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We’ve been blessed over the past few weeks to have an opportunity to do some in-depth reflection on the gift of the Eucharist Jesus left to His Church. During this time, we’ve pondered the role of reverence when we are at Mass, how the Eucharist nourishes our soul as spiritual food and drink, and marveled at the fact that is it actually Jesus’ Body and Blood, not just a symbol. In this final week of praying with the 6th chapter of John’s gospel, we have a chance to consider the Eucharist by another name we sometimes use: Holy Communion. We all know what “holy” means but what about “communion”? It is the same root for the word community and it embodies a deep connection and sharing important things in common. By its very nature, communion requires sacrifice, collaboration, and compromise. I cannot be in communion with another person if everything is all about me and what I want. Communion requires me to go outside of myself, to place others first, and begin thinking in terms of “we” instead of “me”.
Humans are made for communion because our God is a perfect unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and he made us in his image. Belonging to and building a community leads to a level of fulfillment, achievement, and flourishing that simply cannot be accomplished when we do things alone. But just because communion is good for us, doesn’t mean that it happens on its own. There comes a moment for every group, whether that be two people or an entire country, when they have to make a decision: Are they going to hang together or each go their separate ways? That happened, for example, in the history of our nation. After we won the War of Independence, we were still not a nation. We had only gone from being thirteen colonies to being thirteen states. Representatives of the states met in Philadelphia to determine what kind of union they would have. They wanted things like common defense and open commerce, but - at the same time - each state guarded its own rights and priorities. Finally a young man named James Madison stood up and stated the obvious: You cannot form a nation based on each one defending their own turf; you have to make some sacrifices to work together. Well, by a fairly small margin, the delegates accepted Madison's proposal - and instead of being thirteen states we became the United States. It was a defining moment for our country.
Today’s readings are all about forming communion with God and with each other. In the first reading, Joshua gathers the Chosen people and demands they make a choice concerning who or what they will serve. Will it be the one, true God or the gods of other nations? Are they willing to give up their petty arguments, differences, and personal idols? He says that awesome line, “decide today whom you will serve. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” St. Paul says something similar about communion as it relates to marriage. It’s impossible to form healthy, happy, holy marriages if husbands and wives are focused on jealously guarding their own rights and always trying to get their own way. St. Paul uses the word “subordinate”, which has plenty of negative connotation for us. But let’s not let that word ruin the wisdom being presented. St. Paul is reminding the Ephesians and us that in order to achieve the communion that exists between Christ and his Church, husbands and wives each have to sacrifice something and give up some of their personal prerogatives. When they do, they are no longer simply two people living together. Instead, they become a living sign, a sacrament of God’s love and unity to the world.
In the Gospel, we see the disciples facing a moment of decision for communion. After Jesus announced that his flesh was the new bread from heaven and we must feed on him to have life, most people left him. Only the Twelve remained. Jesus did not soften or explain away his words. Rather, he asked them: Will you also leave me? Thankfully, the apostles sacrificed their preconceived notions of what the Messiah might look like and chose to remain with Jesus. They learned to set aside their doubts, their worldly ambitions and expectations, and entered into communion with the Son of God. That Communion would take years to mature but little by little the first followers of Jesus were transformed by their union with Him in the Eucharist.
We must understand that being in communion with Jesus is not like belonging to a political party or a social club where take the parts we like or agree with and leave the rest. We do not pick and choose the teachings of Christ we will follow and which ones we will ignore. Once we do that, we are creating our own god, our own religion and substituting human wisdom in place of God’s. Being in communion with Christ means letting go of leading and teaching ourselves and allowing Jesus to fill that role in our lives.
There is no doubt that Jesus taught things which challenge and make us uncomfortable. The same was true 2000 years ago when he delivered this teaching on the Eucharist. The question is not whether we like everything he said. The real question is whether we accept Jesus and are willing to do our part to be in communion with him and his teachings. Hopefully we can be like St. Peter who spoke for the other apostles. Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Those words marked a defining moment. This is when the apostles stopped being a collection of individuals, each trying to get their own way. They became a Church. The Church.
Every time we come forward to receive the Eucharist, we say ‘Amen” which is us saying “I’m all in; my thoughts, my words, my actions, my faith and my conduct are fully united with the Gospel and the teachings of Christ”. Every time we receive Holy Communion, we are proclaiming that we want to belong completely to Jesus and His Church. That’s why we ask non-Catholics not to receive Communion at Mass; not because they are somehow bad or less but because there isn’t yet full unity there. It’s why, if there’s some central teaching of the Church that we’re not following (whether it concerns doctrine or morals) we ought not receive the Eucharist until that lack of communion is resolved. It’s also why, if we have serious sin on our souls, we ought not receive Jesus Body and Blood until that sin has been wiped away in Confession. Otherwise, our “Amen” isn’t really “all in” and receiving the Eucharist unworthily actually does us more harm than good. We should always be on guard against trying to conform the Eucharist to our lifestyles and beliefs rather than shaping our lives and beliefs to the Eucharist.
The great news is that we are made and loved by a God who never stops trying to be one with us. Even when we struggle with some teaching or sin, Jesus offers the sacraments to cleanse us and his Church to guide us. Let’s ask for the grace to desire communion with God more than anything else in the world. Let’s not be afraid of the sacrifices such a relationship demands and take care to receive the Eucharist in a worthy manner each and every time. May our receiving Holy Communion at this altar make us one in every way with Jesus and his Church!
