R. Kevin Seasoltz
Another Look at Sacrifice, pp. 386 - 413.
Summary. Given the overall weakness of the theology of eucharistic sacrifice in Western Christian theology, Kevin Seasoltz takes another look at sacrifice. He offers readers a commentary on sacrifice because of his belief in the centrality of sacrifice not only in the Christian kerygma and therefore in the faith, life and worship of all who call themselves Christian but also in the very constitution of the created universe and the basic physical and biological processes of life itself. In fact, the notion of sacrifice, says Seasoltz, is essential in our humble efforts to understand to any degree the very life of God as a trinity of persons in the unity of the Godhead.
This essay on sacrifice begins with an assessment of some of the skepticism sacrifice arouses in contemporary culture. Seasoltz then explores the place of sacrifice in a theology of creation, a theology of the incarnation and soteriology, and finally in eucharistic theology.
Seasoltz' discussion of sacrifice leads him to draw several important conclusions. First, the word "sacrifice" must be used with care, for it carries both biblical and historical overtones which are not only often offensive to contemporary people but which are subject to misunderstanding and consequent divisiveness and alienation. Thus, Seasoltz suggests it be accompanied by a carefully structured catechesis and illuminating hermeneutic. Second, the dialogue which has begun between theologians and scientists must continue to help us understand what is meant by the assertion that the God of both Jews and Christians is a self-sacrificing God and a God who is compassionate and impassible. Finally, it is Seasoltz' conviction that this dialogue will further our understanding of the Trinity. We will learn that our God is a relational God, a sacrificing God who reaches out to us and invites us into intimate union with the three persons in one God and into union with our true selves and each other.
Rowena Hill
Poured Out for You:
Liturgy and Justice in the Life of Archbishop Romero, pp. 414 - 432.
Summary. Rowena Hill begins her essay by vividly describing the powerful scene of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero as it is portrayed in the film Romero, produced by Paulist Pictures. She then observes that the film-makers took some artistic license in presenting the assassination of Romero, since though Romero was shot during the celebration of a Mass, it was not at the moment at which he elevated the cup, contrary to what is portrayed in the film.
Hill asks the question, just how much license did the film-makers take? The question is of particular interest because not only during the assassination scene, but throughout the film, a strong connection is made between Romero's struggle for social justice and the liturgy of the church – particularly the Eucharist. Hill comments that the makers of Romero seem to suggest that the connection between liturgy and justice is self-evident. Their Bishop Romero, in speaking and acting for justice, simply lives out what is shown forth in worship.
Hill argues in her essay that the artistic license taken with Romero is indeed warranted. She supports her position with an examination of some of the sermons of Archbishop Romero, his four pastoral letters and his personal diary, which makes clear, the relationship between the liturgy of the church and the struggle for justice was explicitly recognized and emphasized by the bishop himself. Hill also attempts to demonstrate what Archbishop Romero understood the nature of this relationship to be, and some of the ways in which he sought to realize this intimate connection.
In conclusion, Hill writes that the life and work of Archbishop Romero present a challenge to the church – a challenge to recognize the relationship between its worship and its work for justice. Indeed, Romero challenges the church to perceive in its liturgy the source and strength of its vocation to image Christ in service to the world.
Mark A. Torgerson
Celebrating Jesus in Northwestern Zaïre:
A Window into the Evolution of Christian Worship, pp. 432 - 453.
Summary. Pre-existing worship practices, contact with other Christian communities, the rise of indigenous leadership, and political influence have all been factors in shaping Christian worship practices throughout the history of the church. All four factors, Mark Torgerson says, have been manifest among the mission churches of the Evangelical Covenant Church in the central African country formerly called the Republic of Zaïre and demonstrate, in microcosm, how worship practices evolve in Christian communities.
The writer examines the developing patterns of worship which African Covenant churches have exhibited from 1936-1995. He begins with a discussion of the initial worship patterns which came with the establishment of these churches by the Evangelical Free Church, the influence of a pre-existing Roman Catholic presence in Zaïre, the gradual development and utilization of indigenous clergy, and the impact of the political revolution of the 1960s which helped establish colonial independence for the nation. Torgerson concludes with an examination of changes which have occurred in basic worship practices, including the pattern of the Sunday worship service and the practice of Eucharist and baptism.
Torgerson suggests at the end of his essay that worship in the Covenant churches of Zaïre has changed dramatically in a sixty year period. Awareness of the influence of pre-existing worship practices, contact with other Christian communities, indigenous leadership, and political circumstances in various Christian contexts may help us all to better understand our own current theologies and rituals and sensitize us to the necessary, continuing evolution of humanity's efforts to celebrate Jesus.
Michael S. Driscoll and Susan Guise Sheridan
Every Knee Shall Bend:
A Biocultural Reconstruction of Liturgical and
Ascetical Prayer in V-VII Century Palestine, pp. 453 - 468.
Summary. Michael Driscoll and Susan Guise Sheridan observe that a dilemma faces the church historian and liturgist when confronted with a period in church history for which documentary evidence is wanting. The authors offer some methodological solutions to this problem, which reflect the work of a team of researchers at the University of Notre Dame. The project concerns the Byzantine monastery of St Stephen in Jerusalem, an important monastic center from the fifth to the seventh centuries.
The focus of the essay is both liturgical and ascetical prayer and the effects that sustained strenuous prayer can have on the human body. Driscoll and Sheridan suggest that biological analysis of the monastic remains in tandem with the written evidence for the site and region can produce a picture that until now has remained blurred.
The authors first provide readers with an overview of the project and the historical significance of the Byzantine complex of St Stephen's. This is followed by a discussion of the biocultural model used in the study, which integrates information from both the biological and the cultural records of a people. Driscoll and Sheridan then consider what the remains of St Stephen's have to tell us about liturgical and ascetical prayer. In conclusion, the authors comment that the multimodel, biocultural approach recognizes the importance of incorporating biological aspects of human adaptability with social and symbolic mechanisms of human interaction. They add that in an era when tensions between postmodern, humanistic approaches and traditional scientific perspectives threaten to divide discourse, the biocultural approach provides a forum for common dialogue that is both intellectually compelling and requisite to an accurate understanding of the past.
Nathan D. Mitchell
The Amen Corner, pp. 468 - 477.
Summary. Anaphoras, like all liturgical prayers, are works in progress – edited over many generations to reflect the assembly's changing religious and cultural situation. However ancient and venerable such prayers may be, our nonbiblical words of worship are not inspired, irreformable utterances. Eucharistic Prayer I of the Roman Rite is no exception.
In his essay, Nathan Mitchell considers EP I, some form of which has been in use among some Latin Christians from the late fourth century to the present. Initially, Mitchell comments on the complexity of the history and evolution of the Old Roman Canon. He proceeds with an analysis of EP I, noting the prayer's strengths and weaknesses. This leads Mitchell to a discussion of what we can learn about eucharistic praying from EP I. For example, we can learn much from the language of the prayer, which reflects inculturation and a reliance on "secular" rhetorical strategies. We can also learn about the language of address and petition from the Old Roman Canon.
In conclusion, Mitchell remarks that it is easy to understand how and why the liturgical language of EP I evolved – but its images suggest a set of relationships, a social structure, a political organization, a way of speaking to and about God, that modern English-speakers may find arcane, amusing, or both. He adds that this should come as no surprise, since the models that shaped the Old Roman Canon were drawn not so much from the Bible or Jewish liturgy, but from the distinctive cultic and cultural heritage that characterized Roman life. Finally, Mitchell contends that if there is a "problem" with our English eucharistic prayers today, that problem is not likely to be resolved by an artificial effort to "re-Latinize" the translations.
Book Review
The Ministry of the Deacon. 1. Anglican-Lutheran Perspectives. Edited by Gunnel Borgegård and Christine Hall. Uppsala: Nordic Ecumenical Council 1999. Pages, 167. Review by Frank C. Senn, pp. 478 - 480.
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