Still Fresh after So Many Years...

Though it is not without its own controversy, the Eucharistic prayer or anaphora of the Apostolic Constitutions, ascribed to Hippolytus, and dating from 215 AD, offers us one of, if not the, earliest complete prayers of the Eucharistic liturgy. It appears in different languages, in different geographical areas, and in different liturgical traditions. I learned of it first through the Worship Supplement of the Missouri Synod (1969) and studied it in more depth in college. It is fascinating to me that we have a complete text or canon of the Mass dating from within a century and a half of the first Eucharist and it speaks so well so many centuries later. It remains one of my favorite prayers of the Eucharist even though, for whatever reason, it does not contain the Sanctus.

We give You thanks, O God, through Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, whom You did send to us in this end of the ages to be our Savior and Redeemer and the Messenger of Your Will; Who is Your Word, inseparable from You through whom You made all things and in whom You are well pleased; whom You did send from heaven to the Virgin's womb, who was conceived within her and was manifest as Your Son in flesh, born of the Holy Spirit and a virgin; who fulfilled Your will and won for You a holy people; who stretched out His hands in suffering in order to free from suffering all who trust in You. Who, when He was betrayed to His voluntary suffering, in order that He might abolish death, break the bonds of the devil, tread hell underfoot, give light to the righteous, establish a memorial, and manifest the resurrection,

on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks + He broke it and gave it to His disciples saying, Take, eat, this is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me. After supper He took the cup and when He had given + thanks, He gave it to them saying, Drink of it all of you. This is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Do this often in remembrance of Me.

Remembering, therefore, His death and resurrection, we lift this bread and cup before You, giving You thanks (making Eucharist) that You have counted worthy to stand before You and to serve You as Your priestly people. And we pray You to send down Your Holy Spirit upon Your Church and gather into one all Your holy people who partake hereof; fill them with Your Holy Spirit to confirm our faith in the Truth, so that we may praise and glorify You, through Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, through whom all honor and glory be to You with the Holy Spirit in Your Holy Church, both now and forevermore, world without end. Amen.

The richness of the imagery continues to amaze me. It is timeless and timely. Think of it... whom You did send to us in this end of all ages to be our Savior and Redeemer... What was understood then is true even more so now. The last days and the end of the ages are the days of Jesus, the days He ushered in by His incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection.

The Messenger of Your will... perhaps we might substitute Angel for messenger in order to emphasize the early Christology of this anaphora. Who is Your Word... the Logos of John's Gospel... through whom You made all things... the pre-existent Son of God at station in the creation of the world... in whom You were well pleased... touching on the Baptism of our Lord and the voice from heaven -- echoed again at the Transfiguration...

The creedal structure of this prayer is powerful... Whom You did send from heaven into the Virgin's womb... Who was conceived with her and was manifest as Your Son in flesh born of the Holy Spirit and a virgin... let there be no mistaking this orthodox confession of Jesus' divinity and humanity several hundred years before Nicaea...

And we cannot mistake the whole of the Gospel present here in prayerful form: Who fulfilled Your will... Who won for You a holy people... Who stretched forth His arms in suffering to release from suffering all who believe in You... The Gospel literally screams from these words into the ears and hearts and minds of the people of God gathered around the Table of the Lord.

But it keeps going... betrayed to His voluntary suffering... break the bonds of the devil... tread hell underfoot, enlighten the righteous, establish a memorial (anamnesis) and manifest the resurrection... And that is exactly what He did and exactly what He provides to those who come to His Table... Do you hear the echos of Scripture in this section "For as often as we eat of this bread and drink of this cup we proclaim the Lord's death until He comes..."

Jesus says "Do this in remembrance of Me (for My anamnesis)" and so we lift this bread and cup before You, giving thanks to You (making Eucharist to You) because You have counted us worthy to stand before You and serve You as Your priestly people... We are redeemed for a purpose -- to serve as the priestly people of God, the Church, doing His bidding in the world...

And the Epiclesis calls down the Spirit in witness to this holy anamnesis or memorial the Son has commanded us to make, calling, gathering, uniting, and confirming the holy People of God in the Truth to the praise and glory of the Father, through the Son with the Holy Spirit, in His Holy Church forevermore...

To all who would put pen to page to write "liturgies" these words stand as solemn warning against the trite, the trivial, and the mundane. So old these words and yet so fresh, I cannot help but be in awe of them. These words bridge the nearly two millenia between the pre-Constantinian Church and today. When I pray them at the Table with the people of God gathered around me, I cannot help but think of those who went before and join in this holy moment of union and communion only God is capable of accomplishing... and I hope those around me feel the same sense of tie to yesterday, connection today, and legacy passed to tomorrow...