Conduit
The third of three chapters exploring spatial imagery, Chapter 9 presents the conduit, a distinctively Reformed motif, which portrays Jesus Christ as located in heaven and connected to believers on earth by means of the Holy Spirit. The conduit is a SOURCE-PATH-GOAL image schema by which the body and blood of Christ reach from heaven to the recipient. Typically, this is understood as taking place by faith rather than through physical eating. On occasion, however, Reformed writers use prepositions like par or per, which convey a sense that the body and blood might be received “through” the consecrated bread and wine. More frequently, they use these prepositions in connection with the idea that Christ might be seen through the elements. The chapter proposes that this might create possibilities for Reformed theologians today to experiment with conduit imagery as a component of an ecumenical repertoire of motifs for eucharistic presence.