There are a number of themes integral to the Eucharist and the notion of justice–note how multiple Exchanges and Labor (even Objectification) are essential to the sacrament, how Communication of the Elements could bring up questions of what constitutes a fair exchange, how the collection of the offering implies a notion of common good, how the presentation of the elements imples a notion of representation, etc etc.

There is no–there cannot be–an apolitical or a plotically neutral Eucharist.

Granted, loosey goosey lefty preachers might preach social justice and be too dull to notice the sacramental context in which they preach is soaked in political references, but there is also a loosey goosey mentality perversely abstracting the Eucharist from the political, as if real labor and real money and real paychecks and real exchanges were not actually involved and actually sanctified, as if it were all just symbolic or even pretend.

What I see us wrestling with here are several facets of the Christianity, the active, the intellectual, the liturgical, the mystical. None of these are truly separate. Rather when in proper balance they interpenetrate one another and bring forth each other. Real problems happen when these are stifled in the corporate life of the institutional church. And that’s precisely what we’re trying to prevent.

We need to reclaim the balance.

Many people - me, too! - like and admire the massive intellectual tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, even while we dislike its authoritarianism and overly-dogmatic approach. But I go there for a deeper understanding of things; the faith has been worked out into something quite deep and beautiful over time.

We should do this, too. Many modern people need something meaty to bite into, and some just aren’t going to get there through the “numinous” (and yes, I think some people are wired for that much more than others are).

There is a history of thinking in Anglicanism, too; it’s different from the RCC style, but it’s there. But not these days.

I am very frustrated with the Episcopal Church at the moment; it often seems to me that we are, as I’ve said before, more a collection of competing agendas than a church. Perhaps it’s just all the blather in the blogosphere that has me down - but we do see it IRL also. Everything seems to become a theory, or a basis for an argument, without there being much actual understanding of the way things actually are. Everybody’s on a side all the time. That’s fine occasionally, but not all the time. (I’m not saying that you are doing this, Mildred; it’s just the source of my frustration and weariness at this moment and for some reason I’m talking about it on this thread!)

I think we let “liturgy” become the catch-all for everything, as if “liturgy” were supposed to convey everything we need to know. I don’t think it is; I think we actually need to talk to one another, and debate (in good faith, of course, not like now), and work things out. I was just thinking this morning that in trying to let “liturgy” say everything - in having so much pride in our “Anglican comprehension” - we’ve ended up essentially saying nothing. God Is, is what we’re saying we believe; well OK - but now what?

Surely we could actually teach something, no? It doesn’t have to be one thing in particular; it could be many things. The whole panoply of Christian thought, sure - but we can’t let people flounder around seeking faith. They don’t know what faith consists of. What’s happened is that in being careful not to be dogmatic, we’ve become overly laissez-faire - and in the meantime, two millennia of wonderful writing/thinking/action is being ignored. That’s why, I think, politics and policy has become central; it’s an area that has something deeper and more meaningful to offer to people than generalized religious platitudes.

I’m kind of rambling now, sorry. But the Church can’t keep people in the dark anymore; that’s been the big fault of the Christian Church since forever, and it seems to be happening all over again and for a totally different reason.

Suggest to your rector that s/he consider using the “Penitential Order: Rite Two” (BCP p. 351) before Eucharist EVERY Sunday. It has “propers” that are appropriate for celebratory occasions and Ordinary time as well as for Lent.

And the most-used one here at the monastery is the “…on these two commandments….” that you miss. It also means that you get Confession out of the way before starting the Eucharist proper.

We’ve used it daily for nearly 25 years, and it truly works wonderfully!

It strikes me that one of the unfortunate omissions of the Rite II Eucharist was leaving out the Great Commandment after the Collect for Purity. “Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God….and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” The 8 am folks in this parish hear that every Sunday, as do the 10 am people during Lent. I grew up with the 1928 BCP and so heard it at every Eucharist (which for us was every other week). And it becomes so ingrained to understand that our focus as Christians is to love and serve God and out of that, to love and serve the world around us when we hear it as part of the great mystery of God’s love and Christ’s presence. IMHO, that may be a contributing factor to some people experiencing a separation between faith/worship and social justice (even though I don’t think there is a separation).

Vicki+

But I do agree that an over-focus on “social justice” tends to get quickly into self-justification; you can see this more easily today via the blogs. It’s important to integrate both things, but of course not everybody’s a Stringfellow.

Some people don’t understand (or experience) the “mysterium tremendum”; they’re not wired for it, or have never learned how to access it. That’s what I think, anyway. But why shouldn’t they be a part of the Church? I don’t think they deserve scorn for trying to put their faith into action to help others; that’s the least of the faults, I’d think.

Anyway, a lot of this is a reaction to too-interior faith to begin with; the key, at the end, has to be balance. And prayer and confession and real repentance.

But of course, this is lacking all over the Anglican world at present; everybody’s very into self-justification. Take a look at any of the so-called “orthodox” websites, if you don’t believe me.