“Taste
and see that the Lord is good” – Psalm 34:8
Communion
Along
with Baptism, Eucharist is the foundational Sacrament of the Church. It is
where we return again and again to meet Jesus. Anglicans have typically been
wary of trying to explain how Jesus
is present in the Sacrament, but we have affirmed that, however mysteriously,
he is present, really and tangibly.
And visibly. We receive Jesus in the Bread and Wine of Communion and taste his
goodness. Through it we are woven more deeply in our communion with the life
and love of the Trinity and woven more deeply in communion with one another.
And we are transformed.
Adoration
The
conviction that Jesus is really present in the Bread and Wine of Eucharist
leads us to treat the
Vision Restored
In
a secular society such as ours, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament can seem
quite strange. But, its strangeness might actually be a reason it is a valuable
and instructive practice in our context. Whether we like it or not, and in
spite of ourselves, our imaginations have been shaped to see the world
secularly. We experience God, more or less, but we tend to engage creation and
other people as though they are drained of sacredness.
But,
that is not the Christian vision. The Christian vision is that all creation and
every human being is sacramental. The universe, including all humanity, is a
vast interlocking web of glory, charged with the grandeur of God. All things
participate in and manifest God. Not just grand vistas and glorious sunsets,
but every tree, plant, and animal. And especially each human being along with
the whole human community. Creation vibrates with God who is in, with, and
under it all, sustaining and cherishing everything. The stuff of creation, like
some bread and wine, can bear the Presence of God. Jesus came to heal the
damage done to all of this by sin and to restore our ability to see all of
creation, including every human being, with God’s delight.
In
a secular age it can be hard to hold onto that vision. We have mostly lost it.
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is one means of regaining that vision. When
we gaze at the Host in the monstrance, we see Jesus. But, it might also be a
lens through which we begin to see
the rest of the world and each person sacramentally, as something holy, to be
engaged with care and reverence.
Benediction
Adoration
of the Blessed Sacrament can be done simply, alone or in small groups wherever
the Sacrament is reserved. But, it can also be a more formal liturgy that
includes the celebrant blessing the assembly using a monstrance containing the
Blessed Sacrament. The word “benediction” comes from the Latin word meaning
“blessing.” Jesus came to bless us. So, it is fitting to end our adoration with
a benediction from the one whom we adore. But, of course, it never ends there.
We who have been blessed are to go forth bearing that blessing to the world.
