God works in the Old Testament for example to really imprint upon us the power of sacrifice not just by talking about in the abstract but in the blood spilled of bulls, goats, lambs, or doves. And I see this in the bread and wine too. There is something tangible, real, with taste texture etc. It is not just a spiritual thing obviously. Maybe we just need to accept the mystery of this and not get caught up by the metaphysics of it all.
And, I think you got the theology right too.
]]>People have argued about this for a long time. On one hand we have the reductionists and on the other we have the spiritualizers. One group wants to squeeze the supernatural out of as much of Christianity as possible and the other group infuses mystery where there is none to be found. We will not settle this battle here.
Bottom line is this: there are spiritual and mysterious elements that are part of the world that God has created. There is a part of Christianity that is supernatural even as God is outside of His creation. Jesus (echoed by Paul) used some powerfully mysterious language when instituting the Lord’s Supper. There is nothing foolish about merely talking Him at His word. The Bread is His body, the Wine is His blood. Paul goes on to give some pretty strange warnings about eating and drinking to our peril if the bread and wine are nothing more than bread and wine.
I used to think it was silly in the Nicene Creed to say that baptism was for the “remission of sin” … until I saw that it was a quote from Acts. That was a little humbling. I really wanted baptism to merely be a symbolic act, and not an effectual means. You can’t always get what you want …
I have learned to accept mystery.
]]>It seems to me that the bread and wine is just bread and wine still when we eat it and that’s the way the bible talks about it. You guys know the arguments about this better than I do and I dont think that they are worth falling out over but I just dont see the power of the supernatural bread and wine argument. There is something in the taking of the physical bread and wine into our bodies that draws us closer to Jesus and reminds us physically of his presence - but help me out with this because I dont see anything more in this. (so, it is reveled, I am not much of a Lutheran, nor a Calvinist, I am Zwinglian!) Solo Deo Gloria!
]]>So, so, SO well said. This is why I love to have Frank Hart as my colleague. This is SO making it into a sermon very soon.
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