While German Lutheran theologian Eberhard J³ngel (1934-) has made anumber of significant contributions to contemporaneous discussions ofsacramental theology, this topic has largely been ignored by interpreters ofhis thought. This study summarizes and evaluates, through a close reading of primaryand secondary source materials, J³ngel's approach to the problem of sacrament. R.David Nelson considers J³ngel's claim that the word of God functions sacramentallyas it addresses its hearer, and analyses his assertion that Jesus Christ is theunique and preeminent sacrament of God for the world. Progressing to anexploration of J³ngel's ecclesiology, Nelson reveals J³ngel's interestingapproach to the question of the church's sacramentality. The volume concludeswith an investigation into J³ngel's doctrines of baptism and the Lord's Supper. The Interruptive Word demonstratesthat J³ngel consistently appeals to the category of 'interruption' fordescribing God's sacramental relation to the world and its actualities, concludingthat the hegemony of the category of 'interruption' in J³ngel's theology ofsacrament raises important questions concerning its coherence andtenability.