405 - The Lord's Supper

The Lord's Supper
By Martin E. Marty
Philadelphia, Fortress, 1980. 80 pp. $2.25.

Like a small scalpel making a precise incision, this small book by Martin Marty cuts through much of the rhetoric about the Lord's Supper. The meaning of this sacrament is found in the words, "for you ... for the forgiveness of sin." Everything else about this supper, the author says, is secondary.

After describing a house-church Communion service in Eastern Europe (which gives a feel for early Christian worship), Marty guides the reader through the Sunday Communion experience of an American Christian "Everyman." This comparative approach allows him to describe a Eucharist piety which he feels is lacking in many Christian traditions. Along the way Marty manages to comment on being born again, the electronic church, the "I Found It!" crusade, the corporateness of the gospel, and the nature of Christ's presence in the sacrament.

In his description of those minutes spent waiting for the distribution of elements to end, Marty includes reflections about the dynamic of forgiveness in the "sick of soul" and the "healthy-minded" personalities. He reminds us that participating in the Lord's Supper can become an occasion for spiritual pride, and that faith can become the most idolatrous of works.

After the service, Marty's "Everyman" goes down to his house justified, not because he has kept his mind on his worship or because he has done Communion the "right way," but because God's saving presence in his life has been tasted and attested, and he has heard that it is indeed "for you ... for forgiveness."

This book is more significant than its small size might suggest, for it challenges the reader to come to center in understanding this sacrament. It also has good potential for use with discussion groups and catechetical classes.

G. Frederick Schott
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church
Princeton Junction, NJ