Image source: Hollywood Lutheran
In my post on the scriptures for this coming Sunday, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, I raised a homiletic possibility and invited comment. Prison chaplain Shannon, author of Finding Grace Within (an entry on my blog roll to the right) posted a short but powerful response in the combox on that post:
Because my congregation for the last 11 years was filled with men from different gangs, different languages, different life experiences, to say nothing of different crimes, every Sunday was a chance to emphasize that, around the Table of Christ, we are one body.What might Shannon's comment suggest for our own reflection, our own examination of conscience. As we make room in our souls for the Lord in the Eucharist, are there others who are denied entrance to our hearts and our daily lives on account of our anger? our prejudice? our hurt?
I named the things that artificially divide us and then said, "When we come here, we are one and this is where we practice what we believe." And then I encouraged them to make each mealtime a deliberate sharing of hospitality and communion.
It was a challenge for gang members and former gang members to share the table. It was a stretch for the drugged burglar to sit at the same table with the child molester. But it is the demand of the gospel, and so we kept talking about it. And doing it.
We can look pretty homogeneous in the parish--but I'm betting my last dollar that there are still a few folks I'd rather not sit with if I'm honest with myself.
And when we consider that Communion at the Lord's Table is meant to unite us with the whole mystical Body of Christ, are there some with whom we live or who live hundreds or thousands of miles away who have been denied our love? our understanding? our forgiveness? our acceptance?
We pray at each Mass for the pope and our local bishop. Do we welcome them into our hearts as freely as the Lord welcomes us into his?
To paraphrase Shannon: perhaps it's a stretch for us to sit at the same table with those we accuse, judge, sentence and bar from our hearts. But it is the demand of the gospel, and so we must keep talking about it. And doing it.
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Thank you for drawing this out from Shannon's comment and your own words that follow.
ReplyDeleteIf we pause to consider the implications of rejection and the dismemberment of the Body of Christ... and Eucharist, which calls us to the very opposite.
Who can do this? Who cannot try?
We approach the table of the Lord precisely because we are sinners... all of us. We approach the table because our ordinary daily lives are offered up and transformed. People can't transform on their own. We need Christ, we need each other...everyone...the affluent, the poor, the undocumented,those who are pro-life,pro-choice,gang members etc. It's sad that many don't "get" this, including some of our bishops who would exclude those they judge to be sinners.
ReplyDeleteI have one, very real, very present person in my life (by chance, not choice) whom, I am sorry to say, but will admit, I have not let into my heart. The reasons are painful and are also reasons I do not understand and so makes it even more difficult. But, I guess I can try to begin to talk about it- not directly with the person right away, but maybe eventually. Talking about it is maybe a good first step?
ReplyDelete(and by the way, I spoke about one person, but I know there are others)
This is a HUGE challenge and very difficult thing, and I'm sure, in different ways, is for everybody. But if I trust God, and believe in His understanding and patience and "not giving up on me", even when I fail, then I can try this.
thank you.
Anne's comment that the Lord's Table is set for sinners (for surely we are all sinners) leaves open the question of whether my sin might ever disqualify me from sharing in the sacrament of that Table. And the answer is yes - my sin can be such or of such gravity that it precludes my sharing in the Eucharist until I have been reconciled to the community through the Sacrament of Reconciliation and, having made a firm purpose of amendment, pledge to conform my life more closely to the demands of the Gospel.
ReplyDeleteThe Lord's parables make clear that while all are invited to the banquet, not all will be welcomed in. And St. Paul reminds us that those who eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord.
We can never know the heart of the person who approaches the table, only God does. Judging someone who comes to the Table of the Eucharist is never appropriate. We should always assume people come with good intention,an understanding of grave sin and the need to be reconciled first. If they don't understand, some of us are not doing a good job with faith formation.
ReplyDelete