Communion Table: A Place of Unity & Healing, Not Division & Hurt

Photo by Jonathan Aquino.

"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him." Psalm 34:8.

My fiance and I were attending mass on a weekday in an old, dark and Gothic Catholic Church. It was time to receive communion and as we stood up, I shared in whispers with my fiance my doubts about taking communion - my conscience was not in complete peace at the moment.

A lady in front of me suddenly turned and asked me with a stern face "Are you Catholic?!" I felt hurt. I felt judged. I felt my faith and commitment questioned. 

Of course, she probably was asking me this after hearing my hesitant whispers to my fiance, because in her pious devotion to the Eucharist, she wanted to make sure that only Roman Catholics partake of the Body and Blood.

The Eucharistic Table Should be a Place of Unity & Healing

I believe in the Real Presence. I believe that Jesus offers Himself to us at the Eucharistic table, and when we partake of the bread and wine, we are partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ.

One of the most beautiful aspect of Eucharistic theology is the notion that we are not only communing with Christ Himself, but also with the people around the table. This common union, or communion, is one of the main reasons we come to the Eucharistic table.

The other main reason, of course, is to receive and feed on Christ. In receiving Christ we receive many nourishing graces, including our continuing healing.

The current practice of closed communion in the Catholic Church, where only good standing members of the Church in full communion with Rome are welcomed to come to the table, is one that brings division and hurt, and thus it accomplishes the opposite of what the Sacrament signifies.

I know I'm not the only who's been hurt by this practice.

I have read the reasons behind close communion, but as with any other matter of Christian living and practice, we should look for Jesus as our ultimate model.

Jesus Shares the Last Supper with  His Disciples - Including Judas Iscariot

Jesus shared His Body and Blood with Judas Iscariot moments before He was betrayed by him. Jesus knew this, as He knew Judas' heart, and He still chose freely to share Himself with him.

We can only imagine why Jesus chose to do this. Maybe He thought that Judas could still find healing. Maybe His decision to share Himself with someone who would soon betray Him is another sign of His unconditional love. Whatever the reason, the fact that He shared Himself with Judas flies in the face of one of the main reasons Roman Catholics close communion to non-Catholics.

If it is true that in sharing communion with others we are declaring a unity predicated on uniformity of beliefs and practices, then Judas should not have taken communion.

Not only that, but it is unlikely that the rest of the disciples comprehended fully what what's happening in front of them. They hardly knew the depth and power of the mystery being shared with them. 

Having the first Eucharist as our model, it is hard to defend the notion that uniformity of belief is a pre-requisite for unity, since not only the disciples had different views on Jesus, but also, they hardly understood what was happening in front of their eyes!

Are we safeguarding communion for the fortunate few who are healthy enough in their walk with God? Could we be keeping communion from those who need it the most?

I thought only the sick were in need of a physician.

If People Want to Receive Christ, Who am I to Prevent It?

We cannot force Christ on others. We can only invite people into communion with Christ.

We should also not force others from receiving Christ. The Eucharistic table should be open, therefore, for those who want to receive Christ. 

Our privilege is to invite others to Christ, not to decide who receives Him or not.

Reflections on Turning 30

On August 25th, I turned 30 years old.

On my birthday, different people asked me the same question: "do you feel different now that you are 30?" I was surprised that I answered "yes, I do". I always thought I'd answer "nah, I feel the same way than I did yesterday when I was 29."

In reality I felt different. Way different.

A Sudden Mental Shift
The first person to ask me this question was my fiance. When she asked me the this, I became aware of a sudden mental shift. I didn't feel different physically, but mentally I experienced a kairos moment, where the weight of my age suddenly became real.

With this realization came the sense that I really need to step up my game, rely less and less on convenient excuses (even valid ones) and do my best to shape up.

Holy Crap I thought I am 30 years old now, my age is no longer an excuse.

I didn't think myself especially flaky or unreliable, but I always left many areas of growth to the tyranny of the future, making the unconscious (and sometimes not so unconscious) excuse that I was young, and that I will always have time to shape up in the future.

Of course, no one knows how much time the future will grant to us, and even if we do, the future never really comes. Why leave growth for tomorrow when it is only possible today?

My Past and Future Legacy
My mind started to flow with thoughts of what I've done in my past 30 years. These thoughts created a mixed bag of contradicting emotions. At times I felt disillusioned and at others proud.

I seem to be an incurable idealist. As I have shared in past posts, I've always felt called to do great things.

In my idealist mind I feel that I should have accomplished a lot more than I have. I feel a sense of grief for all the days, weeks and years that seemed to easily escape me. I grieve the days where I simply decided to stay comfortable.

It is a terrible feeling to know you will never get back all those precious moments.

My mind also started to flow with thoughts of what I will do in my next 30 years. I have this sense of urgency, a sense that life is shorter than I actually thought, and that in order to accomplish more with my life, I simply needed to stay uncomfortable.

We want to do great things but we seldom want to build the character that this call requires.

What will our Legacy Be?
If you are not 30 yet and you are reading this post, I believe you can still benefit from these reflections.

No matter our age, it is still possible to learn from other's people reflections and experiences. You don't need to wait until you are 30 in order to finally have a sense of clear purpose.

Life is much shorter than what they tell you.

Life is not simply to be enjoyed but to be experienced. We hide many excuses from this mantra of "enjoying life." Can we say that Jesus, our ultimate model, came to earth to enjoy His life? If we can't claim that for Himself how can we claim it for ourselves?

It is certainly good to enjoy life. It is idolatrous to make enjoyment of one's life our main purpose.

We need to move from inspiration to sacrifice, for inspiration is empty unless it is accompanied by the deep sustenance of self denial.

Don't give up your lofty ideals to the merciless cry of reality. Having a reality check is healthy, but more time needs to be spent in conforming your reality to your ideals than the other way around.

And finally, don't ever get tired of asking yourself this question, what legacy will my present actions bring to my future events?

Art and The Kingdom of God

We are made in God's image.

We have heard this countless times, but what does it really mean? I think it means many things, and that this phrase is actually a deep well of truth from which we can draw out many interpretations.

One way I look at this image-bearing is our capacity to imitate the Creator by creating. When God created the heaven and the earth he declared it "very good." Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are God's "workmanship," from the Greek word poeima, from which we derive the word "poem" in English. God's workmanship is so beautiful that it inspired our modern English word for "poem." Think about that for a minute.

To most of us, the overwhelming beauty of creation is undeniable. God is an artist. God's meticulous work of art is displayed lavishly in nature, animals, and humans. Art is sacred, artistry a sacrament. We are God's living art pieces.

We are endowed with God's beauty. The whole of creation proclaims God's beauty and glory. What we see reflected in us and in all created things is merely a reflection of God's beauty. We catch a glimpse of this Beauty of beauties whenever we contemplate a sunset, the graceful strides of a gazelle, or the beauty of the human body.

We are beautiful because He is beautiful. We are glorious because He is glorious. As the psalmist proclaims, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made."

When artists create art they are imitating God. I believe this is part of what it means to be created in God's image.

Our Call to Create
We are called to create things that are "very good." We are called to reflect God's beauty to the world in our everyday work. Whatever we are called to do, whether it is sweeping the streets, working behind the desk in an office, or writing a striking musical piece, we are called to create art.

Unfortunately, many of us, including many followers of Jesus, have lost sight of this calling.

This struck me as I was listening to Mozart's requiem. To think that this sort of musical masterpiece could be used for liturgy was mind blowing. To compare Mozart's requiem to what passes as Christian music when you tune in to your local Christian radio is certainly discouraging.

The way the Christian music industry imitates it's capitalist counterpart, secular media, where catchy and recycled lyrics rule the radio waves, instead of imitating God's beautiful creation is certainly a tragic miss of our calling as artists.

What we hear during worship on Sundays is very different from what Mozart and Beethoven created. I'm not suggesting that we ditch contemporary worship in favor of classical music in our liturgies. What I am suggesting is that whatever we do, especially for God's Kingdom, must express Kingdom values, not capitalistic ones.

Mozart's requiem and Beethoven's missa solemnis are enjoyed and their beauty is recognized by many people, Christians and non-Christians alike. They intuit the Workmanship that these artists invested in their masterpieces, and their beauty is discernible to all.

On the other hand, a non-Christian who listens to the Top-40 hits on our local Christian station can find the experience distressing.

It is time for us followers of Jesus to regain our rightful place as artists, and start walking into those good works that God prepared beforehand for us, as Ephesians 2:10 encourages us to do.

Photo by Lawrence OP

Our Workmanship Should Reflect the Kingdom's Values
As both artists and followers of Jesus, however, we should make sure that our art reflects the Kingdom's values.

The art we create must be available to all, especially to the poor and disenfranchised. Art is human, and should not be reserved to a niche group of people who feel entitled and educated enough to appreciate it. This means that its beauty should be accessible and discernible to all, unlike many modern pieces that, while artful, feel inaccessible because of their abstractness and even bizarreness.

Also, the art we create must reflect the humility of the artist. This is another aspect of accessibility. I have noticed in our culture that educated and artistically-inclined people are filled with the obnoxious air of pompous snobbery. From the face of disgust when you ask a barista in the local artisan coffee shop for a "decaf" to the haughtiness of the well-dressed businessman sharing an elevator ride with someone wearing dress pants and tennis shoes. All of these attitudes should be avoided in the character and art of the follower of Jesus, however educated and tasteful he or she considers themselves to be.

Finally, the art must reflect God's beauty. Look at creation - it is overflowing with beauty. While anger and sadness can be expressed in art, even "negative" emotions must reflect the beauty that is in the created order. Christian art should not be used as many instances of modern art are: for simple shock value, in which an artistic work is purposefully ungraceful and terrifying just for the sake of controversy.

Would you agree with this criteria? Would you add any other value? Please share in the comments below!