You nailed it, Richard. I pastor a Reformed congregation that has, since its founding, celebrated the Eucharist every Sunday. This is a very Reformed practice, and Calvin himself, who had taught the real/spiritual presence of Christ in the Eucharist, advocated for it. However, the hangover from affective sacramentalism is strong, and I find it necessary to constantly preach a trust in Christ’s sacramental presence in the bread and wine. I think the sermon is still important, however, and I think that without strong preaching, the sacraments themselves will become meaningless. It’s always Word and Sacrament together.
Can’t help but think of the Beatles song “I’ve got a feeling”
Thanks Richard - this is helpful as I’ve reflected for quite sometime about our tendency towards emotional manipulation in worship settings, especially adolescent youth camps.
While I agree with much of what you have said, I believe that you are underestimating the power of the word of God in the daily lives of believers. I have attended many services where the sermon was" boring and bland" and they have left me empty. I need the instruction of the word to help me through the week. But I do believe the Evangelical Church would do well to consider a weekly Eucharist celebration to add the encounter with Christ on a more material level
I too agree with Richard AND think something is missing. As "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing," so there is an ongoing need to acknowledge and receive the grace that Christian faith offers, and that need is felt. The Lutheran church I was raised in sang plainsong verses from Psalm 51 to set the right "note" for communion: "Create in me a new heart, O' God, and renew in me a right spirit..." I take the idea AND sentiment to express a universal need and moreover think addressing it through faith is the crux of why church matters.
As a Catholic coming from a Calvinist upbringing, I found transubstantiation, where the bread becomes not just symbolically but really the Body of Jesus even though it appears unchanged, not completely unfamiliar. After all, the Calvinist understanding of conversion, of accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior, is a permanent and irreversible change in the very core my being. Says St Paul, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2Co 5:17) Even though I may look and act the same, underneath I am a radically different human being now "born again".
You nailed it, Richard. I pastor a Reformed congregation that has, since its founding, celebrated the Eucharist every Sunday. This is a very Reformed practice, and Calvin himself, who had taught the real/spiritual presence of Christ in the Eucharist, advocated for it. However, the hangover from affective sacramentalism is strong, and I find it necessary to constantly preach a trust in Christ’s sacramental presence in the bread and wine. I think the sermon is still important, however, and I think that without strong preaching, the sacraments themselves will become meaningless. It’s always Word and Sacrament together.
Can’t help but think of the Beatles song “I’ve got a feeling”
Thanks Richard - this is helpful as I’ve reflected for quite sometime about our tendency towards emotional manipulation in worship settings, especially adolescent youth camps.
While I agree with much of what you have said, I believe that you are underestimating the power of the word of God in the daily lives of believers. I have attended many services where the sermon was" boring and bland" and they have left me empty. I need the instruction of the word to help me through the week. But I do believe the Evangelical Church would do well to consider a weekly Eucharist celebration to add the encounter with Christ on a more material level
I too agree with Richard AND think something is missing. As "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing," so there is an ongoing need to acknowledge and receive the grace that Christian faith offers, and that need is felt. The Lutheran church I was raised in sang plainsong verses from Psalm 51 to set the right "note" for communion: "Create in me a new heart, O' God, and renew in me a right spirit..." I take the idea AND sentiment to express a universal need and moreover think addressing it through faith is the crux of why church matters.
Moving from low church to sacramentalism has been one of my favorite things! Thanks for your thoughts on this,thought provoking.
This is brilliantly insightful.
As a Catholic coming from a Calvinist upbringing, I found transubstantiation, where the bread becomes not just symbolically but really the Body of Jesus even though it appears unchanged, not completely unfamiliar. After all, the Calvinist understanding of conversion, of accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior, is a permanent and irreversible change in the very core my being. Says St Paul, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2Co 5:17) Even though I may look and act the same, underneath I am a radically different human being now "born again".