there was a part in his writings where rowan was reflecting on hooker's thoughts on the eucharist. he says that, '...the purpose of the eucharist is the transformation of us, not the bread and wine. receive the gifts of divine action and the effects of divine action will follow.' this is not about transubstantiation where the elements are said to become the actual body and blood of christ, but its about the divine gift of the son of god becoming fully material, and about transforming that material to become the image of god.
therefore, partaking in the eucharist elements is partaking in the transformative power of god's spirit, allowing his spirit to transform us, and using our lives to be transformative agents in the world god loves.
so i wonder then, about the words that we use at the administration of the bread and wine to believers. those words are usually, 'the body/blood of christ keep you in eternal life.' bearing in mind what i've just said, i think those words are inadequate. i would suggest something more along the lines of, 'the body/blood of christ transform you into his likeness.' that phrase has the feel of moving away from a personal and private pietism that is disengaged from the transforming power of god's spirit that has as its end a cosy life in eternity.
but my suggestion has a real sense of of the power of god transforming a life, and that that life is so like jesus' life that it moves us into real engagement with god, each other, and the wider world. and when i've used those words, some folks have commented to me about how much more they mean to them.
celebrating the eucharist is a time of and for, transformation.
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I decided yesterday I could not possibly comment on “Transformation”, for it meant expressing beliefs which I could not say I TRULY believed myself. But this experience of doubt is shared at times by both theist and atheist - and doubt is often a route to a deeper truth. But today I felt “drawn” to comment, so perhaps my over lengthy comments may help me in some way.
Your mention of Rowan Williams brought back memories of reading in the Christmas 2004 edition of St Mary’s Parish magazine, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s message to the Anglican Communion He talked of seeing a film about an autistic child, and autism was described to him as follows:
“Autism arises when the brain senses too much information coming in. There is a feeling of panic; the mind has to regain control. And the best way of doing this is to close up on yourself and repeat actions that are familiar; do nothing new, and don’t accept anything coming from outside.”
The Archbishop talked about how human beings are wrapped up in ourselves. Quite right, I thought, we are all autistic in the above definition . The world IS a frightening and unsafe and threatening place, an "unfamiliar place of terror and uncertainty", in his words describing the autistic personality. Rowan then went onto talk about the possibility (and the human experience) of forming a link with the outside world, which is NOT threatening. But commented that we all had a fear of the Light (and of ourselves).
But this is where perhaps the atheist and the theist part company. The theist believes they need some power (be it called God, Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah, Jesus or whatever) higher than the potential of the human spirit to achieve this transformation, this relationship. I feel Theist and Atheist have a different view of human nature. In the wonderful “Adam and Eve” story, the human reached out for the apple - for consciousness - a moment of glory, not a moment of “original sin” as some people still refer to it as. But with consciousness comes an awareness of our own vulnerability-need-aloneness … as well as a sometimes felt awareness of our own capacity to appreciate “mystery” and to give and receive “love”
But Theist and Atheist can unite around “love”, whatever “love” may be, to quote the infamous words of the man who might one day be King of Britain! And can we can also unite around “mystery”, which by definition cannot be defined, but can only be experienced with awe.
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