Customer Reviews

The Sacred Meal: The Ancient Practices Series

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As a review for Thomas Nelson, we are able to choose our next book to read...and I will be honest that it was the cover art that first caught my eye. Simple and yet with so much meaning, the cup and the bread made me stop...and when I read the cover info on the book, I was hooked as I am ever trying to understand more about Christ and the gifts He provided for us as we try to get closer to Him.

While I would have to say that there are a few areas in which Mrs. Gallagher and I would differ (in regard to spiritual practices and beliefs), I can honestly say that this book is one that was well-written and can be very gripping for any heart that loves God and knows the purpose of Holy Communion. There were areas in the book in which I wrinkled my forehead in question to her thoughts, such as when she said that communion was "devised cleverly by and for human beings, to help us get in touch with the Holy". Communion was established by Christ Himself as a reminder of Him, His love and His sacrifice.

There were many areas, tho, in which I found myself pausing to pray, worship and even cry as I tried to wrap my mind around all that God is and designed this practice to be. Two things she said in this book made me mark them, as they really made me stop and ponder the simple truth found in them.
The first is a quote by Heda Kovaly regarding life after being liberated from Concentration Camps:

"Two months after liberation, people had stopped cheering and embracing. They had stopped giving away food and had started selling it on the black market. Those who had compromised their integrity during the Occupation, now began to calculate and plan, to watch and spy on each other, to cover their tracks... It was becoming evident to many that while evil grows all by itself, good can be achieved only through hard struggle and maintained only thru tireless effort."

The second was a line written by the author:

"I remember thinking as I worked in the soup kitchen that I didn't want to know what I was learning. Because then my life couldn't go in the same way... What we learn, we cannot unlearn. What we see, we cannot unsee. (But) Jesus doesn't call us to live in soft cocoon, distracted and undisturbed, allowing others to pay the cost of our comfort."

I would like to thank Thomas Nelson for the chance to read this book, as it provided me many things to ponder, question and reason within my own heart before my Creator. I would warn that this should only be read by those confident in what they believe, as there are many areas in which you could find yourself confused, but I did find that I enjoyed it overall.

As I began reading The Sacred Meal I have to be honest I felt a sense of uncomfortableness. Nora Gallagher is an Episcopalian Priest her views of clergy and communion and faith in many ways are different than mine. They are however also in many ways similar. I put aside my preconceived notions and began to read freely wanting to understand her perspective of Communion. What I found was a beautiful messy honest account of Nora's own personal stories and encounters with Communion. Nora immediately inspires a sense of wonder for the practice of Communion with the reader. She speaks of the practice saying that "every time it is the same and every time it is different". (pg. xvii) There is something truly remarkable in those words.

Nora describes serving communion with such passion and intimacy. "It is always its own thing, serving the wine. Once when I served the win, I saw the mark of the lips on the cup just before I wiped it off, and I thought how the trace of our lips on the cup are the traces of human on the infinite, a fragile moment recorded, and then time moves on." (pg. 6) She also describes it with a lovely humor that captures the readers heart and draws them in to her personality. "A guy tried to dip his own bread and got his finger in the wine, and I wanted to smack him. Here we were: the rough material." (pg. 7)

One of the greatest things I gathered from this book is that I feel I don't participate in communion enough. Every church and denomination in the Christian faith has a different model of how they take part in this remembering of our Lord and I feel as though it is not remembered enough in Baptist circles. I would be careful not to have communion so frequently as to cause it to lose it's mystery and wonder but, currently it's done so infrequently, and cheaply... it feels as though the same thing is taking place.

There were some disagreeable thoughts in the book. I understand with the idea and agree with it, that all of Christ's followers are connected through communion. However I would be clear to state that it's not the bread and the wine that connect us in symbolism but the true connection is the the life given by and experienced in Jesus Christ. Nora does make a clear point in stating that "More than any other practice, taking Communion forces us to e with others, to stand with them in a circle or kneel at the altar tail or pass a tray of grape juice and cubes of bread. We are forced to be with strangers and people we don't like, persons of different colors and those with bad breath or breathing cheap alcohol. (I once served the cup to the last guy in line, who was dressed in rags, and he drained it dry.) It forces "them" to be with "us" and us to be with them. Communion is , more than any other practice, a humbling experience. We are stuck with each other, at the altar, for at least a few minutes." (pg.12)

My favorite quote from the book would be this beautiful line about Jesus: "Jesus doesn't call us to live in a soft cocoon, distracted and undisturbed, allowing others to pay the costs of our comfort. When it comes right down to it, Jesus followed where compassion led him, and he bore the cost of what he found. Jesus asks us to follow where compassion leads, and bear the cost of what we find."

While The Sacred Meal should be read with caution there is more good that harm here in these pages. Come with an open heart and mind ready to rediscover your wonder with this ancient practice.

Includes foreword by Phyllis Tickle, general editor of The Ancient Practices Series.



I am a member of Thomas Nelson's Book Review Blogger program:[...]

As ever, Nora Gallagher gives us a fresh take on church, one that invites us to the banquet table without demanding that we dress for dinner.
In the manner of a true wisdom teacher, Gallagher SHOWS us communion rather than TELLING us about it, (just as Jesus showed that young lawyer the meaning of the command to love his neighbor).
She writes with true authority, the authority of one who practices her Christian faith in the world with keen attention to both ancient roots and current needs. This is not just another author quoting scripture or explaning doctrine, but rather a trustworthy guide who has tasted the presence of God in the bread and wine and shows us a way to delve more deeply into the mystery incarnate in the sacrament. With Gallagher as our guide, we too, can taste and see.

Part of the Ancient Practice Series, "The Sacred Meal" looks at practice of the Eucharist (or communion or Lord's Supper) within the church. This is a unique series and a unique book. I have never read another book on communion quite like it. It is not overly concerned with history (although it brings up some issues I have never heard before), there isn't a lot of scripture references or heavy theology (although it is quite biblical). It tells the story of communion primarily through story, mostly memoirs of the author. The Eucharist is particularly well suited for a theological explanation that is focused on story. There really are not many scripture references about the Eucharist, so using story to explain the important aspects the Eucharist really can be helpful.
Nora Gallagher covered a few topics that I would not have predicted but were very helpful. Myth, Magic, Tradition are all aspects that I think that we need to think about when we talk about the Eucharist, but most theologies of the Eucharist do not even touch.

A more common idea, the use of the Eucharist as a basis for social justice was handled particularly well. (This may be new to many Evangelicals but it is quite common in different theological traditions. I have a friend that is an Ethics Professor that is particularly interested in this aspect of the Eucharist.) It was not political or divisive but instead seemed to draw me into a deeper image of what the Eucharist (and social justice) should be about.
Overall, this was a very good book. It was a bit meandering (surprising for a book that was only 138 pages long.) But it was a quick read and worth the couple hours of time.

This book was provided free for review from Thomas Nelson books. The book was given away after I finished reviewing it.

"The Sacred Meal", by Nora Gallagher, is part of the Ancient Practices Series. It is a good book. Gallagher writes with efficiency and a decidedly non-academic style. The reflections are thoughtful, personal. As a discussion of the Sacrament of Communion, it is a worthwhile and perhaps even important addition to the literature available.
And, I didn't like the book.

I found that the reflections were so personal that they became, at times, mere opinion. I felt the subjectivity at the core of the understanding of the Eucharist espoused by Gallagher - combined with the sparing use of other sources - lacked depth and diversity. All this sometimes capitulated into the feeble world of liberal sentimentalism and the spinelessness of contemporary relativism.

Yet, despite the book not appealing to my tastes, it is full of story and real-life grittiness rather than theory and abstract speculation. It is largely free of jargon and keeps its focus aligned to the heart of the series: practice.

My hope is that "The Sacred Meal" may be a book willingly devoured by self-confessed theology-avoiders. Gallagher is passionate about the significance of Communion as any practising Christian should be. If this can be effectively communicated with a wider-than-usual Christian readership, then Nora Gallagher has done a great service to the world-wide Church.

The Sacred Meal by Nora Gallagher seems to be a book based more on feeling than fact. Tradition and ritual. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with tradition . . . nor am I saying that there is anything wrong with having strong feelings. And rituals practiced in order to remind us of our Savior, I am OK with.

But there was a significant lack of scripture to back up many of her assertions. I supposed one might even accuse me of the same thing in my writings . . . even this review.

There are quotes from Gallagher's book that I value, such as:

* Think of a spiritual practice as Pilates for the spirit.
* Jesus practiced a radical faith: everyone was welcome at his table.

But quotes that didn't necessarily seem biblically based that caused me some concern:

* Holy Communion is a web, a web of people who were being stitched together. And tomorrow, we would need to be stitched together again. Over and over.

I guess I got a little concerned, though at first I agreed, when Nora Gallagher wrote, "I began to see that if you don't act on what you hear in the Gospels every Sunday, then it doesn't stick."

True.

Upon returning to the Episcopal Church after a hiatus, it was the ritual that she loved. And I thought to myself, shouldn't our first love be Jesus? Isn't it the mention of Jesus be what causes us to appreciate and value a church? "Jesus replied, `Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matthew 22:37-39) Isn't it He who draws us to Himself, even to church? It shouldn't be ritual that keeps us in church.

Then she writes,

"The trouble was, I had trouble connecting it back to my daily life. Church was like a play or a nice concert. I went to the "theater" on Sunday, felt uplifted or moved, but couldn't figure out how to integrate those feelings into my own experience; so gradually they faded as the week wore on. It didn't connect. . . . What I finally understood was that simply going to church doesn't do it, but neither does not going to church."

True.

But Gallagher never tells the reader what keeps a person glowing like Moses did after he spent time with the Lord (Exodus 34: 29-35). It isn't ritual, or serving in a soup kitchen, or communion. The way to feel connected and remain connected is to have a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ. Deuteronomy 32: 46-47 tells us that the words of the Bible are not just idle words, "they are your life." Spending time daily in prayer and READING your Bible is how one remains connected to the "experience" at church. Like a grape vine or a tree or even grass, the way to grow is to continually stay connected to a source of sustenance . . . that which provides water . . .

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

Ritual and tradition won't save you. Feelings won't support your journey to heaven. Only a right relationship with a Savior will.

9That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. 11As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

Romans 10: 9-11



(This book was provided to me for free by my involvement with The BookSneeze, a blogging program sponsored by Thomas Nelson. I do not have to return this book, nor was I paid to write this post. Please know, that my intent was not to stir up strife or divide the church body . . . I only meant to write a review and express my concern over some of the content in this book.)

In The Sacred Meal, Nora Gallagher attempts to make Communion accessible to everyone. By using real stories from her life she shows how this practice is available to all; those who've never taken it before, those who have but may feel it's lost it's signifigance for them, and to those who've always taken it, maybe for granted.

For me, this book came at a perfect time. That's just a God thing, I hope you understand. I was reading it just after the terrible earthquake hit Haiti, and we were all trying to decide how to respond. Many times the author talks about "the healing powers of extravagance, of extravagant generosity, of extravagant love." There is nothing more extravagant than God's love for us, and that's what I think we all wanted to give to the people of Haiti as we were working to form a response.

Above all, Nora Gallagher presents a picture of the Lord's Table as a place where everyone is welcome. Everyone. Yes, everyone. Yes, even you. No matter where you have been or what you have done. No matter what you have lived through. His grace is extravagant and covers over everything. She shows how taking the Lord's Supper is just one small step into a great big Kingdom. By entering into the mystery of Communion and recognizing the intersection between our everyday lives and the Kingdom that exists in that ritual, we can begin to see and recognize that connection so much more in our everyday lives.

The Sacred Meal is a very quick read and I certainly have been encouraged by this book to read more in The Ancient Practices Series as well as reading more by this author. This book was provided for free to my by Thomas Nelson publishers.

I didn't grow up in a church tradition that valued Communion as a regular practice. Instead, communion was an event, saved for a few special times a year. Like the family's fancy china dishes, communion was ensured to be special by its infrequent use. In The Sacred Meal, Nora Gallagher calls us to a different way to see Communion--as a spiritual practice that transforms us, forming us into the people of God and sending us out into the world to serve.

Gracefully reflecting on the practice of Communion in her life, Gallagher walks the reader through a threefold path of Communion: waiting, receiving, afterward. In waiting, we prepare ourselves to enter into the practice of Communion, examining how we have lived-or not lived-in the reality of the present kingdom of heaven. In receiving, we open ourselves up to the presence of God, not through our effort, but by simply accepting the gift of God. In afterward, we allow the experience of Communion to seep into every aspect of our lives.

The Sacred Meal is a fine addition to The Ancient Practices Series. It does not address every element of the history or theology of Communion. There is, of course, much more to be said. But Gallagher's reflections have enlarged my practice of this most sacred of meals. Thanks, Thomas Nelson, for the review copy.

"The Sacred Meal" is Nora Gallagher's contribution to the "Ancient Practices Series" by Thomas Nelson. Having only read Nora's book and the overview book "Finding Our Way Again" by Brian McLaren, I can't comment on how the book fits in to the whole of the 6 book series, however, on its own merits, "The Sacred Meal" is a great read and a book I would recommend to anyone studying the Eucharist, or Communion, depending on your language of choice.
I draw the distinction between terms or labels because one of the things I loved about Nora's book was that she did not- she chose not to make issue over the particulars of language, technique, or exactly what happens to the bread and wine under the cloth as the Priest blesses it. Rather, Nora details her experience with Communion- with it, in it, it in her.
Nora makes the case for seeing participating in Communion as a practice- a staple in the (literal) diet of the Believer. Broadly, she then breaks her experience into 3 pieces- "Waiting"- the preparation for and anticipation of the Eucharist, "Receiving"- the act itself and the physical and spiritual implications for taking in the body of Christ, and "Afterward"- realizing a full life as a member of the Body of Christ, the very life of Christ binding us to Himself, each other and His mission for His Kingdom.
One section that particularly resonated with me was in the chapter on "Waiting." Nora drew distinctions between the empire of this world and the present Kingdom of God- a theme central to Jesus' own teaching. She states, "The regular practice of Communion is meant to help move us from being citizens of the empire to the citizens of Heaven...And so, a practice, among other things, is the art of noticing: ...It's almost imperceptible, but when I do remember to look, to shift my gaze from the mall to the Kingdom, I feel as if I have discovered an antidote to poison. And what do I see when I see the Kingdom of Heaven? ...I see God's beautiful and extraordinary creation. I see people who live with restraint. I see poets and painters, unsung and unpaid, who bring me a dose of freedom and beauty. " Amen to that. While Christ comes to each of us as individuals, it is exactly that type of writing that made me enjoy the book and those types of experiences that make me look forward to my next encounter with Him at His table.

As a parish minister, I am often asked for resources to help congregants become more at home with the ancient--too often thought to be archaic--practices of the church. Of these practices, there are none more problematic for my United Church of Christ congregation than Holy Communion. In Gallagher's book, I have found a gift I can give to confused, doubting, wanting-to-believe seekers who fear to draw too close to this sacred meal, and yet do not want to push back from it either.

One of Gallagher's gifts is her ability to write about the mysteries of faith in concrete images that invite us closer, connect to the real experiences of our lives, make us believe that even we are spiritual beings. She draws clear and compelling images of "ordinary" holiness. And every now and again, she takes my breath away with insights such as "I hope not to become one with God in such a way as to lose my own sense of self and boundaries, but instead to become in God more like myself."

I highly recommend this book.