The Reformed, "No, Jesus!"

Josh S has some interesting insights on the Eucharist in the Here We Stand blog, metalutheran.blogspot.com.

[W]hen Jesus says "This is my body," the Reformed answer with "No, Jesus, you can't possibly mean that," instead of "Amen." I believe quite strongly now (Sasse's influence, maybe? ) that responding to the Words of Institution is a fundamental part of celebrating the Lord's Supper and thus why we can never celebrate with the Reformed. When the pastor says, "This is the body of Christ," the Lutheran responds with "Amen," while the Calvinist responds with "No, it's not--that's impossible!" The Reformed "no" occupies the place in the celebration that the Lutheran "yes" does. Well guess what? That's not the appropriate way to come to the Table.

Catholics and Lutherans might not agree completely on the nature of the Eucharist, but we're historically a lot closer than many other Christian denominations, and a better understanding is growing.