Our church uses wine for the Lord's Supper
for several reason, most of all because the Lord used wine. There
has been some local ruckus over this practice and the possibility of
our church holding worship service in a university building.
Gosh, we would be serving alcohol to minors. Below is Peter
Leithart's Eucharist Message before we partake of the Lord's Supper.
Much of the following is inspired by David Hart's Beauty of the Infinite.
Deuteronomy 14:23, 26: "And you shall eat in the presence of Yahweh
your God at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe
of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the first-born of the herd
and your flock, in order that you may learn to fear Yahweh your God
always. . . . And you may spend the money for whatever your heart
desires, for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your
heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of Yahweh your
God and rejoice, you and your household."
There is grape juice for minors at the center of each tray.
But there is also wine. Why wine? Because Jesus is the true
Dionysus, the true God of the vine. The Dionysus of the Greeks offered
only wine of death. Mad with the wine of Dionysus, the women of Thebes
tore king Pentheus limb from limb, and Pentheus' mother blindly bore
her son's head back to the city in triumph. Drunk with the wine of
Dionysus, Lycurgus mistook his son for a vine and cut him down. The
wine of Dionysus leaves a trail of destruction, insanity, murder,
cannibalism, warfare and rape.
But Jesus, the true God of the vine, offers the wine of blessing and
abundance, a thank-offering to God. The wine offered by Jesus cheers
God and man, marks the renewal of covenant, and is shared by lovers. It
is the wine of the new creation, drunk by the new Adam, Noah, after the
flood cleansed the world. It is the wine of victory that Melchizedek
brought to Abraham after his battle. It is "the wine of agape and the
feast of fellowship" (David Hart), the wine of mutual joy. It is the
wine, as Solomon said, that makes life merry.
The wine of the true Dionysus is not safe. It is the wrath-wine of
the holy God, the transcendent God, the God who escapes our every
effort to control or corral Him. The wine of Jesus is the wine foaming
and strong in His cup, wine that he pours out to make his enemies
stagger and fall. The wine of Jesus too sends people mad, for some who
come to this table are sick, and some are fallen asleep. This wine is
not safe; but it is the cup of blessing.
Why wine? Because the Lord of the table requires it, and He is the true god of the vine.
But there is grape juice for minors in the center of each tray.
from Peter Leithart's blog
Kerry
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