Confirmation Lite #4

The Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year B

March 14, 2021

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In session 3 last Sunday morning we browsed through the Prayerbook discovering various rubrics and other guidelines. Our project this morning is severalfold: 

First perhaps, to perceive again that our Collect for the Day invariably reveals (an epiphany) some of our theology

To discover several things that are common to but subtly unnoticeable in our nine Eucharistic Prayers, six in the BCP and three in Enriching Our Worship (our little red booklet of supplemental liturgical material offered in 1997 by the Standing Liturgical Commission of the Church through General Convention for use under guidance of the diocesan bishop).

We also may discover a couple more rubrics, that on page 359 authorizing an introduction to the Confession of Sin (which I use from time to time), and the Disciplinary Rubrics on page 409.

Not least, seeing we are a Bible church, we'll have a look at Jesus' "Words of Institution" of the Lord's Supper according to Paul and the synoptic gospels (there is no such in John, whose discussion of the meal focuses on Jesus' New Commandment and on Jesus' washing his disciples' feet):

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Mark:14:22-25

Matthew 26:26-29

Luke 22:14-20

Given time and inclination, we may risk being shocked by my view that the phrase "for the forgiveness of sins" that appears only in Matthew, is not from the mind and mouth of Jesus, was added by Matthew (for reasons of his own agenda, what might that be?), and should be excised from our Eucharistic Prayers and the Lord's Supper reimaged theologically as divine sustenance for carrying out Jesus' New Commandment as set forth in the promises of our Baptismal Covenant.