Communion of Love

Last night I was in a conversation with a person who had ridden a bike into a town in France called Lourdes.  He was fascinated by the place and so I shared the story.  Our Lady appeared to Bernadette there in 1858. It did not matter to Bernadette that no one believed her, that people ridiculed her and her family. The truth was important, and that is what Bernadette told people, even though it brought her, in the short term, much suffering.  In telling that story I could not help thinking of today’s Gospel.    

Jesus said some uncomfortable things and held some unpopular views. His teaching on the bread of life, to which we have been listening over the last weeks, is a central example.  As with all difficult teaching and firmly held views, there is collateral damage. When challenged we are faced with the choice to continue to follow or to leave. This, of course comes down to the issue of trust. Who has the greater authority, me or the Church? Recently, after a difficult conversation involving a central tenet of our faith, a person said to me: “Well that is what I believe and it is right for me.” I had to reply that in most matters of faith and morals, something is either right or wrong, so in stating that he was right I needed to point out that he was saying that the Church for the last 2000 years was wrong, a very unlikely scenario. In these times our decisions have implications, because if we disagree our communion with the church is broken.

The Gospel tells us that after this teaching, many walked away from Jesus. The Jewish dietary laws forbade the eating of blood, and here was Jesus telling his disciples that if they did not eat of his blood that they could not have life within them.  This was decision time, a turning point. It is the high point of the bread of life discourse, because this Jesus who has spent much time witnessing and explaining now calls those who were curiously following him to make a decision. The consequences are stark: follow Jesus and you will be persecuted by your fellow Jewish people. As with all things, you cannot believe everything and be everybody’s friend: there are tomes that a line has to be drawn in the sand.

Jesus still draws a line in the sand and asks us on which side of the line we stand. He asks us to identify completely with him through the Eucharist, this most scared of rites where we consume his body and blood.

He Eucharist is not only food and drink for us, but it is our opportunity to identify completely with Jesus and his mission. This leads us to the concept of communion. This Holy Communion that we share is the paramount expression of our inclusion in the mission of Jesus and the faith of the Church. By approaching the altar we are saying in front of the congregation that this is our faith our hope and our life. In other words, before we arrive at the altar we have said that we believe what the Church teaches and that we have communion with Christ and the Church: in other words, there are not obstacles, not serious sin, between us and Christ.  Phew!

Jesus leads us to the realisation that communion with him is essential for the Christian. This communion is celebrated and strengthened through the Eucharist and ultimately through Holy Communion where we take the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord and saviour into our bodies. What a gift! What a responsibility! 

May we never approach the altar casually or thoughtlessly! 

May we be worthy of this Holy Communion of love.

Homily OLQP 26th August 2012,21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B