Posted by Ray Kidder on 11/26/2008, 8:27 pm
71.191.61.95
Dear Readers,
On this board in the past, I have promoted the doctrine of consubstantiation. Consubstantiation is the belief that bread, wine, the body of Jesus, and the blood of Jesus are all normally present during the service of Holy Communion. This passage is from Luke 22 (NKJV):
14 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.
15 Then He said to them, “With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;
16 for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
17 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves;
18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
20 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
21 But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.
22 And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”
The interesting thing about verse 19 is the commandment to do this in rememberance of Jesus. Jesus did not say to do it in order to eat him; although there are strong allusions to what it says in John 6 about eating Jesus's flesh.
This is from Luke 11 (NKJV):
1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.”
5 And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves;
6 for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’;
7 and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’?
8 I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.
The interesting thing about Luke 11:1 and the following verses is that it is NOT phrased as a question and answer on HOW to pray. Instead, the question and and associated answer is phrased more like "What do we do when we pray?" Jesus answered with instructions on what to say when praying.
I see similarities in the instructions for both Holy Communion and prayer in that both give guidance on what to do, but neither claims that by merely doing these by rote, you are fulfilling the commandments for these two lessons.
I believe Holy Communion involves the eating and drinking of bread and wine, but it ALSO requires the mind that is set on the rememberance of Jesus and the events of Holy Week. It is the combination of the two that brings fulfillment in Holy Communion. Likewise with prayer, you cannot just parrot words for prayers to have the effects. You also have to be persistent, and have a mind that is set on the meanings of the prayers. My pastor of many years ago stated "Prayer is hard work", and I agree with this statement.
Any comments would be appreciated.
Ray Kidder
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