“Do this in Remembrance of Me”

A Methodist for the Day

There is, of course, no trouble in my being a Methodist. After all, their founders, John and Charles, never left the established Church of England, although some of its established practices, parochial boundaries, for instance, received their direct challenge, a practice not particularly appreciated by vicars and bishops who viewed this an affront to authority. But on matters of doctrine/teaching it is quite remarkable to note that the Methodists share much of our sacramental teaching.

No doubt, this escapes the attention of not a few Anglo-Catholic, High-Church types, although attentive scholars have identified a very direct line from the Evangelical sacramentalism of the Wesleys in the eighteen century to the sacramental revival associated with the Catholic Movement a hundred years later. Methodist theologian and scholar, Albert Outler, has amply demonstrated that the Wesley brothers thought of their movement as “an evangelical order within a catholic Church.”

The following are a few excerpts from a sermon originally preached by a young John Wesley to his students at Lincoln College, Oxford in 1787. He returned to this sermon, with very few alterations, fifty years later as a full affirmation of his commitment to a strong sacramental understanding of the Eucharist. Of particular interest is the way in which he clearly accepts and defends what Outler calls “sacramental grace as God’s love in action.” There is no thought of the Eucharist being a mere or bare sign which simply stimulates the memory of a past event. So, John Wesley speaks of real, practical, and urgent spiritual benefits:
“the forgiveness of our past sins”
“the present strengthening and refreshing of our souls”
“strength to perform our duty”
“Leads us on to perfection”
“the sacrament is the continual remembrance of the death of Christ, by eating bread and drinking wine, which are the outward signs of the inward grace—the body and blood of Christ”

It is altogether evident that the Wesleys affirmed what the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has termed “Christ’s personal action in the Eucharist.” And this is in direct continuity with a primitive understanding of the Eucharist. St. Irenaeus is a fitting and challenging example from the second century. He writes, “We offer to him the things that are his own (bread and wine), consistently announcing and confessing the fellowship and unity of flesh and spirit. For as the bread taken from the earth, when it has received the consecration from God, is no longer common bread but is the Eucharist, which consists of two realities, earthly and heavenly; so also our bodies, when they receive the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, but have the hope of resurrection to eternal life.” (Jaroslav Pelican, The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition, p. 167.)

But is this, or something of the sort, floating about in the thoughts and consciousness of Anglicans and Methodists alike? John Wesley preached his sermon because it clearly was not. Even now, what benefits might we receive, both felt and imperceptible, if we came to this most sacred feast expecting Christ to act in our lives? And, more broadly, what would it be like if both clergy and the faithful laity approached the entire liturgy as a special event in which Christ acts among his people. Not a mere recitation or an hour of instruction, but Christ speaking, strengthening, encouraging, forgiving, feeding, blessing, and sending. I dare say, the living event of a living Christ is what we need. It might be show time at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday morning, but it would certainly help to note clearly, get straight, and hold on to a more primitive view, what John Donne called “the showing forth of Christ.” Imagine that. If we are just fooling around, let’s stay home. Sleep and coffee are also a gift from God. But if the Eucharist is the presence of a living Christ for the renewal and strengthening of our lives week after week, then let us come, on time, ready, expectant.