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liturgy; Eucharistic Prayers A, B, and F all express the expectation of Christ’s
second coming. The Prayer of Consecration in the Prayer Book includes ‘until
his coming again’; three of the four acclamations look to Christ’s return in
glory; the Lord’s Prayer includes a petition for the coming of the Kingdom; at
the breaking of the bread, very much in the spirit of Paul, the second option
reads ‘we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes’; the first prayer of
distribution (prayer of humble access) makes reference to dwelling in the Lord,
and he in us, through Holy Communion. The second prayer offered directly
speaks of eating with the ‘whole company of Christ’ in the kingdom.
Interestingly, the text is appropriately unclear as to whether this is considered
what we are doing at the Communion or whether it is referring to a future
time; the Words at the Giving of Communion, especially those of the Prayer
Book, read ‘preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life’, and options three
and five are interesting, particularly five, which has ‘the bread of heaven in
Christ Jesus, the cup of life in Christ Jesus’; a number of post-communion
collects speak of Christ’s second coming and the new life received through
Jesus; interestingly, the three of the supplementary Prayers after Communion
explicitly refer to the Eucharist as a ‘foretaste of the heavenly banquet’, make a
clear connection to the kingdom, and also look to the end of this life when we
will ‘behold you in the glory of the eternal Trinity’. Yet, the standard ones used
make no mention of any of these more eschatological themes. Indeed, they are
more designed to convey the missionary aspect of the Eucharist, that is, that
the assembly, having received the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, is
sent out into the world to bring this life to others. Certainly, this is an
important direction and orientation, especially as it connects the Eucharist to
God’s purposes from the beginning and his plan for the redemption of the
whole world, and to his ongoing commitment to that plan in which the
assembly is to share. However, the opportunity to also make clear the
connection of the Eucharist to the ‘heavenly banquet’ as a foretaste of future
blessing to come is missed. Finally, the options for the Blessing at the Dismissal
vary as to their emphasis of eschatological themes. Number four particularly
mentions the resurrection ‘at the last day’, and numbers one and six, highlight
the eternal and new life we have through faith in Jesus.
Evidently then, there is much reference to eschatological themes within
the Anglican Eucharistic rite, particularly the connection between the
Eucharist and ‘new life’, and certainly in some sense, though some options
make it clearer, that the faithful anticipate and await Christ’s coming in glory,
and so bringing in God’s kingdom in the fullest sense. Much mention is made

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