There is an old saying that I learned in seminary. Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi. It is Latin and it means “What we say, we believe. Our Prayer Book is an excellent example of that old saying. If you want to find out what Anglicans believe, all you have to do is study the prayer book.
The case that we are looking at this week has to do with what we believe about our Holy Communion Service, about the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, and about the words that the priest speaks as he breaks the bread of communion at the Altar. In the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, we only had the one choice of what to say (we did also have the choice to say nothing). In the 2019 BCP, our choices expanded to two. They are:
Celebrant [Alleluia.] Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
People Therefore let us keep the feast. [Alleluia.]
or this
Celebrant [Alleluia.] Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed, once for all upon the Cross.
People Therefore let us keep the feast. [Alleluia.]
The big difference between the two is the word “is” in the first and the words “has been” in the second. For reference, the second one is new in this 2019 BCP, the first one was new in 1979. Prior to 1979, the bread was broken during the early part of the prayer of consecration when the priest took the bread and blessed it, he also broke it. In 1979 the acts of blessing and breaking were separated into two different parts of the liturgy.
With all of that behind us, and with the idea that “what we say, we believe”, let’s talk about the two statements, but let’s start with the second one:
Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed, once for all upon the Cross. A church member pointed out to me that those words seem to support the idea that Jesus “made there, by his one oblation of himself once offered, a full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world” as our prayer says. And Hebrews 7:27, 9:12 and 10:10-14 makes it clear that Jesus was sacrificed only once. And that is true, Jesus died only once. So the people who added this option wanted to make it clear that we believe that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was only made once, for all.
Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. On the other hand, the first statement seems confusing in light of that discussion. The “is” seems to say, in the present tense, that Jesus’ sacrifice has been made just now, as though it has been repeated. So, which one do we believe?
I am going to have to be brief here, but much has been written on this subject. What we believe is actually both of those things. But that seems to be a contradiction. How can “is” and “has been” be true at the same time? It has to do with language. My seminary required all of its students to study the ancient biblical languages, Hebrew and Greek. At the time, I thought it was a stupid waste of time. I was going to read the bible in English and men a whole lot smarter than me had already done the translating work, so why should I have to learn Hebrew and Greek? It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally the English language falls short in its ability to pass along ideas. And here is one place where that makes a difference. The sacrifice of Christ on the cross happened at a specific time and place here on earth. The sacrifice for sins happened only once and that makes “has been” absolutely accurate. However, the consequences of that one-time event shook earth and heaven and it has eternal influence such that what we do in the communion service commemorates a historical event and it also calls into present reality the saving sacrifice of Christ. On the cross Jesus made sacrifice for all the sins of the world and that happened 2000 years ago. But that sacrifice, once made, is still effective today cleansing sins yet to happen, even our sins today, because that sacrifice transcends both time and space. It happened on earth, but its application is made in heaven.
It all boils down to one word. That one word in English is not sufficient to get at the deeper meaning of the Greek. The word is Remembrance, “in remembrance of me” which makes the words “has been”, true. The Greek is Anamnesis, and that word makes clear that what Jesus did on the cross has eternal application and therefore makes “is” a statement of its eternal significance. Now, when you hear Jesus’ final words on the cross you will know just how big “it is finished” really is.