Whenever we listen to the scriptures, we are presented with revelations about God and challenged to ask ourselves some hard, difficult and direct questions.
In today’s Gospel, we again encounter Jesus speaking to the crowds about the kingdom of God. Last week I noted that he often challenges us to build the kingdom of God. We should ask ourselves, “How am I building God’s kingdom? Or am I an obstacle to the Kingdom of God happening in my time and place?”
After speaking about the kingdom of God and healing those who needed to be cured, Jesus then fed the crowds. He followed his liturgy of the word with a liturgy of the Eucharist. This feast isn’t just about the Eucharist; it is also about the community that gathers to celebrate the Eucharist.
Instead of bringing people together, jealousy and prejudice can prompt us to exclude certain people at times. For example, Monday is a new holiday celebrating Juneteenth Day. The date, June 19, 1865, commemorates the end of slavery in our country. Slaves were free but racism persists. Racists will claim that their race is superior to others.
Sexism is another example of exclusion. Laws and conduct will reward one sexual orientation or gender but not the other. Many years passed before women had the right to vote, much less hold political office. Sadly these games of inclusion and exclusion are played out in church life too.
On this feast, which celebrates our opportunity to receive the Body and Blood of Christ, I am mindful of how the game of exclusion also happens with the Eucharist in some places. Statements are written, words are spoken, and actions are taken to say who can and who cannot receive the Eucharist.
Recently, some bishops have voiced their concern whether certain people should be allowed to receive communion. They have instructed parishes to refuse Communion to pro-choice politicians or those who favor other social stances contrary to the teachings of our Catholic faith.
The question of who should and who should not receive Communion has been an issue off and on through the years. Our archbishops have never instructed us to refuse this sacrament to anyone. As a celebrant, it is not my intent to refuse anyone who comes forward in a respectful and reverent manner to receive communion. Pope Francis has said that he has never refused communion to anyone, pointing out that the Eucharist is bread for sinners, not a reward for saints.
Church law states that a Catholic who is conscious of grave sin should not receive Communion without first going to confession, unless there is no chance to do so. The Church recognizes that it is for each individual to examine his or her conscience in this regard. I assume that those who come forward to receive the Body and Blood of Christ have done so and honestly believe they are not in a state of grave sin.
Pope Francis has said much during his years as our pope but perhaps his most famous line is, “Who am I to judge?” No person is capable of judging someone else’s relationship with God. Before receiving Communion, we pray, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” We never say, “My neighbor is not worthy.” When you stop to think about it, none of us is worthy, but we pray we are made worthy to receive our Lord.
When you come forth to receive the Eucharist, you hear the words, “The body of Christ,” To which, every communicant is expected to bow slightly then say, “Amen,” which means, “I believe.” If you do not believe that what is being offered to you is the Lord himself, then the Church asks that you refrain from receiving communion. Instead, ponder what hinders you from believing what Jesus said at the Last Supper. In the earliest written account we have, Paul told us, “…that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and after he had given thanks, broke it and said, This is my body, that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
These words lie at the heart of our Catholic faith. We have been doing that for 20 centuries, allowing the Eucharist to nourish our spiritual being. Just as Jesus used bread to feed the crowd then, he uses bread that is consecrated to feed us still, enabling us to build the kingdom of God by what we say and do.
The words said at the Last Supper, echoed at every Mass, speak of our unity with Christ and with one another. That nourishment empowers us to go forth and announce God’s love for the world, recognizing that there must be no room in our hearts to exclude others from our lives or our faith community. Rather, we are to be inclusive, just as Jesus was when he fed the crowds.
On this feast of Corpus Christi, we are reminded that the miracle of the Eucharist, the body and blood of our Lord Jesus, is meant to be a sign of unity, not of discord.