A MASS BY ANY OTHER NAME...

“...this do in remembrance of me.”  (from Luke 22:19)

WIthin the past week, there have been articles about both Grace Congregational Church of Framingham and Federated Church of Ashland in the MetroWest Daily News.  It has surprised me that in both of these articles, the services of these churches were described as "mass".   Actually, Protestant services (with the exception of Episcopalians and Anglicans) are NOT called "mass", they are called "services".   It's a theological distinction, but an important one.   A great illustration from the business world:   Chrysler speaks of its "Hemi" engine, but neither GM nor Ford would EVER use the term "hemi" to describe their engines.

A "mass" is a very sacramental and very formal reenactment of Jesus' sacrifice on  Calvary.   In the Roman Catholic Church, it is called the "Sacrifice of the Mass".   While Episcopalians and Anglicans DO continue that tradition, most Protestants believe Jesus' sacrifice cannot and should not be reenacted as a mass.   It's a very important Protestant theological point.   In the Catholic and Episcopal/Anglican mass, the culmination is the "eucharist" the mystical/tangible body (and blood) of Christ.   That's absent from Protestantism where the elements are strictly seen as symbols.

In a very Roman Catholic area such as Greater Boston, Catholics are so used to calling their services "mass" that they assume every church uses that term, and as I've shown in this brief piece, that's not correct.  I think that the more we understand each other's churches and religion, and understand each others practices, customs, and theology, the better off we'll be!