The Eucharistic Prayer is that long prayer I lead between the setting of the table and the distribution of Communion. In our polity, this prayer must be led by a priest or bishop. The need for a priest or bishop comes from the fact that Anglicans believe Christ becomes fully present in the bread and wine. The prayer makes this presence visible. We are content to accept that this presence is a mystery that doesn’t need complicated explanation. However each person understands and experiences this presence is enough.
Those who are curious will note that there are six Eucharistic prayers in the BAS beginning on p. 193. There is also the BCP version in the BAS with two options, A & B, beginning on p. 241 and the Eucharistic prayers in the BCP itself. This season we have been using a supplementary eucharistic prayer which is one of three found in a separate text. We also have permission to use Eucharistic prayers from the ELCIC with whom we are in full communion.
Notice I said we have permission. Our patterns for prayer are determined by the chief liturgical officer of the diocese – namely the Bishop. Services that stray too far from the approved texts must get the approval of the bishop. Thus, you may notice even when we have wonky worship, we are using familiar prayers and there is a familiar flow to the service.
The Eucharistic Prayers we have available to us include language that helps to remind us of our relationship to God. Each has a different nuance and slight differences in theology. All generally follow a pattern:
· They start by exchanging a greeting called the sersum corda, that is ‘The Lord be with you’.
· Following this we are reminded why we should give thanks and praise. This leads to the Sanctus or Holy, holy, a sign of praise that invites us to enter more deeply into the story of our relationship with God.
· How these stories are told varies from one version of the prayer to the next. In the supplementary prayer we have been using this season, we begin with reminders of stories from the Hebrew Testament.
When Joseph was sold into bondage, you turned malice to your people’s good. Notice this sentence references the story we heard this morning. When Hagar was driven into the wilderness you followed her and gave her hope references another story we heard this summer. I chose to use this prayer through this season for that reason.
Just as the lectionary includes these stories in its three-year cycle, this Eucharistic prayer reminds us that our story doesn’t begin and end when Jesus becomes human and dwells among us. While that is the general focus of much of our theology, our story is more than we can ask or imagine! Our story includes the entire history of humanity and our relationships with each other, creation, and God.
We don’t always get it right. We have driven people into the wilderness. We have sold our siblings into bondage. We have needed support as we walk through the wilderness and as we weep for what is lost. The stories of Hagar, Joseph, and the many journeys of the Israelites remind us we are not alone. This Eucharistic prayer reminds us that we are not alone.
Eucharistic prayers take us on a journey. They all move toward a single focus – Jesus, God made human to dwell among us and transform our understanding of what it means to live in this world. This ultimately leads to the words of institution. The words that mirror what Jesus said on the night he was betrayed.
Jesus took bread, blessed, broke, and gave. Jesus took wine, blessed, and gave. Jesus says do this in remembrance of me. This is the moment when the Eucharistic prayers become the visible sign of God’s grace. In this moment we are reminded of Jesus’ presence in the bread and wine. This becomes real to us in the epiclesis, that part of the prayer which invites the Holy Spirit into this sacrament with us and points us to the climax where we proclaim that presence and end with the Great Amen, the word which says ‘yes, I believe’.
Yes, I believe. Holy Communion serves as an embodiment of faith that calls us to come together to the Lord’s Table and nourishes us. This moment is the climax of our liturgy. Notice that there really isn’t much else that we need to say or do afterwards. We give thanks for the sacrament. We are blessed and we go together, fed, and hopeful into the world trusting that God working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine just as God working in Hagar and Joseph and throughout the history of the Israelites did amazing things.
In gratitude for those incredible reminders of God’s loving presence throughout the history of humanity, let us give thanks and praise as we sing: (VT) 605 My life flows on
