A Scriptural Theology of Eucharistic Blessings

✍ Scribed by Susan I. Bubbers

• Publisher: Bloomsbury T&T Clark
• Year: 2013
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 282
• Series: The Library of New Testament Studies
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This study examines the scriptural justification for believers to expect the Eucharist to be a place where God will come and bless them with freedom and formation. Bubbers’ focus is not on liturgy, but rather on the biblical message of the benefits of participation in the Eucharist. Why keep this Feast? Why is Eucharist important?
Bubbers’ interpretive approach is a synthesis of historical-literary aspects of Biblical Theology and canonical-creedal aspects of the Theological Reading of Scripture, taking into account the biblical-historical place of Eucharist, as well as its ongoing presence within the Church. Bubbers begins by displaying the Last Supper as a Passover meal which bridges between Old Testament motifs and the New Testament Feast. She then shows that the Exodus context reveals a paradigm which links blessing with remembrance, and suggests that the remembrance motif describes these blessings. Finally, Bubbers gathers a catalogue of specific blessings, summarized by freedom and formation. Her conclusion is that the Feast is a divinely designed paradigm for worship, which is accompanied by a promise of transformational encounters.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents
Abbreviations
Preface
Introduction
Why study eucharistic blessings?
Where does this study fit into the larger academic discussion regarding the Eucharist?
What is the basic question of this study?
What is the overall structure of this study?
1 Methodology
1.1 Interpretive approaches
1.2 Interpretive tools
1.3 Literature Review
1.4 Summary
2 Last Supper and Passover
2.1 Paschal nature
2.2 John’s chronology
2.3 Examples of Passover messages that inform the Feast
2.4 Summary
3 Historical-Literary Analysis
3.1 Words of institution
3.2 Words of interpretation
3.3 Summary
4 Blessing in Mark
4.1 To God
4.2 From God
4.3 Persisting power
4.4 Related terms
4.5 Summary
5 Blessing in the Remembrance Motif
5.1 Remembrance motif in Exodus
5.2 Remembrance motif at the Last Supper
5.3 Summary
6 Blessing in the Remembrance Paradigm
6.1 Interwoven motifs in a paradigm for remembrance
6.2 Parallels between OT and NT remembrance
6.3 Summary
7 Survey of Blessings
7.1 Blessings associated with the Feast through words of interpretation allusions
7.2 Blessings associated with the Feast through the feeding miracles
7.3 Blessings associated with the Feast through the remembrance motif
7.4 Blessings associated with the Feast through the remembrance paradigm
7.5 Summary
Conclusion
The benefits of the Feast
Original contribution to knowledge
Conclusions throughout our study
Strengths and limitations
Implications
Final Summary
Appendix A The Words of Institution
Appendix B The Words of Interpretation
Appendix C An Outline of a First Century Passover Meal
Bibliography
Index of Scriptural References
Index of Modern Authors