What happens inside the church doors is its liturgy. It is there that life and fulfillment should be found, but too often today liturgy seems stale and lacking in vitality. The problem is not a lack of faith so much as it is a lack of life in the liturgy itself. In our liturgies we have let our emphasis on preserving traditional forms and expressions overrule attempts to give vital expression to the life and faith of contemporary participants. This is especially true with that part of the liturgy that is known as the Lord's Supper or eucharist. Though the practice of this sacrament is still central to the piety of most Christians today, here especially there is often a lifelessness and lack of connection with life as it is now lived. This need not be, however. The tradition is alive with meaning that we have too often overlooked. And liturgy can more effectively address the contemporary situation if we can learn better how to apply it to the aesthetic and symbolic language of today's culture. --from chapter 1

Dennis E. Smith is Professor of New Testament at Phillips Theological Seminary. He is the author of 'From Symposium to Eucharist: The Banquet in the Early Christian World' as well as editor and contributor to 'Storyteller's Companion to the Bible' series. He is the editor of 'Chalice Introduction to the New Testament'.

Hal Taussig is Visiting Professor of New Testament at Union Theological Seminary in New York and co-pastor at Chestnut Hill United Methodist Church and the author and co-author of numerous works, including 'Jesus Before God', 'Re-imagining Life Together in America' and 'Jesus and Wisdom's Feast'.