ideas.

You asked for some of my ideas: 'theological, emotional, experiential and spiritual?' I've already written 'theological,' and for me – to an extent – those other parameters are similar to the theological. And I've apologized for nearly always thinking biblically and theologically! The confessions ramble through my mind, too ... but back to your question. Emotional and experiential memories raise a firestorm with me! Jesus: 'this [bread] is my body, take and eat; this cup is the new covenant in my blood.' Then Paul, of course! 'As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord’s death until his coming again.' Because for Paul, Christ Jesus always is at one and the same time both Crucified and Risen, when we proclaim the Lord's death we also proclaim his rising. The Bible's God is, above all, God of Life and God of the Living. As central as the cross is to Christianity, isn't the empty tomb as definitive for us – and at times far more challenging – for our response and witness as the baptized People of God? Even more decisive than our sometimes less-than-willingness to embrace our own deaths? As the people of God our faithfulness is in our spoken kerygma and, especially, in the acted kerygma of our lives, in our bodily and lively, 'life-ly' proclamation.

Here are some ideas:

• bread = body

• Body that is raised

• Christ's body = revealed in the breaking of bread / body

• Church = Body of the risen Christ

• Bread / Body = nourishing

• Body / Church = nourishing the world, especially the stranger, the outcast and the ‘other’

• Church / reveals Christ’s crucified body = in its redeeming brokenness

• Church / reveals the Christ's risen body = in its liberating wholeness


That's not very emotional or experiential yet, but it's a beginning!