In
common usage, “tradition” tends to mean “the way we have done things in the
past.” People often talk about their traditions, usually meaning a set of
practices or customs. How we know what these traditions are is a matter of
process, which is the other, and I believe, more important sense of the word.
“Big-T Tradition” is the process by which a community hands on what is
important to it to the next generation.
It’s
easy and even commonplace to confuse “small-t tradition” and “Big-T Tradition,”
identifying the practices of one generation with the big truths they were intended
to convey. The Tradition process is oriented to the future, while our
traditions (small-t) tend to look to the past.
The
composer Gustav Mahler, something of a musical ground-breaker, is said to have
said, “Tradition is the handing on of fire, and not the worship of ashes.” In
an earthier but similar vein, another artistic revolutionary of the early 20th
century, Pablo Picasso, said “Tradition is not wearing your grandfather’s hat;
tradition is begetting a baby.”
In
the Church, “Big-T Tradition” is the process of passing on the central truths
of the faith—telling the good news to our young and to newcomers to the faith,
instructing them in the church’s doctrines and practices, leading people into a
fuller knowledge of Christ.
In
the church or any other group, an over-emphasis on “small-t tradition”—what we
might call traditionalism—tends to ossify the group, not enhancing growth but
preventing it. Small-t tradition should not be dismissed or ignored, because we
need a sense of continuity, of things being reasonably recognizable. But it is
not the main thing.
For
Paul, the handing on of the story is the main thing, because Jesus is the
church’s central reality. We “do this” as he commanded us, to proclaim his
death, to celebrate his continuing presence in our midst, and to await his
coming again. The people’s acclamations in Eucharistic Prayers 1 and 3 remind
us of this truth—the “mystery of faith.”
Paul
received this holy meal and the story behind it, and handed it on to his new
converts. Continuing that holy process, the church handed it on to succeeding
generations, teaching our children to revere and respect this central act of
worship. Different streams of Christianity have interpreted and practiced the
Lord’s Supper in many and various ways, but with only a few exceptions, all
acknowledge the importance of the sacrament of the table.
As
we recall Jesus’ institution of the sacrament, we also recall the act of
service that Jesus did for his disciples. Let us not treat this rite as a
peculiar once-a-year add-on, but a reminder that the Eucharist is food for the
journey—provisions for the mission ahead of us, the proclamation of the Good
News in Christ by word and example.
The Israelites ate the first Passover to prepare themselves for the coming
exodus. We eat this bread and drink this cup—our Passover meal—so that we may
go forth renewed and refreshed to be God’s people in a darkened world—people of
Big-T Tradition, charged with handing on the fire of God’s love.
May
it burn afresh in our hearts this night and always.