Carolyn’s Reviews > Heaven on Earth: The Gifts of Christ in the Divine Service > Status Update

Kneeling at the table to receive the Sacrament is a more recent custom since the time of pietism, emphasizing the individual reception of the Sacrament, not the Sacrament as an act of the fellowship of the community (koinonia). The continuous distribution of the Sacrament suggests that we are communing at one table in one fluid act of reception. The host is placed either in the right hand (the more ancient custom) or

The drinking of blood was an extreme offense to the Jews, but through it Christ’s death becomes the disciple's life. To accept the cup and drink it is to accept Jesus' suffering and death as the atoning sacrifice for one's sins. To refuse to recognize Christ's body & blood in the Supper is to court condemnation (1 Cor. 11:27-30). Sharing in Christ's suffering & death is the only means to glory-in accord with the inte

The vital question as to the meaning of remembrance is whether it is God who remembers us for Christ's sake or it is we who remember God because of His grace in Christ. Certainly both are true, but God is the one Who first remembers His promises in Christ and Who prompts our response of remembering in faith. God's grace in Christ precedes & is the cause of the Church's remembrance. Every time God showers us with His

Last Supper stands as the most significant meal of Jesus and the most important occasion of His breaking of bread. This is because it is the only meal in which Jesus identifies the bread as His very body and the contents of the cup as His very blood. It is also the only meal that Jesus directs His disciples to repeat. When the Christian Church later breaks bread in celebrations of the Last Supper, this is in response

When Jesus mentions bread, He is pointing to table fellowship where those dining receive both the physical bread needed for life in this world now as well as the eschatological bread that provides the life of the age to come as spiritual sustenance even now. This follows the pattern of the Old Testament manna, which certainly was physical earthly food, but which at the same time provided miraculously and in abundance

Jesus uses Psalm 118 to describe His upcoming rejection by the Sanhedrin. What is so extraordinary about Jesus' imminent crucifixion is that His rejection is the means by which He will become the cornerstone and is therefore a reference to His glory. God's glory is manifested in the rejection of God's Son (v. 22). For the psalmist, this great reversal of rejection as a means for glory is the Lord's doing and therefo

As we saw on the way to Emmaus, where there is no hearing of the Word to cause hearts to burn, the meal cannot open eyes to the eternal realities of heaven on earth in Jesus Christ. This reality-that we join angels and archangels and all the company of heaven in feasting with Christ in His Kingdom-is the reason why we give thanks. And so the Lord's Supper is also called the Eucharist, which means the giving of thanks

One of the great virtues of the historic lectionary is its anonymity, that is, no one knows who chose these readings, how they came together, and what rationale was used. This shields the historic lectionary from the accusation of partisan meddling. Thise who have lived through years of hearing this historic cycle of justifiably treasure its catechetical value, there simply is great value in hearing the same lessons

Viva vox Jesu--the living voice of Jesus--is what we hear when His Word is read and preached. The Word of Jesus is both a written and an oral word. This Word, though written in words inspired and canonically received, is also spoken and heard within a community called the body of Christ. This voice is a living voice, for by it Jesus Christ is present for us bodily. This Word comes from the Word made flesh, a Word tha

In the ancient world, the king would sometimes visit a village or city. Anticipating his coming, villagers would line the road waiting for him to appear, an as he entered the city they would cry, "Lord, have mercy!" Amid their shouts, one could also hear petitions form the crowd for gifts that reflected the king's mercy, such as food, protection, lower taxes, and most important, peace. Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem