Eucharist as Forgiveness and Healing

Eucharist as Forgiveness and Healing

In this essay we will be studying Isaiah 52:13-53:12 and Luke 22:1-24:53. This is an important essay, so let us begin with a prayer.

Heavenly Father, we give you great thanks that in your infinite mercy you gave your only Son to suffer death upon the cross for our sake. Pour out upon us, we pray, your Holy Spirit, that we may receive with joy the healing benefit of his suffering made known to us in the celebration of the Holy Communion. For the sake of his saving love, we pray. Amen.

Before beginning our discussion of these two passages from Isaiah and Luke, it would be helpful to address a prior point. The cross dealt with sin. It solved the sin problem. The cross and resurrection, however, not only resolved the problem of sin, but also resolved all the consequences that follow from sin. A primary consequence of sin is suffering, both individual and corporate, and this can be seen throughout Scripture. For example, one of the results of Adam and Eve's disobedience to God's command not to eat of the tree was that Eve suffered in childbirth and Adam was forced to wrestle his living from the ground by the sweat of his brow. Pharaoh and his armies suffered because of their disobedience to God's commands, and Israel suffered in the desert for her refusal to take the Promised Land. The destruction of the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel was understood as the consequence of sin, the judgment of God for Israel's wickedness. On the cross, Christ suffered because of our sins, and once his suffering was complete, he suffers no more. Since suffering is the result of sin, and since the debt of sin was cancelled by the cross, that same cross and resurrection not only conquered our sin, but opened to us the way to everlasting life, a life beyond the power of sin and its attendant suffering.

Jesus was sinless, and therefore, God's perfect will was revealed in him. He banished suffering by healing the sick and casting out demons. As stated in Acts 10:38, Jesus "went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him" (Acts 10:38). Further, at the end of the present age, when Christ comes again, believers will inherit everlasting life, a life in which suffering will be forever banished. As stated in Revelation 21:4, "death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." From the beginning, in Christ, and forever, God's will is healing, blessedness, wholesome relationships with God and among peoples. By virtue of Jesus' cross and resurrection all Christians are put right with God and made inheritors of everlasting life, a life of healing that begins in this life and will be completed in the life to come. At present, we still suffer, even as God heals us by the merits of Christ. But as Paul once said, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). Therefore, when remembering the cross and resurrection, we are called to remember that Christ atoned for our sins, and as a consequence, we are, even now, in the process of being healed as we await our final healing in eternity.

Two other points merit mentioning. First, although sickness, oppression, and death are the consequences of sin, it is not always possible to make a direct connection between a particular physical or spiritual disease and our own personal sins. Sometimes that connection can be seen, and at times, it cannot. Furthermore, we are corporate creatures. We suffer because of our sins and the sins of others. When the children of Israel were carried off into captivity, their little ones, though innocent of Israel's crimes, suffered as well. We suffer because of Adam's sin and the sins of those who raised us, and we are set free because of Christ's obedience and the goodness of others. Therefore, it is best when proclaiming healing, not to condemn ourselves or those who do not immediately receive healing. Pray, expect God to heal now, and if trouble persists, continue to pray and expect him to heal later. If I may offer a personal experience, my wife of 36 years was stricken with cancer and died even though she and I sought healing for her, asking many persons gifted in healing to pray for her. She is now in heaven, perfectly healed. God always heals, beginning in this life and completed in the life to come.

Secondly, there is a place in the Christian life for suffering. Christ himself, on more than one occasion, told his followers that they must take up their cross daily is they wished to be his disciple (Luke 9:23, 14:27). Paul, in commending himself to the Corinthians, spoke of his suffering and any reading of II Corinthians 11:23-33 will show that Paul's suffering was, at times, severe. But Paul suffered as a servant of Christ (verse 23), in the course of proclaiming the gospel. Sometimes, our suffering is not, however, because we follow Christ. Rather, we do things that bring suffering upon ourselves and others. In that case we can repent of our actions, but whatever our condition, it is good to seek healing and relief from suffering. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, prior to his crucifixion, he asked that he be spared the suffering that lay before him. God did not spare his own Son, but there are many, many times when God wishes to deliver us from suffering. Consistently, throughout his ministry, Jesus healed those who came to him for healing. Therefore, it is good to seek healing in all circumstances, leaving the outcome to God. One way that God heals is in the Holy Eucharist, and to see this, let us consider Isaiah 52:13-53:12.

Within the Christian community, there is a difference of opinion as to who wrote Isaiah 52:13-53:12. Generally, speaking, however, all recognize that the passage originally referred to the time of the Exile, when Israel was taken into captivity. Prior to the Exile, God had decisively revealed himself through the escape from Egypt, the covenant of Sinai, the conquest of the Promised Land, and life in the land under covenant. In the Exile, which occurred at the beginning of the sixth century before Christ, the Promised Land was lost, the temple destroyed, and the people were taken into captivity. This produced a profound spiritual shock to the people of God. In light of the terrible suffering of the Exile, the writer of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 proclaimed that God would use suffering to redeem the world. Like all prophetic passages, this profound insight into the heart of God was fulfilled in Jesus Christ whose passion sets us right with God and each other.

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is one of the Old Testament passages most quoted in the New Testament. It can be found, for example, in First Peter 2:22-25 where the writer paraphrases Isaiah 52:13-53:12, using it to interpret Christ's death upon the cross as well as the fact that believers are healed by Jesus. According to Matthew 8:16-17, Jesus' healing ministry fulfilled this passage from Isaiah. In Luke 22:37, Jesus refers to his impending death as the fulfillment of Isaiah 53. The church of the first few centuries understood this passage as referring to Christ, his death and resurrection.(1) Theologically, as we saw in our essay, the Creeds and Biblical Interpretation, all of Scripture is to be interpreted in the light of Christ, and this passage from Isaiah speaks directly to the suffering of Christ upon the cross for our sake. Among scholars, there are those like Joachim Jeremias who believe that Jesus had this passage in mind when he instituted the Lord's Supper with the words, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many" (Mark 14:24).(2) For these reasons, we will understand this passage in reference to Christ's death and resurrection and his ministry of healing, especially as it is celebrated in the Holy Eucharist.

In reference to Christ, we may summarize the teaching of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 as follows:

1. The servant of the Lord will act wisely. He will be lifted up and highly exalted. This refers to Jesus’ resurrection. This exaltation, however, will only occur after he has been disfigured and marred beyond human likeness. This refers to his crucifixion.
2. He will "sprinkle many nations," an atonement similar to that of the blood of the lamb sprinkled on the door posts as seen in our study of the Passover and the Holy Eucharist. This work will be seen by the nations. We are among those nations.
3. According to Isaiah, the Lord Jesus was despised, rejected, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. He took up our infirmities and carried our griefs. He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and punished that we might have peace. By his stripes we are healed. The Lord laid upon him the iniquity of us all. He was cut off from the land of the living, and in his death, he was assigned a grave with the wicked. He gave his life as a guilt offering, and he justified many by bearing their sins. He suffered these things, yet he was innocent. He had done no violence, nor was there deceit in his mouth.
4. After his suffering, he was exalted, seeing the light of life, his days prolonged, dividing the spoils with the strong and having a portion among the great. These lines also refer to Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, his being seated at the right hand of God.
5. The suffering of the servant was understood as the will of God. It was the Lord’s will to crush him. It was the Lord who laid upon him the iniquity of us all. The servant was afflicted, stricken, and smitten by God. The wrath of God fell upon him.
6. As a result of the sin, iniquity, and punishment that was laid upon Jesus, those who follow Jesus receive the following blessings which can be found in this passage from Isaiah: he bears our griefs and carries our sorrows so that we are no longer crushed by their terrible weight, his chastisement brings us peace and by his stripes we are healed, we have gone astray yet in him our paths are made straight, he was stricken for our transgressions and by this we are forgiven, the suffering of his soul sets us free from guilt, he shall see his offspring and we rejoice in the fellowship of the redeemed, he shall prolong his days and in him we have eternal life, by his atoning death we are accounted righteous before a holy God, in him we become strong and divide with him the blessings of his mighty victory, and he stands forever at the right hand of God making intercession for us. These are a few of the blessings we receive in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In a Liturgy for Eucharist, given on this web site, we have the following words taken from the prayer of consecration,

... having in remembrance his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension; rendering to you most hearty thanks for the innumerable benefits secured for us by the same.

... these your gifts of bread and wine; that we, receiving them according to your Son our Savior Jesus Christ's holy institution, in remembrance of his death and passion, may be partakers of his most blessed body and blood.

... most humbly beseeching you to grant that, by the merits and death of your Son Jesus Christ, and through faith in his blood, we, and all your whole Church, may obtain remission of our sins, and all other benefits of his passion.

... humbly beseeching you that we, and all others who shall be partakers of this Holy Communion, may worthily receive the most precious body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ, be filled with your grace and heavenly benediction, and made one body with him, that he may dwell in us, and we in him.

... not weighing our merits, but pardoning our offenses, through Jesus Christ our Lord; ...

As we consider these passages we may note that there is a direct connection between the remembrance of "his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension" on the one hand, and on the other hand, the "innumerable benefits secured for us by the same." These "innumerable benefits" include being "partakers of his most blessed body and blood," "remission of our sins, and all other benefits of his passion," being "filled with your grace and heavenly benediction, and made one body with him, that he may dwell in us, and we in him," and the "pardoning our offenses, through Jesus Christ our Lord."

This connection is also made in Isaiah 53, that is, by virtue of Jesus' suffering we receive all the many blessings enumerated in point 6 given above. These blessings are, however, as Isaiah 53 makes clear, intimately connected to Christ's suffering, or, as the eucharistic liturgy proclaims, the blessings are related to the remembrance of "his blessed passion and precious death, his mighty resurrection and glorious ascension." That is, the blessings require us to remember his passion, where "remember" is understood in the strong biblical sense as studied in the essay, In Remembrance of Me.

We begin this process of remembering by reading, rereading, meditating upon, receiving, and absorbing the narrative of his passion as found in the gospels. When this is done by the power of the Spirit, the Spirit will bring to us two matters crucial to our life with God and one another. First, we will remember how we have done to others what was done to Christ. That is, we have betrayed, denied, insulted, hurt, rejected, wounded, exploited, falsely judged, and even in some cases, killed others. As we read how Christ suffered, we will remember how we have caused others to suffer. Secondly, the Spirit will show us how we, like Christ, have suffered physically, emotionally, and spiritually, how we have been abused, insulted, ridiculed, deceived, exploited financially, deprived of work and an adequate livelihood, violated, betrayed, tormented, beaten, injured, and finally, abandoned by God and those around us. Many of us will not have had all these things happen to us, but all of us have suffered some of these things and done them to others.

At this point, let us theologically consider this portion of Isaiah 53.

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:4-6).

According to this passage "the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all," and as the Lord did this, he was "smitten by God, and afflicted." What did the Lord lay upon him, and what was the result? The Lord laid upon him God's just chastisement, and further, Jesus bore our grief, sorrows, transgressions, and iniquities. The result was our peace and healing. This happened at the time of the crucifixion. Christ could not redeem our sin, suffering, and death, unless he bore the sin and its consequences even unto death. This has immediate and wonderful consequences. The Spirit, as we saw in our study, Trinity and Incarnation, takes what happened in Christ and makes it a present fact. Two-thousand years ago, God placed his judgment, our sin, suffering, and death on Christ. This could happen because God has the authority to do such things. As a man, Jesus suffered all forms of sin and suffering at the hands of the devil and those around him. As the incarnation of God the Word, Jesus' suffering was also God's suffering. This is true by the communicatio idiomatum. God himself bore the sin and suffering of the world in the person of Christ. God in Christ could bear and redeem the suffering of the world for he is God, the creator of the world. As Jesus suffered these things, he bore them to death, and by the power of his mighty resurrection, God conquered them, giving peace and healing to all who surrender to him.

As believers come forward to receive his body and blood in the Holy Eucharist, as they open their hands to receive his broken body, they receive the benefits of his passion, and one of those great benefits is healing. The whole person and the community itself are healed. The individual is healed, body and soul, and all relationships within the community are healed as well, empowering the local church to effect the Kingdom of God in its time and place. Simply put, in Eucharist we exchange the rule of the evil one for the rule of God and thereby are set free from bondage since God's rule always entails healing.

This means something quite practical, and believers need to be taught these practical applications by their teachers and leaders. This practical application is particularly relevant for Lent and Holy Week which culminates in the celebration of Christ's glorious resurrection. Let me suggest a practical way to put these ideas in effect. You can do this by yourself, or all together as a church. Either way, the process is the same. I will describe how this can be done for the entire church.

Let me suggest that the leadership bring the members together for a few days to come before the Lord. At that time, explain the meaning of Isaiah 53 and show how Isaiah 53 is fulfilled in the cross and resurrection and celebrated in the Holy Eucharist. Then, tell the people you are going to read Luke 22:1-24:53 aloud to them. Before you read, however, read a portion of Luke, Luke 23:32-43. In this section Jesus and two thieves are crucified together. As they are being crucified, Jesus forgave those who crucified him with these words, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). These words of forgiveness apply to all of us, for all our sins.

The two thieves had two very different responses to Jesus' words of forgiveness. One thief railed at Jesus saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" (Luke 23:39). The other thief rebuked him saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." He then asked that he be allowed to enter into Christ's Kingdom, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." (Luke 23:40-2). This thief could only come into the Kingdom through the confession and forgiveness of his sins. He confessed to Jesus that he deserved death because of his sins, and then, since Jesus had already proclaimed forgiveness of sins, Jesus granted his request to enter the Kingdom, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise," (Luke 23:43). In the Holy Eucharist we confess our sins, and then, after the confession, the Eucharist instructs the priest to proclaim 1 John 2:1-2, "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the perfect offering for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world." Then, as the Communion continues, we enter into Paradise as described in the essay, In Remembrance of Me, as well as the essay, Eucharist as the Dawn of the Age to Come.

The second thief rejected the forgiveness of sins. Scripture does not tell us what happened to this particular man, but the message is quite clear. It is a terrible and dangerous thing to reject the forgiveness of the one who hangs from the cross for our sins. This fact should be simply set forth, not to browbeat the people into accepting forgiveness, but in love and humility, as a warning to our sinful souls.

Having explained Luke 23:32-43, tell the people you are now going to read all of Luke 22:1-23:56 aloud to them, and further, you are going to read it twice. Each time you are going to ask the people to do something different. The first time you read, ask the people to listen and discover how they have done to others what was done to Jesus. Before you read, seek the power of the Spirit, that God would reveal the sins, known and unknown, of all who listen. As all listen by the power of the Spirit, they will know how they have betrayed others as Judas betrayed Christ. They have denied their friends as Peter denied Christ, mocked and beaten others as Christ was mocked and beaten, falsely accused others as Jesus was falsely accused, joined with others in spreading lies and gossip that destroyed the innocent, sneered at those who were weak, suffering, and even dying, and taken the work, time, and possessions of others through robbery and poor wages just as the soldiers divided Jesus' clothing and gave him nothing but wine vinegar. As you read, the people will, by the power of the Spirit, know their sins. Read slowly, allowing the Spirit to work, and as the Spirit convicts the people of their sin, encourage them to ask the Lord for forgiveness as did the thief who confessed that he deserved to die. Also, the people may need to ask forgiveness of others and make restitution.

It might be a good idea to read the various sections in portions, devoting a block of time to each section, doing a meditation on each one with breaks in between. For our purposes, we are especially interested in the healing aspects of this passage. Therefore, certain portions, especially Jesus suffering, require more time and comment. Other portions, such as the section on Jesus' Passover Meal (which has already been studied), or the resurrection, can simply be read with less attention to detail.

As you read the passage a second time, ask the people to allow the Spirit to remind them how others have sinned against them. Pray that the Spirit bring to their minds how they have been betrayed, denied, mocked and insulated, violated physically by beating or rape, robbed and exploited for their labor and their time, and given so little to eat and drink. Read slowly, perhaps you might suggest ways in which these sins have been perpetrated against your people by reading a section and showing how these things happen to the people today. Encourage them, giving them time, to forgive those who have wronged them. This is crucial, of supreme importance. Give them moments to pray and to forgive, addressing the person who wronged them as if they were right there. It is good for them to say the names aloud, not so much to others, but to God. Let the Spirit work. As they forgive, encourage them to place their troubles, diseases, and wounds upon the cross. For example, a woman who has been beaten will hear, in Luke 22:63-65, how Jesus was beaten and mocked. The words will pierce her heart and her grief will pour forth. The Spirit will urge her to forgive, and encourage her to say to Jesus, "O Lord Jesus, receive my suffering as your own," for in truth, he made it his suffering. It is no longer hers, but his, and in his suffering she will be consoled and set free of shame and hate. Or a man who has been betrayed by a friend or family member will hear of Peter's betrayal, Luke 22:54-62, and empowered by the Spirit, pour out his hurt and rage to God, placing it upon Jesus, seeking to forgive his betrayers and finding in the passion the means to life and peace. Perhaps the people can lay hands on each other and pray for each other as the Spirit works. Pray about these things, let God show you how to proceed, and let God bless you. As these things are done, Isaiah 53 will come true and your people will be healed. All this is the work of the Holy Spirit. As stated in Principle Six of the Creeds and Biblical Interpretation, "By his mighty power the Spirit takes the creative, powerful words, deeds, and appearances of God narrated in Scripture and repeats them in life today as a foretaste of God's final victory."

In this connection, it might be helpful to make a further comment about forgiveness. Forgiving someone is not the same as being reconciled and in relationship with them. There are evil people in this world. If they have harmed us, we need to forgive them. There are, however, dangerous and violent people who consistently harm others. One can think, for example, of men who beat their wives and molest their children. Such persons may not stop their abusive behavior. Those who have been hurt need to forgive them, but this does not mean that they need to continue to be abused. Under certain circumstances, abusive and dangerous people need to be reported to the authorities. There are times when even the marriage bond itself must be broken to preserve the lives of family members. These are delicate matters that call for discernment. None of us love perfectly, all of us say or do things that are hurtful at times. There are, however, very hurtful and violent persons, and it is the responsibility of the community's leadership to protect the vulnerable from such persons.

Luke's gospel ends with the resurrection and a commission to preach the gospel to the nations. This must be read and explained. By the power of the resurrection the penitent thief was promised paradise, and by the power of the resurrection, Jesus will manifest his glory in the Holy Eucharist. This will be described in the essays on Eucharist as the Dawn of the Age to Come and Eucharist as the Highest Form of Fellowship.

As the people forgive and receive forgiveness, as they are healed and delivered of their burdens, the words of First Peter 2:22-25 will come true.

He [Jesus] committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Finally, once you have come to the end of your time together, end with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Begin with great songs of praise and thanksgiving. Proclaim with great joy what God in Christ has done. Tell them that the sins they have committed are forgiven and this forgiveness will be made manifest as you say the confession together and hear the words of absolution that follow. Consecrate the bread and wine, break the bread, and invite the people to come forward. As they come forward, and this will have already been explained, they are offering themselves to the Lord. They are exchanging their sin, guilt, and hurts for the healing life of the resurrected Lord. This is the crux of the matter. The Eucharist, among other things, is an exchange, exchanging our sin, shame, hurts, sorrows, diseases, and oppressions for the glory of the resurrected Lord. Forgiven and renewed, the people then offer themselves, their time, abilities, and all their strength to service in the Lord's Kingdom. As they come forward to receive the bread and wine, they bring these things to Jesus, their needs and sorrows, their strengths and gifts, and as they receive his body and blood, they are brought into his Kingdom. Then, filled with unutterable joy, bursting into song and rejoicing, go forth into the world empowered by the Spirit to tell others what good things that God has done.

Once the people have learned how to come to the Holy Eucharist for healing, they are equipped to offer to God, each Sunday, their troubles and sorrows, as well as their strengths and assets, that God might heal them and direct them to his glorious service.

Finally, healing in the Holy Eucharist is only one of the many ways God heals. He also uses teaching, laying-on-of-hands for healing, counsel, service, kindness, and above all, love, to heal. Many times people are not able to receive healing in the Holy Eucharist because they have not been taught to expect healing there. That is why teaching on this subject is so vital. Also, there are many who come to Holy Eucharist whose hearts have been so abused and broken that they cannot receive the love of God in the Eucharist. To them the words take no root, the rite seems empty, mere formalism. Such people, and this will be all of us at one time or another, often need the counsel and ministry of persons especially called to healing. More will be said on this vital topic in other essays. For now, however, it must be said that healing in the Eucharist is only one of the many ways God heals, and the full array of God's healing methods needs to be implemented in each local church. Once learned, however, the Eucharist is a very powerful way to consistently receive blessings and healing from God.

Questions for Discussion

1. How would you go about having a retreat where you described how the risen Christ heals in the Eucharist and ending the retreat with a Eucharist? Do you have some ideas that would make such a retreat effective for your people in addition to the ideas presented here?
2. Have you or someone you know been healed in the Holy Eucharist? If so, what happened? For an additional example, please read Dick Bowman’s Witness.
3. How would go about designing a Holy Eucharist so as to make it an occasion for healing? For example, in some churches, there are prayer stations where people can go after they are given the bread and wine to receive the laying-on-of-hands for healing. Are there people in your church who can pray for others?
4. How would you go about preparing for Holy Eucharist? What worries, fears, burdens, sins, or physical ailments do you have that you can offer to Christ in the Eucharist? Do you need to be set free to serve Christ more fully? If so, in what way, and how would you go about receiving this liberation?

Endnotes

1. Mark W. Elliott (ed.), Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Old Testament XI, (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2007), pp. 155ff.
2. Joachim Jeremias, New Testament Theology (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971), p. 291.

The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D.
August, 2013