II. Finding the Mass in the Bible A. Tradition Received from the Lord The Mass is also biblical worship in a more obvious sense. This is the worship Jesus commanded at His Last Supper. When he wrote to the Corinthians - to correct abuses in the way they were celebrating the Eucharist - Paul reminded them of the night the Lord was handed over (see 1 Corinthians 11:23-29). Paul described Jesus taking bread, giving thanks, breaking it, and saying, This is My body and in the same way taking wine and saying this cup is the new covenant in My blood. He recalled Jesus telling the Apostles: Do this in remembrance of Me. Though Paul was not there at the Last Supper, he tells them he received this teaching from the churches founded by the Apostles; they, in turn, received this teaching directly from the Lord: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you The Greek words Paul uses - translated as received and handed on - are technical terms the rabbis of his day used to describe the keeping and teaching of sacred traditions. Paul uses these same words when he talks about his teaching on Christs death and Resurrection (see 1 Corinthians 15:2-3). These two sacred traditions - the truth about Christs death and Resurrection and the truth about the Eucharist, the memorial of His death - were received from the Lord and and handed on by the Apostles. These traditions were inseparable and crucial to the message of salvation they preached. Through Christs death and Resurrection, Paul said, we are being saved. In the Eucharist, that saving event is remembered in a way that communicates that salvation to us: For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, Paul said, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes (see 1 Corinthians 11:26).
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 14:47:25 +0000
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