Trinity VI

“ … in the night in which he was betrayed, he took bread”

Those familiar words from the Prayer of Consecration carry an extraordinary weight.  Jesus is gathered with His disciples in an upper room.  Outside that room in the Holy City of Jerusalem are powerful men who hate Him, fear Him, and are seeking His life.  The city is in turmoil.Jesus knows all this, and knows too that in the coming hour of crisis all of His disciples will abandon him and one will actually betray Him to humiliation, torture, and a shameful death.

His public ministry of teaching and healing, His private instruction of His disciples in godliness have all come down to this: betrayal, desertion, false judgment, humiliation, suffering, and death.

His response is calm and deliberate.  It is described in these words of Saint Paul in the eleventh chapter of First Corinthians: “That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped,saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.“

Note the grammatical tense of “is broken.”  He does not say, “will be broken.”  The Crucifixion has not yet occurred, and yet he speaks of His body as already broken.  Those who see in the bread of the Eucharist only a symbol or representation of Christ's body diminish the reality which he proclaimed.  He does not tell the disciples that the bread which He has broken before them symbolizes or represents his body.  He states simply and clearly that it is His body.  This is not merely a prediction or foreshadowing of the sacrifice that is to come on Good Friday.  It is in some sense beyond our time-bound understanding an integral part of that sacrifice.

Christ's death upon that Cross happened at a specific time and place in history and geography, but a part of the holy mystery that is the Mass is that participation in it is not limited to that time and place.  That night in the upper room Jesus' body was truly broken and His blood was truly shed.  At each celebration of the Eucharist His body is truly broken and His blood truly shed.  This is not a repetition of Calvary, it is a participation in that sacrifice in a manner that transcends both time and space. It is a small foretaste of eternity.

It has been said that for those who believe the finest communion hymn ever composed is the old spiritual, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?”  In a purely physical and terrestrial sense, the answer may be “No,” but in a higher and eternal sense the answer is “Yes.”  To be present at the Mass is to be present at the Last Supper, present at the Crucifixion, and present before the throne of God in light eternal. This is His promise, and God keeps his promises.

Father Bragg+
 

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Please click here to donate to St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland

Upcoming Events

Sunday Services, 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM, & 11:15 AM (for online participation for the services go to: https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland/ )

Sunday School will resume in September

Wednesday at Noon – Holy Communion and anointing for healing (for online participation, check info under Sunday Services)

Next Vestry meeting September

Annual Parish Picnic, Sunday October 8 at Fort Hunt Park, following a 10 AM combined service (no 9:00 AM or 11:15 AM services that day) , more details closer to event.


The list for MaRIH Crisis Pregnancy Center's needs was recently updated.  The items in bold type are in critical need.  If you can, please donate those items.
 
Updated List of Needs for MaRIH Center (crisis pregnancy center)
MaRIH Center with its all volunteer staff provides help to mothers-to-be and mothers in need.  If you can provide some of the items that are needed, please do so. (You can leave the donations where the food for the food bank is collected on the pew in the undercorft.)

Especially Needed
Those marked with an  asterisk are a critical need.

Diapers (sizes newborn, 1, 2, 3, 4*, 5*, & 6*)
Lovies
Baby wipes*
Diaper rash ointment
Summer clothing: Newborn, 3-6 mo.,6-9 mo., 9-12 mo.,12-18 mo,, 18-24, 2T*
Baby shampoo
Baby blankets
Sleeping -- Pack-n-Play*
Formula: Simulac Advance Formula*
Formula: other but not recalled
Wash clothes
Hooded towels
Grocery gift cards*


Food Donations 
Please help this month with a food donation if you are able. Christ House is very thankful for the food we provide to them each month. Please also buy low sugar cereals (and not the kid's types that have lots of sugar).  Current needs include the following:
• canned meats (chicken, corned beef, spam)
• peanut butter
• jelly
• tuna
• canned vegetables (corn, green beans - (regular and low sodium)
• individual fruit cups (low sugar)
• canned fruit (low sugar)
• cereal (low sugar)
• pasta (regular and gluten-free)
• instant potatoes
• Macaroni & cheese kits
• Coffee, cooking oil, flour, sugar 
Copyright © 2023 St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland
1607 Dewitt Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22301-1625