Participation in Christ’s body and his blood during celebration of Holy Communion as illuminated by the meaningful lenses of cognition and recognition

Ferdi P Kruger

doi:10.4102/hts.v74i2.4767

Abstract

In this article, the author focusses on the importance and possible value of the concepts of cognition and recognition for reflection on what should actually happen during celebration of Holy Communion. The point of departure is that celebration, in essence, means that it should be a meaningful experience. The meaningfulness consists of the intriguing fact that participants are participating in Christ’s body and in his blood while celebrating Holy Communion. In celebrating Holy Communion, people are engaging in a ritual that involves interaction with a variety of symbols. The author offers perspectives based on a qualitative empirical study in which people expressed their views on what they actually experience when celebrating the sacrament of Holy Communion. The article adheres to Browning’s methodological insights. He describes research activity as ranging from description, to systemising (exploring practical wisdom and understanding), to strategising (practising strategic practical theology). The research problem is as follows: ‘Could cognisance of the lenses of cognition and recognition of the deeper message of Holy Communion enrich the conscious appropriation of salvation while celebrating the sacrament of Holy Communion?’ The research problem is addressed from the vantage point of understanding sacraments from a Reformed perspective. The concepts of cognition and recognition are highlighted in a brief historical description of what a sacrament is, taking into account the insights from social psychology regarding the essence of the concepts of cognition and recognition. The author further elaborates on the functioning of the concepts of cognition (phronesis) and recognition (anamnesis). In the last section of the article, the author utilises a hermeneutical interaction between descriptive and systemising perspectives to formulate strategies for how people’s experiences of participation in Holy Communion can be enriched through the meaningful lenses of cognition and recognition.

Highlights

‘When Christians gather to celebrate Holy Communion, they engage in ritual behavior that involves interaction with a variety of symbols’ (Kubicki 2006:61)
If liturgy is approached from this vantage point, we have to realise that liturgy in itself is an ensemble of signs or actions where the dominant value lies in the order of signification of meaning (Kubicki 2006:63)
The article started by asking whether cognisance of the lenses of cognition and recognition of the deeper message of Holy Communion could enrich the conscious appropriation of salvation while celebrating the sacrament of Holy Communion

Summary

Introduction

‘When Christians gather to celebrate Holy Communion, they engage in ritual behavior that involves interaction with a variety of symbols’ (Kubicki 2006:61). Immink (2014:38) expands on the view that worshippers (participants) experience the meaningfulness of their faith in liturgy by singing hymns, offering prayers, listening to the sermon and by celebrating the Holy Communion. A memorable celebration of Holy Communion offers a permeating opportunity to scrutinise the fractured reality of life by remembering God’s concern for the brokenness of life The realisation of this remembrance is something that should be applied to people’s lives. Christians after all profess that they have been saved by faith and that they are aware that they should live by faith in relationship with God. Meaningful participation in liturgy means that participants are involved in something of ultimate importance that greatly affects their daily lives. The mystical union with (the present) Christ is pervasively illuminated while celebrating Holy Communion (cf. Horton 2009:401; Lathrop 2015:307; McPartian 2008:219; Welker 2000:10–11)

Objectives

Conclusion