The gospel begins with two disciples recounting “what had happened on the way and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” They then walked seven miles from their home in Emmaus back to Jerusalem to share the news of their encounter with the risen Lord. Seven miles! Can you see yourself even walking one mile to tell someone news that was too good to keep to yourself?
For many people, receiving communion isn’t all that exciting. Otherwise, our church would be packed at every liturgy. Week after week, many come to Mass yet judging by their body language, they don’t experience the same excitement that Cleopas and his companion did. Others who aren’t touched by their encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist have no qualms about missing Sunday Mass at times.
Anyone of them may be wondering, “Why don’t I feel closer to God? Shouldn’t receiving communion make a difference?” And the answer is yes, but not in ways we necessarily expect. Receiving communion is not an act of magic but of faith. If receiving communion has lost its significance for you, then ask yourself, “Am I here only to fulfill an obligation? Am I waiting in line as though this is a mess hall just to get a handout? What do I really believe as I hear the words, ‘The body of Christ?'”
Unlike other Christians who use bread and wine in their worship as symbols, we take the words of Jesus, spoken at the Last Supper, literally. That night, he said, “Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body, which will be given up for you.” He told his disciples to partake of both his body and his blood in memory of him and this we have done for 2000 years.
When it comes to believing anything, many people demand a rational explanation and if something cannot be reasonably explained, they choose not to believe. Because the mystery of the Eucharist cannot be explained, many Christians cannot bring themselves to believe in what we call the Real Presence; that bread and wine, when consecrated, become for us the body and blood of Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. They look and taste like bread and wine but we know they are no longer bread and wine.
Jesus didn’t say, “Pretend this is my body.” He stated, “This is my body.” How then can consecrated bread become the Son of God 2000 years after he rose from the dead? I don’t know any more than I understand how Jesus, risen from the dead, has the ability to stand in the midst of the disciples, gathered behind locked doors and point out that he is not a ghost. When it comes to faith, I don’t seek a rational explanation. If God can create the heavens and the earth, thus define the laws of nature, I do not dismiss the possibility that God can transform our offerings of bread and wine into the body and blood of his son as a visible reminder that we are saved by what he has done for us.
In the gospel, we find Jesus doing something that defies the laws of nature. Raised from the dead, he asks, “Have you anything here to eat?” Given a piece of fish, he ate it in front of the disciples. The gospel passage ends, “he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”
That is what we all need to do as well if Eucharist is to become truly meaningful to us. St. Thomas Aquinas recognized the importance of both faith and knowledge when we receive Eucharist. He argued that if a mouse ate a consecrated host, it would not receive the body of Christ for it has no knowledge of what it is eating. Likewise, any non-believer who consumes a consecrated host does not receive Eucharist or the grace that this sacrament has to offer either. If Eucharist has no meaning for the recipient, then all that is gained are a few calories.
Many non Catholics have expressed dismay at not being invited to receive communion. When asked, I point out that receiving communion implies being in union with the Church and what it teaches, namely, our desire to live as Christ would have us live.
For this reason, John urges us, “The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep his commandments.” He points out that those who don’t keep his commandments are liars, thus the love of God cannot be perfected in them. This is why the Church tells us that when we have committed any mortal sin, we shouldn’t receive communion. Instead, as Peter cautions, we must repent so that our sins may be wiped away.
If we desire the grace which this sacrament has the potential to offer, we must receive Eucharist, not only with knowledge and faith, but also with prayerful attention and a practical commitment to live out our faith. If the Eucharist doesn’t touch you in a profound manner, you should ask yourself if you are clinging to a personal choice or lifestyle that runs contrary to the teachings of our Catholic faith. If Eucharist is to impact us, we cannot live the Christian life in a half hearted manner.
Fifty years after Vatican II, some people continue to think of the Mass only as a Sunday obligation they must fulfill and of Eucharist as God being shown, then received. To deepen our awareness of this sacrament, approach the Eucharist with the same awe expressed by the early disciples. See Jesus as the risen Lord who became present among his people, doing things to us just he has always done, healing us, reconciling us, and inviting us to deepen our involvement in proclaiming God’s kingdom, calling us to be his body in the world. Receiving communion isn’t a purely individual commitment, but a visual statement that we are part and parcel of the body of Christ, committed to living out the gospel of Jesus Christ.