Word to the Wise
Saturday, September 12, 2020 - Saturday in the 23th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Cor 10:14-22 and Luke 6:43-49]The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one Body, for we all partake of the one loaf. [1 Corinthians]
These words of St. Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians are the oldest reference we have in the New Testament to the meaning and practice of the Eucharist. They were written to correct a practice among members of the Corinthian community of joining in banquets where the food was part of a religious observance - i.e. the food had first been offered to a pagan deity and then consumed as part of the religious observance. Some Corinthians thought this was permissible since THEY knew that the pagan deity was not "real." Paul points out that the issue is much broader. The food was part of the worship and pretending to participate would give false witness not only to the non-Christians but to other Christians as well. But there's more.
Paul's words call attention to our very understanding of the transformation of the offering of bread and wine into the very Body and Blood of the Lord and to our consuming it. The New American Bible, the one that is used in our lectionary in the USA, speaks of a "participation," Other translations use the word "sharing." But there is no question about what is being "participated in" or "shared." It is the Body and Blood of the Lord.
This obviously raises questions about our brothers and sisters of Protestant tradition who do not have the same understanding of the Eucharist that we Catholics do and about the level of our participation in their worship. It is, after all, the same Lord we worship. But the central importance of our understanding of the Eucharist does not permit us Catholics to "participate" or "share" in a communion rite that non-Catholics may observe as part of their worship. By doing so, we are not telling the truth about our faith or theirs, no matter how good our intentions may be. Certain Lutheran and Anglican traditions have a belief in the Eucharist that is close to ours, but there is still no complete mutual recognition of this. The Orthodox churches do have the same understanding, but they continue to be separated from us in unity. The Eucharist is more than a nice memorial of a past event. It is a present reality of Christ in our midst. We bear witness to the importance of this reality by the way in which we receive it and when and where we receive it. AMEN