Trauma, Eucharist, and the Cross

Abstract

The traumatic Crucifixion of Christ is a prominent feature of Gospel narratives and is graphically recalled in the Eucharist. Yet for some trauma survivors, it may be an intolerable trauma trigger. How then might such people participate in communion with Christ by partaking of his body and blood? How might the Church celebrate the Eucharist in a trauma-informed manner? The ways the Eucharist may or may not be helpful for traumatized persons (or groups of people) is best addressed by the integration of theology and psychological traumatology. Accordingly, this thesis proposes, first, that sacramental participation in the suffering and death of Christ (not to be confused with the legitimization of trauma or re-traumatization) unites the communicant with Christ, so that, second, union with Christ offers the prospect of reintegration and healing via further identification with and participation in Jesus’ resurrection life (both present and eschatological), in the power of the Holy Spirit according to the will of the Father. Or, to reorient the dynamic of participation, Christ participates in our human trauma, suffering, and death, so that we may participate in his life and wholeness, including the reintegration of the body, soul, and spirit. Communion, in other words, both promises and enacts healing participation in Jesus’ death and new life: it is, precisely, communion with Christ in the fullness of his life. The fundamental claims of this dissertation are that we need God and that God saves and sustains us in and through Christ. Therefore, this dissertation argues that within the incarnate life and ministry of Christ, the Cross is the crucial site at which God in Christ integratively processes the trauma of sin and death, inviting humanity to the healing, wholeness, and reintegration of salvation in Jesus Christ. Through trauma-informed celebration of the Eucharist as the invitatory encounter with his crucified and risen body, the Church communes with/in Christ and participates in his life and ministry, both receiving and sharing the saving life of Christ, which includes recovery from the past, sustenance in the present, and hope for the future.