Friday, December 23, 2011

Communion...God's choice

I am impressed by the apparent understanding of the Incarnation and presence of God that the Roman church demonstrates. Or, as it was understood by à Kempis. He wrote that the Supper revealed Christ's goodness, charity; humility as He bent down toward humanity. For him, Christ is present in the bread and wine that is regularly shared with the church. So, they regularly share in His presence. While I don't see this understanding in the Scripture, I do think that there is a reality here that we protestants miss. That is that Yahweh, by His own choice, bent down and took on flesh in order to bring God's dominion and presence to the world. This is huge! The Eucharist is one of the best symbols to describe this. While we tend to give intellectual assent to the concept of Incarnation, we do not always reflect on the magnitude of God's love and care for the creation. Perhaps, we simply take it for granted. Perhaps, because of our protestant views of taking communion our vision is blurred. But, I think we should remember that it was God's initiative to commune with us, not our attempts to be with God. We have the opportunity to reflect and remember that Christ came and gave his body and blood so that we can be sustained and nourished by him. It is his goodness, charity & humility that allows us to share in the divine presence. No, I don't believe in transubstantiation. But, I do believe in celebrating the Lord's abiding presence.

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