tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692793350977058371.post7551792371458738221..comments2023-04-09T05:18:06.643-05:00Comments on Into the Expectation: Baptized into Eucharist, ConclusionMatt Gunterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11230570081324464033noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692793350977058371.post-79341426608227360192014-03-07T13:14:32.947-06:002014-03-07T13:14:32.947-06:00Thanks, Anna. I appreciate your sharing your exper...Thanks, Anna. I appreciate your sharing your experience as a chalice bearer. <br /><br />I acknowledge that there is an immediate emotional appeal to "open communion" that is hard to argue against.<br /><br />I agree that people are hungry for God. And I appreciate that coming to communion is one way that might be expressed. I have not and would not turn anyone away from the altar or refuse anyone who came to receive.<br /><br />Still, I am convinced that communion without the expectation of baptism is a grave mistake. At the risk of simply rehearsing what I've written:<br /><br />It minimizes the reality that Communion is not just about our desire for communion with God but is also about communion with the the body and all the obligations that go with that. As such, CWOB does nothing to challenge and simply reinforces individualism.<br /><br />It also plays to the consumer mentality into which we have all been so thoroughly catechized.<br /><br />Because it does nothing to challenge the above two tendencies and because it does not offer a challenge to a deeper loyalty, the practice is not just about how the church engages the unbaptized, it about how the church understands itself. And I fear that it reveals that we understand ourselves to be a more or less free association of individuals on individual "faith journeys" of which Jesus and the church are helpful but nonessential accessories. Among other things this undermines our ability to be a true contrast body and leaves us unable finally to resist the powers of the age, e.g., those represented by Wall Street, Madison Avenue, the Pentagon, political parties/ideologies or the appetites and passions within us which they co-opt and reinforce. In purely sociological terms, a robust body needs robust boundaries to flourish. robust body<br /><br />Perhaps I am just a conservative or traditionalist on this, but given that the link between baptism and Eucharist has been the Church's conviction from the beginning makes me unwilling to change the discipline and theology without better arguments than I have heard.<br /><br />And, in any event, I have taken vows as a priest- and am about to take more intensive ones - "to be loyal to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of Christ as this church has received them, "which certainly includes the canon on baptism and Eucharist. I will not break that vow. And would not even if I was otherwise persuaded about its merits. <br /><br />As you know, I have pretty strong convictions about this.Matt Gunterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11230570081324464033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692793350977058371.post-38892786472609414302014-02-25T12:11:29.046-06:002014-02-25T12:11:29.046-06:00Peace, Matt.
I agreed with this piece until I be...Peace, Matt. <br /><br />I agreed with this piece until I became a chalice bearer in a parish that does open communion.<br /><br />It's God in the chalice.<br /><br />People are hungry for God.<br /><br />What have I missed?<br /><br />in Christ,<br />Anna Anna Bendiksenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04939056926173010001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692793350977058371.post-48496946946240299512009-12-22T20:31:14.199-06:002009-12-22T20:31:14.199-06:00Consider it done.Consider it done.Tony Hunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15364659700029347895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692793350977058371.post-44560533049032106832009-12-22T20:04:50.285-06:002009-12-22T20:04:50.285-06:00You are welcome to do so, Tony.You are welcome to do so, Tony.Matt Gunterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11230570081324464033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692793350977058371.post-74816373496622897202009-12-22T15:34:14.719-06:002009-12-22T15:34:14.719-06:00Fr. Gunter,
Would it be alright if I blogged a po...Fr. Gunter,<br /><br />Would it be alright if I blogged a post recapping this series?Tony Hunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15364659700029347895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1692793350977058371.post-73408425008163412182009-12-18T21:19:17.755-06:002009-12-18T21:19:17.755-06:00Thanks for a nice conclusion to your series on the...Thanks for a nice conclusion to your series on the Eucharist. It is, indeed, of utmost importance to consider what (who) we are talking about when we talk about God. God is our covenant partner and we are privileged to participate in the Eucharist. Also, as Christians, we can genuinely hope that others will someday commit to the loyalties you mentioned, for our God is a gracious God - this God in the highest who has turned toward humanity.Bob Kusiolekhttp://suchdays.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com