After a mere 4 days at studying the Liturgy, I feel like my views of the subject of early Eucharistic practice have already crystalized.
Thus I find my take on the raging controversies that surround the questions of the Beginnings of the Christian Eucharist, and put forward to the Liturgy commission this minor adjustment to the Eucharistic prayer:
‘Who, in the same night he was betrayed,
Took bread and gave you thanks;
He broke it and gave it, and gave it to his disciples saying:
‘Now, I hope you’re watching what I’m doing really carefully, because one day whole careers are going to rest on the precise order I do these things’
And Peter Said ‘But Lord, who among us has been watching you the whole time? What is significant about tonight? For he had not yet understood the Lord’s teaching that this was the night of his betrayal.
‘Truly I tell you’ said Christ ‘you shall see the meaning of my action soon enough, and the symbolic importance of my words, but I beseech you; look past all that and watch my hands very carefully...’
And placing down the Bread next to the Cup he said ‘Now did bread or cup come first and where precisely during the meal?’
And the disciples replied ‘surely the precise ordering is irrelevant Lord? Is it not important that we understand its spiritual meaning? Where does the cup even come into it?’
And Jesus answered them ‘Bread, cup, cup, bread? Let he with eyes to see, see, for he shall use his hands to handle in a few weeks’ time’
And the disciples said ‘this is a hard teaching, who can understand it?’
And Christ tilted his head to one side and said ‘You know what lads, you’re right; this is ridiculous, but I do know a rather good miracle involving a bottle and a cup that switch places if you’d rather I showed you that?’
And donning a fez, he performed many signs and wonders in front of his disciples and they had a great Last Supper together with much joy and laughter.
Amen’[1]
[1] Common Worship, Church of England Eucharistic Prayer A (minor paraphrase)
