Story time: sharing in
Christ's life Story
becomes drama in sacraments. And especially so in
the Eucharist. At one level this is a re-telling, a
re-enactment of the Last Supper, the events of the night
before Jesus died. At another, it expands to
involve us in the whole drama of Christ's life and death
and rising again, the momentous involvement of God with
his own creation. A
story within a story, the Passover and the sacrificial
lamb, the unleavened 'bread of affliction'. But
this time the lamb to be sacrificed is Jesus the Christ
of God, and he is preparing his friends for this at the
supper. But as yet, they do not understand. The
Passover story looks back, the story Jesus tells looks
forward. Traditional
story-telling is verbal; Jesus did this at the Last
Supper. At the Eucharist the priest re-tells the
story: "On the night before he died…"
But where are we in this story? We join the
disciples with Jesus in the upper room to share in
Christ's body and blood and remember that he died for us;
we give thanks that he lived and died and rose again for
us. But
more even than this: Jesus shares himself with us; his
story becomes our story. He continues telling the story
of God through us, our actions, how we live our lives. At the
Eucharist we bring our own stories and seek healing,
wholeness, forgiveness and strength to go ahead. As
we meet with one another, worship God, hear the
scriptures, pray and share this special meal we are
renewed as the body of Christ to continue his work in the
world today. That
is why this drama goes on, in great cathedrals and prison
cells, in times of joy and in times of sorrow. The
drama of the Eucharist says it all. |