us to the skies.


By the way, the line "At Salem's hallowed place" is in reference to Melchizidek. He was the king of Salem in Genesis 14 who offered bread and wine to Abram. Now, this hymn focuses more on the Sacrifice of Calvary than anything else, but there is this sense of time/space suspension that Wesley is conveying. We see Christ crucified, and it is the very Christ offered by Melchizidek. How is this possible, except that we are drawn into the enternity of God through the avenue of divine worship. It is Christ sacrificed "once for all" because is the very same event at Calvary that we behold each time we celebrate the Eucharist. Furthermore, this is why the Sursom Corda (Up hearts! or Lift up your hearts) is so important to the liturgy. We affirm that we are "lifted up to the Lord", that is, we are entering into God's eternity where the contraints of time and space are meaningless. This is why the offering of the sacrifice is necessary, though with the corralary that we are offerred in union with Christ's one offering. I could probably go on and make a further argument using both Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4, but this is already long. Anyway, that's enough reflecting for today.

Peace

Barry

I Like These Type Things for Some Reason

You scored as Neo orthodox. You are neo-orthodox. You reject the human-centredness and scepticism of liberal theology, but neither do you go to the other extreme and make the Bible the central issue for faith. You believe that Christ is God's most important revelation to humanity, and the Trinity is hugely important in your theology. The Bible is also important because it points us to the revelation of Christ. You are influenced by Karl Barth and P T Forsyth. Neo orthodox 96% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 89% Roman Catholic 82% Emergent/Postmodern 57% Charismatic/Pentecostal 43% Classical Liberal 29% Reformed Evangelical 29% Fundamentalist 18% Modern Liberal 14% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com