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Vol. 2, Issue 3

Do I Really Need to Receive Holy Communion?

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Did you know that a baby will die if it is not given affection? There is a reason why, and in your quest to "get spiritual" you are fulfilling that common need for affection. Way back when we started this little project to give advice to those starving for spiritual insights, be them pagan, protestant or Catholic, we were all longing for "somethin’". 

Back then, my advice was that this desire to not be alone, not be depressed or not be lost was a search for God. This is good advice. But this quest for the spiritual you and I are on is more than just a quest to know God, it is a ‘get-spiritual’ quest for another something.

Could you imagine a baby surviving by himself? Who would feed her? Who would teach him how to communicate? Who would provide for her needs? The idea of a baby living by himself from the start is ludicrous. This physical reality has a spiritual reality that is tied to it.

Holy Communion unites us in three ways (well, for today, we will limit ourselves to three things about Holy Communion). Holy Communion unites us with God. Holy Communion unites us with each other. And Holy Communion unites us with forgiveness. All of these things come from being in community with each other and with Jesus Christ in the receiving of his body and blood.

Just like a baby needs to have a mother and a father provide for her needs, a human being has a need to be in community with others. Oh, sure, there are exceptions to the rule, but the underlying truth is that "it is not good for man to be alone." We are social beings. And even the best hermit relied on a small community of two or three to get her to the point where she could ignore the rest of the world.

Just before the birth of our fifth child, we needed to decide living arrangements and make the necessary accommodations (which is a fancy way of saying, "Where are we going to put this kid?") We decided that the new baby would share a room with our fourth child. So, we began the task of moving things around to fit a crib, etc. That is when our then three year old son looked up with wonderment and a gleam in his eye and said, "Are we getting my room ready for our baby?"

Besides my heart filling with joy, and my eyes with tears, it was a wonderful moment that my son realized that his soon to be sister was his. We all belong to each other. And that is the central truth of "loving our neighbor as ourselves."

In Genesis, chapter 4, Cain killed his brother Abel out of selfish ambition and disregard for anyone’s life but his own. The text tells us that Cain and Abel made offerings to the Lord. When Cain’s offering wasn’t as good as Abel’s, Cain was enraged. The easiest target of his ambition filled rage was his brother. After killing his brother, he felt he had to defend himself before God. When asked where Abel had gone, Cain replied, "Am I my brother’s keeper?"

In sermon after sermon, I have asked people if we Christians have a responsibility to be our brother’s keeper. There is an answer to this question. That answer is, "YES! You are your brother’s keeper." We do have a responsibility to tend to the life of our brother and sister. And this is at the heart of being a Christian.

The need to satisfy that empty space in you is only found in God and loving your neighbor. And nowhere else are these two needs more fully met than in participating in the event Christians call "Holy Communion" or the "Eucharist."

Holy Communion is a meal that bridges gaps. There used to be a gap between God in the heavens and humanity on earth. That gap was bridged by Jesus Christ. He is the God-man. He is the Son of God and the son of Mary. And when we take communion, we take his body and blood. This means we bridge the gap between humanity and the Divine. Now THAT is getting spiritual!

It is a meal that bridges the gap between peoples. (See Romans 6). Those who are baptized are literally baptized into the life of Christ, into his body. The meal we take from one loaf or one batch of wafers is a living symbol of the fact that we are one in Jesus Christ. In a previous article found on the page "Starting the Spiritual Life," we talked about the people at church who drive us crazy. Holy Communion is a common uniting with Christ that crosses over all things that would keep us away from each other.

By ‘getting spiritual’, we cross over the lines that divide us by uniting in Jesus Christ. To turn the phrase ‘unity in diversity’ on its head, Holy Communion is diversity in unity.

Getting spiritual in Holy Communion also takes care of all those ways we miss the mark and disappoint God through the mean and forgetful things we do. For anyone who has recently seen Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ, you can see that Jesus was executed in a bloody sacrifice on the cross. The Crucifixion is a culmination of several biblical passages. These passages all lead to a common understanding: Jesus Christ was giving his innocent life on the Cross willingly for the sins of the world.

The passages that come together are: Exodus 12 and 16, Leviticus 1, John 1.29-34 and 6.25-59, Mark 14.12-26, Acts 2.42. All of these trace a path that leads us to understand the it is Jesus Christ who is offered for our sins. And in Holy Communion that forgiveness achieved on the Cross is given to us in the bread and the cup.

So, rather than giving advice that commands us to receive Holy Communion, I will ask some simple questions. Do you want to be united with the spiritual Divinity? Do you want to live in a community where people are united? Do you want to be forgiven of your wrongs and sins? If so, then why wouldn’t you want to receive Holy Communion? Case closed.

And when we are united with Christ in Holy Communion, it is then that the child can look at his room and share it with our baby. It is then that we can forgive others who have wronged us and God. It is then that we can truly ‘get spiritual’ as we encounter Jesus’ body and blood.

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