Expert: Martin W. Eldred - 5/28/2009

Question
QUESTION: If the bread and wine are the body and blood of Jesus how
come the bread and wine are then eaten after the Eucharist
and not like in the Catholic church placed in the altar for
the next Eucharist?

ANSWER: Thank you for your question.

For Lutherans, Christ's real presence in the Eucharist does not ontologically change the bread and wine (that is, it does not change their essence, or their being).  The elements remain bread and wine, but Christs presence comes through the promise of his presence (the Word) connected with the material elements of bread and wine.  

"Word plus element" is one way to formulate a Lutheran understanding of a sacrament--Jesus promises to be there and that his presence brings forgiveness of sins which is attached to a physical element such as bread and wine, or water for baptism.

After the event, therefore, either the Meal or the Baptism, the elements remain what they were--bred, wine, water.  The Promise/Word is no longer connected in a grace-giving manner.  It is only in the context of the Meal, or the Baptism that these elements have the Word's promised connection.  Afterward, they are what they are--everyday elements.

That is why we do not reserve the bread and wine, or consider Baptism or blessed water "holy water."  We do tend to treat these elements with respect after, often eating the remaining bread or giving it to the birds, drinking the wine or disposing of it in a respectful way upon the ground.  

I hope that this is helpful.

Martin Edred

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Here is another question for you.
I am a man with long hair. Is this condemned in the Bible?
I read 1 Corinthians 11: 1-16 where Apostle Paul says:
Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have
long hair, it is shame unto him.
Does this apply to the Jews only or does this apply to all
Christians living in modern times?
Did Jesus not have long hair?
And if men aren't aloud to have long hair should all women
also have their heads covered?  

Answer
The question of hair and clothing; etc. can best be allocated to the realm of contemporary cultural considerations.  What would be scandalous in Paul's day (women with uncovered hair, men (at least in the Grecco-Roman culture) with long hair would probably not be as important today.  For Paul these "freedom" expressions could bring a negative reputation about Christians among the "pagans" to whom they were supposed to be witnessing.  The same can be said with the role of women in leadership, which for the conservative, male-dominated, woman-at-home, Roman culture was VERY offensive.  Paul attempts, in his own way, to balance the freedoms Christians have through the gospel and their obligations to present a positive impression to their neighbors.

I would say, therefore, that matters of hair and such are best left to private decisions.  Our culture, diverse and multi-cultural, no longer has the same universal issue with long hair, or strange clothes.

I hope that this is helpful.

Martin Eldred