Fr. Jon Jordan

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Category: Sacraments

20 Centuries of Eucharist

After completing my Masters thesis this past Spring, I took to Twitter to share some small gems that I found while researching. I shared one quote about the Eucharist from each of the past twenty centuries of its celebration. Enjoy.

 

Anamnesis, the Passover, and the Eucharist

When we celebrate the Eucharist, we do so in anamnesis (εἰς άνάμνησιν, eis anamnēsin) of Jesus.

Anamnesis is not simply remembrance, at least not in the sense that we normally remember things: mentally recalling events and people of the past and re-feeling many of the attached emotions. The anamnesis of the Eucharist is adeeper form of remembrance, because the anamnesis of the Eucharist has its roots in the anamnesis of the Hebrew Passover. The Hebrews were called to re-experience the original Passover every year. It was not enough to pause and remember that great event in subsequent generations. The once-for-all events of the Exodus were to be re-lived by the community each year for all future generations. The hope of the Exodus was to become the hope of Israel. This cannot happen through merely cerebral remembrance. The celebration of the Passover looks more like a play than a ceremony: there are actors, directors, and even a script. This is more than remembrance; it is bringing an event from the past into the present, allowing all the implications of the past event to be felt anew.

I say all of this to point you to a beautiful peace written by my dear friend Mason King. In it he paints what it may look like to participate in anamnesis. Were this our mindset each week as we participate in the Eucharist, we may begin to understand why the Church has placed its celebration as a primary function of the weekly worship of Christians.

Enjoy his post here.