John 1:1, 3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.
John 12:24 ...unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 ...our Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."
And what about "this is my body"?
And "this cup is the new covenant in my blood"?
The bread points to nourishment in that same self-giving of God
At work in my body, that is in me.
And the cup points to the new community drawn together and nourished
In my blood, that is in God's total self-giving in my death.
–Paul G. Hammer–
You choose to be made at one with the earth;
the dark of the grave prepares for your birth.
Your death is your rising, creative your word;
the tree springs to life and our hope is restored...
–Fred Kaan–
In Saxon English, the Lord provided the loaf, the bread, the essentials for sustaining life. We are baptized into the biography of the baby born in Bethlehem, House of Bread. In the Eucharist, we celebrate the ultimate earth day, a feast of justice and reconciliation for all creation, that brings together the ground's fruitful yield along with the labor of farmers, vintners, truckers, grocers, bakers, sellers, weavers and potters, carpenters and contractors.
Revelation 21:1-2a Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth…and I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem.Who is this Lord of the Church, this Jesus?
Consider Jesus' lifestyle of justice and inclusion along with Jesus' command "do this!"
backtracking:
1. A baptized community: Water and the Word
Galatians 3:28 There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus...Who is this Lord of the Church, this Jesus?
Consider Jesus' relationship to creation, Jesus' stewardship of all life.
2. Spaces, places, locations...
1st, 2nd, and 3rd spaces, (4th?) places in cyberspace; the liminal, the marginal and the central; thresholds, edges and centers; insiders, outsiders, strangers and friends
Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything else except to love one another...Who is this Lord of the Church, this Jesus?
Consider Jesus' sense of home and geography.
3. Jesus, us, culture, counter culture
Colossians 2:15 Having made hash of the rulers, the powers and the principalities and having been victorious over them, Christ then made a public spectacle of them!Who is this Lord of the Church, this Jesus?
Consider Jesus' awareness of his own culture and the customs of others.
© leahchang
This is great stuff. Thanks for sharing it all.
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