The Incarnation, Eucharist, and Community
Written by Mark Van Steenwyk : February 11, 2008
The discovery among evangelicals that our spirituality ought to be shaped by the Incarnation has caused many to re-examine the role of sacraments within the community of faith.
Some suggest that if we are to be truly incarnational we need to embrace sacramentalism; if our view of the sacraments is too weak, then we run the risk of a disembodied spirituality. This is a valid concern, for to be incarnational implies an embodied spirituality, rather than just being word-centered (in my mind, many many evangelical churches make Scripture reading the only real sacrament…a non participatory sacrament that can lend itself to a sort of gnosticism). But if we want to be incarnational, must we be sacramental?
The central sacrament for most Christians is the Eucharist (or Lord’s Supper). High church traditions believe that the Eucharist is the center of community. In other words, you cannot have church without the Eucharist. In a way, I agree. But I flip things the other-way-around.
The Eucharist is profoundly pneumatological. When we share in the meal together, we are experiencing Christ’s presence by his Spirit–not because he is physically present in the bread and wine, but because he is physically present in us. When we eat the meal, he is eating the meal with us, as he did with his followers…only now we, his followers, are his Body. This understanding is very fleshy, sacramental, and missional. I believe that relationships are sacramental. And when we are gathered in community, we experience the tangible presence of God.
The Eucharist expresses Christ’s presence because it is constituted by our gathering. In other words, the presence of Christ in the gathering gives substance to the act of Eucharist, rather than the act of Eucharist giving the presence of Christ to the community.
And as we, the community of Christ, worship him, we share in his divinity and his humanity. So in a very real sense, the Church IS an extension of Christ’s physicality, as we make up a new humanity that is being conformed to Christ. We are the embodiment of Christ in the world. Not just metaphorically.
What is the point of all of this theologizing? If all of the rituals and practices of the church are holy because they are done by holy people (we who are the saints of God), then any assembly of Christ-followers is a church. Sure, there are certainly things that we should do when we are together–but those things don’t make us church. They are the outflowing of us already being the church.
Editor’s Note: This is an adaptation of an article that was originally published on the Next Wave in 2005. I’m reposting it now because of some of the questions raised by a recent post on New Monasticism.
Mark Van Steenwyk is the editor of JesusManifesto.com. He is a Mennonite pastor (Missio Dei in Minneapolis), writer, speaker, and grassroots educator. He lives in South Minneapolis with his wife (Amy), son (Jonas) and some of their friends.Print This Article
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