Old Testament: Exodus 12:1-4(5-10), 11-14
Psalm 116:1, 10-17
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Gospel: John 13:1-17, 31b-35
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 1 Corinthians 11:26
Years ago I came to the Episcopal Church from the much more conservative religious tradition of my family. Despite my disillusionment with the idea of church I had a great respect for Holy Communion, or “the Lord’s Supper” as it was known in the faith of my youth. In earlier experience I had been taught that the ritual was a memorial only… a remembrance of a moment in the life of Jesus that we were commanded to keep. While the actions of sharing bread and wine (or grape juice, as it were) seemed to hint at the sacred, this explanation seemed somehow incomplete.
In my early days in the Episcopal Church, when I was still considering whether or not I would eventually join, Fr. Francis Walter led an instructed Eucharist for the Catechumenate class. In the process of showing us the particulars of the rite, he spoke of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist… how Jesus was present with us in the elements of bread and wine. The Episcopal Church teaching did not attempt to explain how this was possible but it was accepted… like the love of God or our salvation through the Cross. In that moment I felt that I understood why Holy Communion was so important. It was not just the memory of an event but an ongoing experience of the living Christ that had the power to strengthen… to heal … and to transform those who partook of this holy food. Suddenly I knew that I wanted to become a Christian… an Episcopalian… and I went on to be baptized at Easter Vigil that year.
In the time since my faith in and love of the Blessed Sacrament has grown. The intimate connection I experience with Christ and with my brothers and sisters of faith in those moments of the sacred meal are the foundation of my life in Christ. It doesn’t matter how I feel… what difficulties the week has held… or the trials I have endured… when I come to the Altar seeking the Real Presence of my Lord I find peace… I find solace… I find strength for the continuation of my journey.
When our Lord sat at table with his disciples and gave them the new commandment to love one another as he loved them, he knew they would need the strength of the community to be able to faithfully stand in the face of trial and persecution. The sharing of his precious Body and Blood has been the means of grace for generations of Christ’s followers, and continues to feed us as nothing else can. We are made one in the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; and in the sharing of his Holy Communion, we draw closer to one another and to the God who made us and loves us.
The Reverend Robyn Arnold
No comments:
Post a Comment