Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, June 8, 2023)

Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows. The sacrament of Holy Communion is a means of grace and consequently one of the ways that Christians grow stronger in their faith and grow in the grace of Christ. In his preaching and writing John Wesley emphasized the importance of employing the means of grace to these ends. 

THE GATHERING OF GOD’S PEOPLE

Opening Hymn:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Shirley Erena Murray’s “A Place at the Table.”

For everyone born, a place at the table,
for everyone born, clean water and bread,
a shelter, a space, a safe place for growing,
for everyone born, a star overhead,
and God will delight when we are creators
of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
yes, God will delight when we are creators
of justice, justice and joy!

For woman and man, a place at the table,
revising the roles, deciding the share,
with wisdom and grace, dividing the power,
for woman and man, a system that's fair,
and God will delight when we are creators
of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
yes, God will delight when we are creators
of justice, justice and joy!

For young and for old, a place at the table,
a voice to be heard, a part in the song,
the hands of a child in hands that are wrinkled,
for young and for old, the right to belong,
and God will delight when we are creators
of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
yes, God will delight when we are creators
of justice, justice and joy!

For just and unjust, a place at the table,
abuser, abused, with need to forgive,
in anger, in hurt, a mindset of mercy,
for just and unjust, a new way to live,
and God will delight when we are creators
of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
yes, God will delight when we are creators
of justice, justice and joy!

For everyone born, a place at the table,
to live without fear, and simply to be,
to work, to speak out, to witness and worship,
for everyone born, the right to be free,
and God will delight when we are creators
of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
yes, God will delight when we are creators
of justice, justice and joy!

Greeting and Opening Prayer:
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.

Almighty God,
nothing is hidden from you,
not even the secrets of our hearts.
By your Holy Spirit,
purify our deepest thoughts
so that we may truly love you
and bring honor to your name
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Trisagion (Holy God):
Open this link in a new tab Fernado Ortaga’s setting of the Trisagion, “Holy God.”

Holy God,
holy and mighty,
holy immortal one
have mercy
have mercy on us.

Holy God,
holy and mighty,
holy immortal one
have mercy
have mercy on us.

Holy God,
holy and mighty,
holy immortal one
have mercy
have mercy
have mercy
have mercy
have mercy on us.

Prayer of the Day:
Let us pray.

Silence

Father, we praise you:
through your Word and Holy Spirit you created all things.
You reveal your salvation in all the world
by sending to us Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
Through your Holy Spirit you give us a share in your life and love.
Fill us with the vision of your glory,
that we may always serve and praise you,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

Scripture Reading:
Reading from the New Testament (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

Silence

This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

What Did John Wesley Believe about the Sacrament of Holy Communion?

In the Church of England, and some other member provinces of the Anglican Communion the Thursday after Trinity is designated “The Day of Thanksgiving for the Institution of Holy Communion.” The lectionary used in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, which is the lectionary that I have been using to select readings for Thursday Evenings at All Hallows, appoints 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26 as one of the readings for this particular Thursday. While it is not a special occasion in the United Methodist Church and other churches in the Wesleyan/Holiness tradition, I thought that it provided a golden opportunity to briefly examine John Wesley’s teaching about the sacrament of Holy Communion and to introduce some “new” communion hymns and songs from The Faith We Sing (2000) and Worship and Song (2011).

Wesley’s sermons and writings and his abbreviation of the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion show that he rejected the belief that Christ was substantively present in or under the forms of bread and wine of the sacrament of Holy Communion. He rejected the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation and the Lutheran doctrines of consubstantiation and ubiquity of Christ, the belief that Christ’s body could be in more than one place at once. He did not believe that the bread and wine were changed into the substance of Christ’s body and blood, nor did he believe that the bread and wine were in some way infused with Christ’s substantive presence.

Like Thomas Cranmer, John Calvin, and other Reformed Protestants, Wesley believed that Christ had ascended bodily into heaven and therefore could not be corporally present in the bread and wine. As for Jesus’ references to the bread as his body and the wine as his blood, Wesley believed that Jesus was speaking figuratively. Jesus was saying that the bread and wine were signs and tokens of his body and blood. In his Note on 1 Corinthians 11: 24 Wesley maintains that “…this broken bread is a sign of My body….” In referring to today’s reading in his sermon, “The Means of Grace,” he writes, “Take, at, this is my body, that is the sacred sign of my body;” and “…the sacred sign of the covenant.”

For Wesley the bread remained bread and the wine remained wine after consecration, a view that was consistent with not only the Declaration on Kneeling in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer but also Jesus’ own words in Matthew 26: 29, “Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.” This statement shows that Jesus was using figurative language when he referred to the bread as his body and the wine as his blood. In his sermon, “Duty of Receiving,” Wesley speaks of receiving “the signs of Christ’s body and blood” or “bread and wine" instead of receiving “the body and blood of Christ.”

On the other hand, Wesley also did not believe that the sacrament of Holy Communion was a bare memorial, a empty ceremony, something done solely to commemorate Christ’s suffering and death on the cross for the sins of the world.

What then did Wesley believe?

Wesley believed that the only way that Christ could be present with us at a celebration of the Lord’s Supper is as Spirit. For Wesley Christ’s presence, while it is a spiritual presence, is real and not imagined. Christ is present in his divinity. “In fact, the whole Trinity is present and acting.” In this sense, Wesley can be viewed as holding a doctrine of what is called the “real presence.”

Wesley regarded the sacrament of Holy Communion as “a true and effectual means of grace.” In other words, it is an instrument by which God conveys grace to us, and it produces the results that it was intended to produce. He classified it as one of the “ordinances,” that is, the means of grace given by God. He believed that Christ’s divine presence applied the benefits of the atonement to believers. By Christ’s doing so, we receive not only the sign but with it the thing that it signifies, all the benefits of Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection.

While Wesley saw a close relationship between the sign and the thing that it signified, he stopped short of connecting the sign and the thing signified organically. In Wesley’s view of the “real presence,” where God acts, there God is. It may be described as a dynamic or living presence.

Wesley believed that in the act of eating the bread and drinking the cup of the Lord’s Supper the benefits of Christ’s atoning sacrifice are conveyed to the human soul. How this happened Wesley believed was beyond our ability to fathom. It was a mystery, and he was content not to delve into that mystery. To attempt to do so would accomplish nothing and would serve no purpose. For Wesley it was sufficient that experience showed that grace was in fact received by this means and in this way God’s promises were shown to be true.

As well as conveying the fullness of the atonement to believers, Wesley believed the sacrament of Holy Communion quickened, strengthened, and confirmed their faith, helped them in their spiritual struggles, and assisted them in their spiritual growth.

Wesley recognized that the means of grace, including the Lord’s Supper, are unable to do anything in themselves when faith was absent. He believed, however, that weak faith, while it might be weak, is still enough faith to participate in the means of grace and benefit from them. A lively assurance of faith was not necessary to receive the bread and cup.

Wesley practiced frequent communion. He himself received communion at least every four or five days and more often in the seasons of Christmas and Easter. He encouraged Methodists to celebrate the Lord’s Supper every week. In his sermon, “The Duty of Constant Communion,” Wesley says—

“I am to show that it is the duty of every Christian to receive the Lord's Supper as often as he can. Let everyone, therefore, who has either any desire to please God, or any love of his own soul, obey God, and consult the good of his own soul, by communicating every time he can; like the first Christians, with whom the Christian sacrifice was a constant part of the Lord's day service. And for several centuries they received it almost every day: Four times a week always, and every saint's day beside. Accordingly, those that joined in the prayers of the faithful never failed to partake of the blessed sacrament. What opinion they had of any who turned his back upon it, we may learn from that ancient canon: ‘If any believer join in the prayers of the faithful, and go away without receiving the Lord's Supper, let him be excommunicated, as bringing confusion into the church of God.’”

Jesus told his disciples that those who love him will obey his commandments. One of his commandments is “Do this in remembrance of me.” Through frequent and regular participation in the Lord’s Supper, we not only show our love for our Lord, but we also avail ourselves of the grace that God supplies by this means, grace that enables us to deepen our love for God and for our neighbor, grace that enables us to love each other as our Lord loves us, grace by which God perfects us so that we become more and more like our Lord.

Silence

Anthem:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Graham Kendrick’s “Here Is Bread, Here Is Wine.”

Here is bread, here is wine,
Christ is with us, He is with us.
Break the bread, taste the wine,
Christ is with us here.

Here is grace, here is peace,
Christ is with us, He is with us.
Know His grace, find peace,
feast on Jesus here.

In this bread there is healing,
in this cup there's life forever.
In this moment, by the Spirit,
Christ is with us here.

Here we are, joined in one,
Christ is with us, He is with us.
We'll proclaim, 'til he comes,
Jesus crucified.

In this bread there is healing,
in this cup there's life forever.
In this moment, by the Spirit,
Christ is with us here.
Christ is with us here.
Christ is with us here.

THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER

Concerns and Prayers:
Heavenly Father,
you have promised to hear when we pray
in the name of your Son.
Therefore in confidence and trust
we pray for the Church:

(Particular intercessions/thanksgivings may be offered.)

Father, enliven the Church for its mission
that we may be salt of the earth and light to the world.

Breathe fresh life into your people.
Give us power to reveal Christ in word and action.

We pray for the world:

(Particular intercessions/thanksgivings may be offered.)

Creator of all,
lead us and every people into ways of justice and peace.
That we may respect one another in freedom and truth.

Awaken in us a sense of wonder for the earth and all that is in it.
Teach us to care creatively for its resources.

We pray for the community:

(Particular intercessions/thanksgivings may be offered.)

God of truth, inspire with your wisdom
those whose decisions affect the lives of others
that all may act with integrity and courage.

Give grace to all whose lives are linked with ours.
May we serve Christ in one another, and love as he loves us.

We pray for those in need:

(Particular intercessions/thanksgivings may be offered.)

God of hope, comfort and restore
all who suffer in body, mind or spirit.
May they know the power of your healing love.

Make us willing agents of your compassion.
Strengthen us as we share in making people whole.

We remember those who have died and those who mourn:

(Particular intercessions/thanksgivings may be offered.)

We remember with thanksgiving those who have died in the faith
of Christ, and those whose faith is known to you alone.
Father, into your hands we commend them.

Give comfort to those who mourn.
Bring them peace in their time of loss.

We praise you for (N and) all your saints
who have entered your eternal glory.
May their example inspire and encourage us.

We pray for ourselves and our ministries:

(Particular intercessions/thanksgivings may be offered.)

God of mercy,
you have given us grace to pray with one heart and one voice;
and have promised to hear the prayers
of two or three who agree in your name;
fulfil now, we pray,
the prayers and longings of your people
as may be best for us and for your kingdom.
Grant us in this world to know your truth,
and in the world to come to see your glory.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer:
And now, as our Savior Christ has taught us,
we are bold to say

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer of Thanksgiving:
Let us give thanks to God for his goodness.

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise
for all you have done for us.
We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation,
for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life,
and for the mystery of love.
We thank you for the blessing of family and friends,
and for the loving care
which surrounds us on every side.
We thank you for setting us tasks
which demand our best efforts,
and for leading us to accomplishments
which satisfy and delight us.
We thank you also for those disappointments and failures
that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.
Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ;
for the truth of his word and the example of his life;
for his steadfast obedience,
by which he overcame temptation;
for his dying, through which he overcame death;
for his rising to life again,
in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.
Grant us the gift of your Spirit,
that we may know Christ and make him known;
and through him, at all times and in all places,
may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.

THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE

Closing Hymn:
Open this link to hear Thomas Porter’s “Let Us Be Bread.”

Let us be bread, blessed by the Lord,
broken and shared, life for the world.
Let us be wine, love freely poured.
Let us be one in the Lord.

I am the bread of life, broken for all.
Eat now and hunger no more.

Let us be bread, blessed by the Lord,
broken and shared, life for the world.
Let us be wine, love freely poured.
Let us be one in the Lord.

You are my friends if you keep my commands,
no longer servants but friends.

Let us be bread, blessed by the Lord,
broken and shared, life for the world.
Let us be wine, love freely poured.
Let us be one in the Lord.

See how my people have nothing to eat.
Give them the bread that is you.

Let us be bread, blessed by the Lord,
broken and shared, life for the world.
Let us be wine, love freely poured.
Let us be one in the Lord.

As God has loved me so I have loved you.
Go and live on in my love.

Let us be bread, blessed by the Lord,
broken and shared, life for the world.
Let us be wine, love freely poured.
Let us be one in the Lord.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Choral Benediction:
Open this link to hear Roger Noble’s arrangement of “May the Lord, Mighty God.”

May the Lord, mighty God, bless and keep you forever,
grant you peace, perfect peace, courage in every endeavor.
Lift your eyes and see God's face, source of grace forever.
May the Lord, mighty God, bless and keep you forever.
May the Lord, mighty God, bless and keep you forever.