2nd Sunday after Pentecost (Corpus Christi octave) 10.6.07
Today we continue our celebration of the Holy Eucharist. The Gospel presents us with an image of the banquet. Those first invited refuse to come, while those invited later take their place.
This is a reference to Jews and Gentiles, but has application in every age.
Everyone is invited to the banquet which is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, but not everyone comes.
In the news this week there has been a lot about the Church’s right to exclude certain people from receving Holy Communion.
This parable (in another version, Matthew 22) goes on to say that one of the guests was found without the proper wedding garment, and then thrown out.
The ‘wedding garment’ in our time means that yes, everyone is welcome to the feast, but before we can partake each person must be willing to conform to what Our Lord is asking of us.
We cannot simply walk in off the street and take Communion, as though it were a natural right.
Holy Communion is a privilege, not a right. No one can presume to claim a privilege.
We receive Our Lord by His permission, which permission is in the province of the Church to give or refuse.
The Church makes clear that those who are separated from Jesus Christ by being in a state of mortal sin are not free to receive Holy Communion.
This is not a new teaching but goes back to St Paul (cf 1 Co 11).
These people are ‘excluded’ but not necessarily forever. The point of the exclusion is to excite them to repentance and re-inclusion into union with Christ and His Body, the Church.
So, yes, everyone is welcome, but everyone is also under the obligation to accept the invitation on Our Lord’s terms and not their own.
Holy Communion is not a free meal just given out to anyone who happens to get on the line.
It is meant only for those who have at least some appreciation for what they are receiving.
Communion is the celebration and increase of Union.
Union is what must be achieved first. This comes through repentance of grave sin, and then a humble acceptance of Church authority.
One of the politicians involved in the recent issue is quoted as saying: ‘I’d like to see the Church try to stop me from receiving Communion’.
This is a very belligerent and ignorant approach. Of course it is easy to receive Communion physically, just a matter of going to another parish. He can receive physically, but is it pleasing to the Lord?
Will Holy Communion do him any good? No, it will make matters worse, because it will be sacrilegious.
The spiritual state of things must be considered foremost.
So for us, we might be tempted to receive Holy Communion regardless of the state of our souls. Nearly everyone in the church does receive these days.
But if in doubt it is better not to come, or to seek a blessing rather than the sacrament itself.
Think of it as a process of reconciliation. If I am not ready just now, I can work on whatever has to be changed so that I will be ready as soon as possible.
Everyone is welcome. Some have to do certain things before they can receive Communion. They are being excluded for a time, so that their ultimate inclusion will be everything it should be.
As we give thanks for the existence of this great privilege, and humble ourselves before the greatness of the One who offers Himself in this way, let us all accept the invitation and the terms on which it is made.
