All this was prophesied in Malachi 1:11, "For from the rising to the setting of the sun, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered and a perfect sacrifice in My Name: for my name shall be great among the nations, saith the LORD of hosts."
When was this fulfilled among the nations, except in the AD Church, offering this prophesied pure sacrifice, Christ's one perfect offering? To ignore or minimize this "Do this" imperative would be to ignore that He founded a Church; that this Church quickly spread to the "Gentiles," the "nations," and quickly and organically developed a distinction of roles and a "division of labor," as it were, according to the distribution of the various gifts of the Spirit and the various ministries, joined together in one Body.
It would be to ignore that this Body, as identified in the Epistles and as locatable on earth, ALWAYS did and does identify "do this" as something "done" by those who have the specified role of participating in this eternal sacrifice of His Body and Blood: priests by definition, no matter what word you use, "among the Gentiles," "among the nations."
This is hardly a human tradition. This is the Church; it is all the local Churches in the A.D. world in an unbroken succession until now, as I said in #2397, unless dear kosta50 finds I am in error! :o) ---not a wisp or a vaporous/notional thing, but a living Body as Paul said.
He said living Body; he didn't say "sola Scriptura."
I like your comments, though: I can follow your reasoning, or at least I think I do.
Thanks, and G'night now!
“Do this in remembrance of me...”
We don’t remember an ongoing act. THAT would be ‘participate’.
We could argue till the cows come home...or until WE do!
But I think (hope, pray) that God judges our heart, not just our mind. I think what Catholics teach/practice is in contradiction to what I read in Hebrews, so I don’t do it. But if you are sincere in wishing to follow God and become like Him, then I believe God will call us faithful servants even when our practices conflict.
I like intellectual discussions, but the power of God is revealed in changed lives, not debate. 30 years ago, I spent a summer as a ‘summer missionary’ under the Southern Baptist Convention. We moved to a different town each week. At one town in Montana, the local Baptist church had some of the meanest folks I’ve met in a congregation anywhere. Meanwhile, every Catholic we met there was smiling and praising God...so by the end of the week, my partner and I were telling the folks we talked to that they could visit the local Catholic Church if they needed spiritual help.
To that extent I agree with James:
“18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” - James 2
I fully believe we are saved by faith, not works - but saving faith is revealed in our works, not our flawless doctrine.
“We cannot, even by our best works, merit pardon of sin or eternal life from the hand of God, for those works are out of all proportion to the glory to come. Moreover, because of the infinite distance that is between us and God, our works can neither benefit God nor satisfy the debt of our former sins. When we have done all we can, we have only done our duty, and are still unprofitable servants. Besides, if our works are good they originate from the Spirit, and whatever we do is defiled and mixed with so much weakness and imperfection that it cannot endure the severity of God’s judgment.
Yet, although believers are accepted as individual people through Christ, their good works also are accepted in Christ. It is not as though in this life they were entirely blameless and beyond censure in God’s sight, but that he looks upon them in his Son, and is pleased to accept and reward what is sincere, even though it is accompanied by many weaknesses and imperfections.” - 1689 Baptist Confession
http://www.grbc.net/about_us/1689.php?chapter=16