what is the Methodist view on the Eucharist?

[Rhamiel]

Hello brothers and sisters in Christ
I do not post over here offten, but i was wondering what the Methodist Church thinks of the Eucharist, in specific, do you follow the Anglican understanding of the Real Presence? I know a lot of Methodist in Ohio, but i was wondering if there are differant POVs in your denomination and wanted to ask people from a differant congregation then the one I am familiar with.

 

[Marycita]

http://www.umc.org/site/c.lwL4KnN1LtH/b.2068577/k.9ACD/Ask_InfoServ/apps/ka/ct/contactcustom.asp#

That link explains it better than I could word it ever...I hope it helps..

on the left hand side there are subject options..Communion is one of them

 

[Rhamiel]

thank you for the link.
I know that the Methodist do not believe in Transubstantiation, but the Anglicans and the Eastern Orthodox do not believe in that either, we can never fully understand the mystery of the Eucharist, but some see it as only spiritual, the link you gave me seems to give contradictory POVs on this.
I am sorry if I have trouble understanding this, as a Catholic I am used to the idea of Transubstantiation so these more subtle views are kinda lost on me

 

[Qyöt27]

It is a tricky subject. The understanding of what 'spiritual' means in this context is also up for debate from person to person. I hinge more on the mystery element and reiterate the wording of it being anamnetical (after the usage of the Greek word 'anamnesis' in the passage itself). All I would feel comfortable affirming is that His Presence is there.

The liturgy from Word and Table is transcribed here, if you want to read it directly:
http://www.revneal.org/communionlit1.html

As well, if you're up for more in-depth explanation, there is This Holy Mystery (which was also linked to from the InfoServ site posted earlier).

Personally, I don't exclude the idea of transubstantiation. I hold it in the realm of possibility, but don't take it further than that. It could happen, maybe it really has on certain occasions, otherwise I'm silent on the issue.

 

[Rhamiel]

thank you guys

 

[Musky Hunter]

While United Methodist, I have a slightly different view regarding communion than most people. I believe that Holy Communion is literally what you make of it.

For those of us who believe that the Eucharistic elements are the body of Christ materially and spiritually, I believe that God honors that.


For those of us who believe that the Eucharistic elements are the body of Christ spiritually, I believe that God honors that.


For those of us who believe that the Eucharistic elements are a commemoration of Jesus' gifts and sacrifice for us, I believe that God honors that.

God, after all, is God. He is powerful enough to do any or all of the above even within the same service

 

[Rhamiel]

I like your view Musty Hunter

 

[GraceSeeker]

thank you for the link.
the link you gave me seems to give contradictory POVs on this.

I agree, that link did seem to provide contradictory points of view. Part of this may be because it incorporates the work of more than one person, and like a committee trying to create a horse, what it ended up with looks more like a camel -- that's not a very legitimate reason, and at best a rather lame excuse for our sloppiness on such an important topic.

But there may be one other reason as well, the United Methodist Church often holds two things in tension. Doing so brings sort of a highwire balancing act to Methodist theology and people some times fall off to one side or the other. But join us in the trying to balance some of the conflicting views that one might find when interpreting scripture and you end up with where we often are as United Methodists. This is certainly true with our collective views regarding the Eucharist and Holy Communion.

The United Methodist link Info Serve that Marycita gave you, provides a quick short answer to your question as follows:

Question: Do United Methodists believe the communion elements actually become the body and blood of Christ?

Answer: “No, we believe that the change is spiritual...."

But when one goes more in depth with that question, one gets closer to realizing that there is a real presence of Christ, even if the elements themselves don't change in their basic nature and physically remain nothing more than bread and (usually) grape juice. The officially commissioned work, This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion, (http://www.gbod.org/worship/thm-bygc.pdf), was adopted by our 2004 General Conference as an official position paper by the United Methodist Church and it speaks of the presence of Christ using the following language:

United Methodists, along with other Christian traditions, have tried to provide clear and faithful interpretations of Christ’s presence in the Holy Meal. Our tradition asserts the real, personal, living presence of Jesus Christ. For United Methodists, the Lord’s Supper is anchored in the life of the historical Jesus of Nazareth, but is not primarily a remembrance or memorial. We do not embrace the medieval doctrine of transubstantiation, though we do believe that the elements are essential tangible means through which God works. We understand the divine presence in temporal and relational terms. In the Holy Meal of the church, the past, present, and future of the living Christ come together by the power of the Holy Spirit so that we may receive and embody Jesus Christ as God’s saving gift for the whole world.

Thus, though United Methodists would look at Christian history and say that the Christian church has struggled through the centuries to understand just how Christ is present in the Eucharist. We in the Wesleyan tradition would join with those who affirm the reality of Christ’s presence, even if we do not fully join with those who claim to be able to explain how it is that Christ is present. For us it is enough to know THAT he is.

 

[HumbleServant94]

I do not believe in transubstantiation. So I think that bowing to the wafer is a little like idolatry. Sorry if it offends you!:o

 

[Zoness]

Hi Rhamiel welcome to one of my domains

I believe in the real presence but I don't hold communion above any other form of worship.