Bread for the World

Bread for the World

Hocus Pocus. It’s a phrase that many stage magicians have used in their various acts. With the wave of a wand over a top hat, they cry Hocus Pocus before pulling a rabbit out of the hat. Hocus Pocus is one of those phrases that we have come to associate with magic, illusion, or even scams. We’ve even been known to say things like, “It’s all just a bunch of hocus pocus.”

I recently stumbled upon one theory about the origins of the phrase Hocus Pocus. Some people believe that is stems from the Latin phrase “hoc est enim corpus meum.” During the middle ages, the priests celebrated all services, including communion, in Latin. Often the words were spoken or whispered, as the priest stood in between the congregation and the communion table with his back to the congregation. When at the appropriate place in the liturgy, the priest, with his back still to the congregation, would raise the bread high into the air and say, “hoc est enim corpus meum” which is latin for “this is my body.” The Catholic Church believes that the bread and wine are literally transformed into the body and blood of Jesus. So it was believed by many people that at the moment the priest said these words, the bread and wine are transformed. It easy to see how the whispered or mumbled phrase hoc est enim corpus meum could have been garbled into hocus pocus. It’s also easy to see how the original use of the words, created this mysterious, even magical, air around them. We can see how it wouldn’t be a big leap for the congregation to believe that these words held some magical power.

Most of us today know that Communion isn’t magic. But there’s still a lot of confusion around what’s happening in communion. Communion is transformed from ordinary bread and juice into a physical sign of Christ’s continual presence with us. That transformation happens by the power of the Holy Spirit, not because we speak a certain set of words like some magical incantation. It’s God’s Holy Spirit that makes communion special, not the words. But the words that are used in the communion liturgy can still help us understand what is communion is and what’s happening.

I’d like to invite you to open up your hymnal to pg 13 and we’ll look together at the communion liturgy. While you’re flipping to the right page, I want to start by reminding everyone that this whole thing is a prayer to God. It sometimes is a bit confusing because the liturgy talks a lot about the things God has done in the past. But that’s a form of praising God as we remember with grateful hearts the things God has done in human history. Praise of God is always prayer.

If you look at the communion liturgy the first thing that happens is a series of short lines that go back and forth between the pastor who is presiding at the table and the congregation. This series of lines is called the Opening Dialogue or the Sursum Corda and it’s actually really ancient. The earliest written record we have of it is from the writings of Bishop Hippolytus and is believed to have been written around 215 A.D. But part of it we know is even older than that. The opening phrase, The Lord be with you, is found in Ruth 2:4. It’s used as a call and response greeting between Boaz and the workers. Its use in scripture suggests it may have been a common greeting, a blessing of sorts, in use during biblical times. That means this phrase has probably been in use long before the birth of Christ.

The opening dialogue then goes on to invite us to lift our heart up to God, which is just another way of inviting us to focus our attention on God. Then it says let us give thanks to the Lord our God. This is a way for the pastor presiding at the table to ask permission to offer this prayer on your behalf and to invite you to join in the prayer.

The next section is called the preface. You’ll notice as we go through the communion liturgy that it is Trinitarian in nature. That means that it is a prayer offered to all three persons of the trinity. This first part talks about God the Creator. The preface here on pg 13 is fairly short but it can be longer. This part can be varied based on the season of the church year or for special occasions but it should always recall the works of God the Father. So basically it should talk about God as creator and God’s activity in human history before the incarnation of Jesus.

You’ll notice that the preface ends by talking about how we join with God’s people on earth and all the company of heaven. This part of the liturgy reminds us that we are not the only people who worship God. Every Sunday, there are Christians all over the world who participate in this communion meal. This meal is not just about me and God, it’s not even just about Calvary UMC and God, this meal is between all believers, all over the world, and God.

Not only do we join together with all the other Christians around the world, we also join together with the whole company of heaven. This means we are joined with all the heavenly beings but also with Christians who have gone before us. We are joined together with all of the Christians through-out all of history as together we praise God. We are essentially asking to be made a part of the heavenly chorus while we are still here on earth. That means we are asking God to make us, this gathered community, a glimpse of the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. We’re asking that God would so transform this community, that when other people look at us and the way we live, they will see a glimpse of God’s kingdom being lived out here on earth.

Then the liturgy moves into the congregational response that begins with Holy Holy Holy. This part is called the Sanctus which, not surprisingly, is the latin word for Holy. The Sanctus is actually comprised of two parts. Both of which are derived from scripture. There first part comes from Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8. These scriptures are of heavenly beings singing this song before the throne of God. This image of unending worship that surrounds God’s heavenly throne reminds us that God is transcendent, that God is beyond any of the limits of the universe, beyond our knowledge, beyond our ability to completely comprehend God. This part reminds us that we worship an awesome God that is not human.

The second half of the Sanctus that begins “Blessed is he” is actually a reference to Jesus. This part is in scripture as well. It can be found in Matthew 21:9 when the crowd shouts praise as Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey. This part of the Sanctus reminds us that God has become incarnate. God who is all powerful and worthy of our unceasing praise has become one of us. God has become human so that we can know God’s love for us and we can be reconciled to God. The Sanctus, as a whole, holds in tension the believe that God is almighty and worthy of our constant praise but also that God has become incarnate, living among us that we might live in relationship with God. What an incredible testimony to the God we worship!

The section immediately following the Sanctus is about Christ’s life and ministry. Just like with the preface, this section can be changed based on the season of the church year. Sometimes we want to highlight different parts of Jesus’ ministry. But this part should always be about Christ and what he has done on our behalf.

Then we have the section that is known as the Words of Institution. This section starts on the top of pg 14 with the words, “On the night in which he gave himself up for us.” The words of institution recall Jesus’ final meal with the disciples as told in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. This section reminds us that we celebrate this meal because Jesus told us to. In it we remember Christ’s final meal with the disciples before he was betrayed but it also reminds us of the meal the risen Jesus shared with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. In that meal it was through the breaking of the bread that the disciples recognized Jesus for the first time. So too it is with us. One of the ways that we recognize the risen Christ’s continual presence with us is through the breaking of the bread. The words of institution also remind us that we have gathered here to worship God, to celebrate the risen Christ and to give thanks for what he has done for us.

At the end of the words of institution we say “So in remembrance of these your might acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ’s offering for us.” That’s a really packed sentence. But let’s start with the end. Christ’s offering for us. We just talked about the words of institution and how they remind us of both Christ’s death and resurrection. Christ’s offering was his whole self. He offered us his body in the crucifixion, but he also offered us his time and energy and resources while he was with the disciples here on earth. Christ gave everything he had on our behalf. So out of praise and thanksgiving, in other words, out of gratitude and thankfulness for what God has done for us, we are to offer ourselves to God. That doesn’t mean that we have to die, but we’re to be a holy and living sacrifice to God. So our whole lives should be devoted to praising and serving God because Christ first offered himself for us.

So we are offering our whole selves as we remember Christ’s sacrifice for us and as we proclaim the mystery of faith. That’s when we recite together what’s called the memorial acclamation. This is the central belief of the Christian faith. The central belief is that God loves us so much that God took on human form, lived among us and then went so far as to die for us. But not only to die for us, we believe that Christ rose from the dead, and that Christ will come again. That’s the summary of Christian faith and we proclaim it together as we celebrate this distinctively Christian meal.

Then we have the section called the epiclesis. It’s a Greek word that means “calling upon.” The first part of the liturgy recalled the saving acts of God the Father, the second part recalled the saving acts of God the Son, and this part calls upon the Holy Spirit to act now. We pray for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on us. Often our minds skip over this part and jump right to the part about the bread and the cup being transformed into the body and blood of Jesus, but we’re also asking the Holy Spirit to make all of us who are gathered in this place and around the world, into the body of Christ for the world. This parts really important. It’s the Holy Spirit that makes these ordinary things something special. It’s not some magic hocus pocus. It’s God’s spirit that makes the difference. Just like it’s God spirit that is able to transform us from broken people to whole people. It’s also a way for us to proclaim that God didn’t just abandon the world after Christ’s resurrection. God is still active in human history. We believe that so strongly that we are asking God to transform us, and the bread and juice right here, right now.

Following the Epiclesis there is a prayer for unity. The flow here is important. It moves from individual to global. First we pray to be one with Christ, then we pray to be one with each other, that is with other Christians. Then we pray to be one in service to the world so the whole world may come to know God.

The second half of the prayer for unity is when we proclaim our trust that Christ will come again and we will feast with him at the heavenly banquet. This part points to the future reign of God. We believe that God didn’t just set creation in motion and then walk away. But that God has been active throughout history and God continues to be active in history to bring about the completion of creation when God’s kingdom will be on earth as it is in heaven. It’s this belief that allows us to look to the future with hope, despite all the negative things happening in the world around us.

The last section of the prayer is the doxology. Doxology actually comes from the greek word Doxa meaning glory. So a doxology is giving glory, or praise to God. The liturgy opened with praise of God and it closes with praise of God. And here is brings praise of the trinity together. God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are all praised.

The very last thing in the liturgy is everyone saying Amen together. Believe it or not, there is actually a meaning to the word Amen. It’s not just some word we say to mark the end of a prayer. Amen actually means “so be it.” And by saying it at the end of a prayer it means you are giving your assent to all that’s been said. It’s a way for you to say you agree with a prayer that’s been said on your behalf. You should only say Amen at the end of the prayer if you agree with what’s been said.

That’s your whirlwind overview of what that communion liturgy is about. There’s a lot more nuances to it than that but that’s the basic gist of it. But so what? Why does it matter what the communion liturgy says?

Well for one thing, I think it’s important for you to know what’s being said in prayers that are prayed on your behalf. But also, because those prayers, and the things that are said or symbolized in the communion liturgy have serious implications for how we live as Christians. These prayers and participation in this meal place an ethical claim on our lives.

In the liturgy, we pray that the Holy Spirit would transform us into the body of Christ for the world. That means we are supposed to live in such a way that people are able to experience Christ through us. That means that as Christ’s body in the world, we are to live out here and now, God’s intent for the world. We’re to pray for the things Jesus would pray about, care for those Jesus would care about, love those Jesus loves, feed those that Jesus would feed, heal those that Jesus would heal, strive for the freedom of those that Jesus would free, not just here in Mt. Airy but all over the world.

Jesus is the Bread of life and we, the body of Christ, are called to be bread for the world. How is it that you are doing those things? Are you praying on a regular basis? Are you part of a small group where you care for the needs of one another? Are you participating in any social justice ministries? You don’t have to do everything yourself, but as the body of Christ, eat of us are called to do something in ministry to one another and to the world. How are you being bread for the world?

Amen.