Sacraments are defined as being "means of grace." They are physical elements through which we encounter/receive grace. Now, sometimes this is taken very literally, but I think that misses the point. They are points of contact -- thin places perhaps -- where we encounter God who is grace.
Clark Williamson, Emeritus Professor of Theology at Christian Theological Seminary, writes:
Christians affirm that Jesus Christ is present at the Lord's supper because they trust his promise to be with them. "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them" (Mt. 18:20). An old rule for understanding scripture reminds us to pay attention to prepositions, personal pronouns, and the tenses of verbs. The words of institution indicate the speak: "my," as in "This is my body." The tense is the present: "is." When we hear the words of institution appropriately, we hear them as said to us now by the living Christ. Jesus Christ now says to us what he said to the disciples long ago. He invites all the needy, including us, to his table. Christ is actively present in the breaking of bread as the One who gives us the grace of God. Christ is truly present at the supper as its host, wherever two or three are gathered in his name. [Clark Williamson, Way of Blessing, Way of Life: A Christian Theology, Chalice Press, 1999, pp. 288].
Clark points out that words like realistic and symbolic obscure the true presence of the living Christ. In my own understanding of the Eucharist, I don't believe that Jesus' literal body is somehow present in the elements. I do believe that spiritually he is with us as host at the Table and present in the body -- the congregation.
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