“Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast our seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.” Mark 16:9ff

“The miracles that have already happened are, of course, as Scripture so often says, the first fruits of that cosmic summer which is presently coming on. Christ has risen, and so we shall rise. To be sure, it feels wintry enough still; but often in the very early Spring it feels like that. Two thousand years are only a day or two by this scale. A man really ought to say, “The Resurrection happened two thousand years ago” in the same spirit in which he says, “I saw a crocus yesterday.” C. S. Lewis (1898 – 1963) “God in the Dock“

There is a part of the communion service that we call the “Anamnesis”. The Anamnesis is the process during the Eucharist that we remember Christ –but not just in memorial or as if he is something of the past. We remember Jesus Christ during the communion service as if he is present with us now.

OK – I need to give some definitions. Eucharist is just a fancy name for Holy Communion. Anamnesis is the remembering of something that brings the reality into the present. As such, when we “remember” Jesus’ words to “Do this in remembrance of me”, we bring his life, death and resurrection into the now. This is critical for our understanding of communion. You see, some theologies think Holy Communion is just a re-enactment of the Last Supper — so it does not carry much weight in their practice. They teach and believe that Christ is not present in the meal, so they do not participate in communion more than a few times a year. Others, like us Lutherans, believe that Christ is present in the meal, that Christ is “In Under and Through” the Bread and Wine — it is a “Real Presence” — and thus when we remember Christ, we believe that Christ is present right then.

C. S. Lewis says, “A man really ought to say, “The Resurrection happened two thousand years ago” in the same spirit in which he says, “I saw a crocus yesterday.” In other words, yes Christ died two thousand years ago, but Christ is present with us right now – in the bread and wine of communion, wherever two or three gather in His name, in the words that we read and speak in the name of Jesus. And if we live as if Christ is present with us now, don’t you think that might change “how” we live? Do you believe that Christ is Risen? Then, live as if Christ is present in your life right now.

Pastor Dave