Eucharistic Meditation, April 25

Leviticus 22:10-16

In the sermon today, I addressed the some of the challenges and temptations of young adulthood, the priestly stage of life. It is biblically appropriate, as I tried to show, to describe young adulthood in these terms. But we should not let this perspective obscure the more fundamental reality of the church. In one sense, only one segment of the church is in a priestly stage of life; but in the more fundamental sense, we are all priests.

That is part of what is symbolized at this table. Under the OC order, there were a variety of meals for a variety of different groups. Gentile sojourners were invited to participate in the feasts of Pentecost and Booth. Passover was more restricted, confined to those who were circumcised and their families. Other food was given to priestly families, and some food was reserved for the priests alone. The gradations and degrees of holiness were embodied in various meals.

In the NC, this is all gone. There is only one sacred meal, and it is open to all. The OC ordering of priesthood is gone, all are holy ones or ?saints?Ein THE Holy One, Jesus the Christ. And that means that the holy food is given to all.

And so I invite you to this meal in the words of the ancient liturgies: Come and receive the holy things for the holy people.