Holy Communion

Mankind has endured a number of ages in which dependence on a particular source of energy was predominant.  Sometimes they overlapped and several still exist today.  We still use coal for much of the world’s electrical generation.  We still use petroleum to power most of the world’s vehicles.  But this is the age of electricity.  We are so dependent, we no longer know how to heat our homes, build our cars, preserve our food or communicate without it.  It totally permeates our society although we are still learning how it works.  It exists all around us and yet it is useless unless we can harness and release its energy at a point of contact.

There is also spiritual energy.  It exists all around us.  God’s whole creation is sustained by His ever-present divine power.  We cannot escape from God and yet His spiritual energy is of no benefit unless we can access this divine energy at some point of contact.  That is the function of the Sacraments.

We can sit in a darkened room desiring light which is available and ready through all the wiring around us.  Desiring light is not enough.  We must push the button and make a connection to allow the energy to flow.  We also grope in spiritual shadows while God is all around us.  When we go to the Altar and partake of Holy Communion, we make a connection and the spiritual energy flows through.  Both of these involve mysteries and both are real.

Five names are commonly used for this sacrament commanded by our Lord:  Holy Communion, The Lord’s Supper, The Holy Eucharist, The Mass and the Liturgy.  They all mean the same thing but each places a particular emphasis on a single phase of this special Sacrament.

Ø      The Holy Communion points to the partaking of spiritual food.  The cup of blessing is the communion of the blood of Christ.  The bread is the communion of the body of Christ.

Ø      The Lord’s Supper emphasizes the memorial feature of the Sacrament.  Our Lord said, “Do this in remembrance of Me.”  We do so and we identify ourselves with the thing that is done.

Ø      The Holy Eucharist highlights thanksgiving for Christ incarnate, crucified, risen, and ascended.  This is more than a memorial or a spiritual feast.

Ø      The Mass stresses the sacrificial aspect of the Sacrament.  “The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.  That life was offered once for all.  It cannot be repeated.  But we can participate personally.  “Here we offer and present unto Thee, O Lord, our selves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto Thee.”

Ø      The Liturgy is the name venerated by the Eastern Orthodox churches and emphasizes the worship expressed in the Sacrament.  Worship is acknowledgment, recognition, and appreciation of God.  We render praise and thanksgiving.

No matter which name is used the Sacrament is a memorial, a communion, a thanksgiving, an offering, and an act of worship.  There is little to be gained by disagreeing about the interpretations.  Each is right as far as it goes and they are all surely incomplete.  We may study the Gospel in fragments, but we must attempt to live it in its full integrity.

There was never a time in the early church when the Sacrament of Holy Communion was ignored.  The Apostles and disciples continued steadfastly in breaking of bread and in prayers.  Although the Councils of the first five centuries addressed a number of heresies, there were no controversies about the Eucharist.  There was little effort to define it but all accepted it as a sacred gift from our Lord and it was guarded with the greatest care.  Catechumens were put through a long course of instruction before they were admitted to communion.  In the Middle Ages the first real controversy arose when the Schoolmen attempted to define it with the doctrine of transubstantiation.  At the reformation, many alternatives were discussed but the Anglicans returned to first principles and accepted our Lord at His word.

The Real Presence of our Lord in the consecrated elements has sometimes been connected with controversy over the doctrine of transubstantiation.  The two are not inseparable.  Transubstantiation attempted to define exactly what expression Christ’s body and blood took in the consecrated elements.  The Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist does not require anything identifiable in our natural world.    The bread and the wine still remain bread and wine, but by combination with the spiritual act of Consecration, they are invested with a peculiar spiritual virtue which is identified with the Body and Blood of Christ.  The virtue of His Presence produces its results when it is received by the communicant, but the Presence is still there whether received or not.  It is a mystery;  but who has been able to dissect, chart or diagram friendship, love, courtesy or goodwill?

The Sacrament of Holy Communion provides a spiritual channel by which we can receive doses of God’s grace to assist us in living in accordance with His will.  It is the manner in which Christ’s risen life can be instilled in us and made a part of our lives.  Just as we don’t wait until we are famished to eat, we shouldn’t wait for our communion until we are spiritually depleted.  There is also the communal benefit to be considered.  We are so independent in this country, we think what we do is of no concern to anybody else.  Corporate responsibility should be more prevalent in our culture.  This Sacrament keeps the circulation flowing in the Body of Christ.  Every time you make your Communion, you are not only doing something for yourself but you are strengthening the life of the Church.  We are not separated units.  We are the Body of Christ.  Remember the Invitation to Communion, “Ye who do truly and earnestly repent you of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbors . . . draw near with faith, and take this holy Sacrament to your comfort.”

The matter and form of this Sacrament were given by our Lord himself. The matter is the bread and wine similar to that which He used at the Last Supper.  We can discuss whether or not the bread was leavened, but there is no historical reason to assume the juice of the grape was not fermented.  The form is a careful recitation of our Lord’s words of institution – “Take, eat, this is My Body, which is given for you. . . . Drink Ye all of this;  for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you, and for many, for the remission of sins.”  The other parts of the sacramental service can vary, but without this central form there could not be a Eucharist.

Our Lord commanded the Apostles to perpetuate what He had begun.  With the passing of the Apostles, the bishops who succeeded them celebrated the Eucharist for the people.  The elements were consecrated on the bishop’s altar and the elements were sent to Christians who lived too far away to attend the service.  As the number of congregations grew, this became more and more difficult to conduct with the proper respect and decorum.  Gradually, the right to consecrate was delegated to the priests.  Until the time of the reformation, only a bishop or a priest was authorized to perform this function.

The consecrated of the Bread has always been administered individually to each communicant, but there has been some difference in the use of the chalice.  The Eastern Church dipped the consecrated Bread into the Wine and administered both by means of a spoon.  In the Western Church, each communicant received directly from the common chalice well down into the Middle Ages.  After the twelfth century it was common practice to communicate the people “in one kind,” that is, by administering only the consecrated Bread.  For Anglicans, the return to the common chalice came at the time of the Reformation.  Christians can be assured that Christ cannot be divided and is fully present in either of the consecrated Elements.

Reservation of the elements was common from the early days when only bishops consecrated the elements.  Reservation for the sick and for the dying was part of the tradition of the Church.  Our rubric forbidding the carrying of consecrated elements out of the Church is in reference to the laity.  It was introduced in the 1662 BCP to keep them from being used for profane purposes.  It does not refer to reservation of the elements for clerical use.  It is also possible to make a spiritual communion when required by health or desired for lack of preparation.