26 April 2020
Luke 24:13-35
It is written in Luke’s Gospel, “Jesus
took a loaf of bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to
them, saying, ‘This is My body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me’.” (22:19).
I mention this because the so-called Emmaus
Moment has always been very odd to me.
The Resurrected Jesus was walking on the road to Emmaus with these two disciples
and speaking with them, asking them questions … and they did not recognize
Him. We often speak of a “glorified body”,
but it is still strange to me that these two guys did not seem to realize whom
they were speaking to.
It was not until Jesus was at the table
with them, blessed and broke the bread, and handed it to them that their “eyes
were opened, and they recognized Him” (24:31).
St. Augustine believed this to be the preeminent
Sacramental Moment. He wrote, “Remember,
dearly beloved, how the Lord Jesus desired to be recognized in the breaking of
bread, by those whose eyes had been kept till then from recognizing Him. The faithful know what I’m talking
about. They know Christ in the breaking
of bread. It isn’t every loaf of bread,
but the one that receives Christ’s blessing and becomes the body of
Christ. That is where [these disciples] recognized
Him. They were overjoyed and went straight
to the others. They found whom they
already knew. By telling what they had
seen, they added to the Gospel. It was
all said, all done, all written down. And
it has reached us” (sermon 234.2).
For John Wesley, The Lord’s Supper,
mysterious though it is, was very simple.
The Lord Jesus commanded us to receive this mercy. “Do this”. In the remembrance of the Resurrected
Messiah, we are shown through the Scriptures and through doctrinal history and
tradition that the surest way for our eyes to be opened is through the breaking
of Sacred Bread; remembering all that goes with it. It is, therefore, our need, the Church’s
need, to be in “constant communion”.
In the early days of American Methodism, infrequent
Communion was only because of the infrequency of an ordained elder’s visit, the
circuit riders. Over time it came to be
known by many as Methodist Communion Sunday, usually the first Sunday of the
month. This was never Wesley’s intent, however,
and he makes reference to our need to be in “constant communion” just as surely
as we are encouraged by St. Paul to “pray without ceasing”. The meaning is found in our need to constantly
– and actively - remember Him.
Our need to remember, our need to be
nourished, our need to be sustained, our need for constant mercy requires that
we obey our Lord’s simple commandment: “Do this in remembrance of Me”. Judging by what is written in Luke’s
Gospel, then, it seems to be that this is when our eyes can be fully opened to
experience His Presence, enabled as we are by the Mercy of The Lord to humbly
submit ourselves to this Precious Gift our Shepherd and Teacher has left for us. So we are left to ask, “When is there a
time when we are not in need of His enduring mercy”??
Wesley also went to great lengths to
answer objections to “constant communion” from those who argued according to
St. Paul’s admonishment to the Corinthians (1 Cor 11:17-33) to refrain from
receiving the Sacrament in an “unworthy manner” so as to avoid
condemnation. The plain truth as Wesley
understood it is we are indeed unworthy to receive such a mercy. Yet our merciful Lord commands us to “Do
this in remembrance of Me”.
The manner in which we receive the
Sacrament has everything to do with the means by which the Sacrament is
delivered. The long-standing practice of
the Roman Catholic Church has been to require Confession prior to receiving the
Sacrament. This is the Church’s
understanding of Paul’s instruction to “examine ourselves, and only then
eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
For all who eat and drink without discerning the body eat and drink
judgment against themselves” (11:28-29). Then he reminds us that “if we would
judge ourselves, we would not be judged” (vs 31).
Though we do not practice the Sacrament of
Reconciliation (Confession) as the Roman Church does, we are not excused from “examining
ourselves” before we receive this remarkable Mercy. Failing to do this honestly and openly is how
we learn to take The Lord’s Supper for granted.
As Jesus established this enduring Sacred Moment we call “Sacrament”, He
still pointed out that that not only would all abandon Him, one would go so far
as to betray Him.
Knowing this and calling them out on their
own “unworthiness”, He nevertheless established this Mercy, this Means of Grace
by which we are fed and through which we are forgiven – after we “examine
ourselves”, of course, and confront and confess our sins. As ugly as Confession can sometimes be, we acknowledge
our “unworthiness” in this examination and feel our profound need to be
forgiven. So through this Enduring Mercy,
to the humble and contrite heart, our Holy Father bids us to come, eat, be
nourished, and be forgiven.
Some have expressed concerns about “constant
communion” becoming little more than a mechanical response, a ritual that has
the potential to become meaningless. I
will grant there is that danger, but I think this is what can happen when we
fail to fully and honestly “examine ourselves”. If we simply walk forward to receive
Communion without opening ourselves to this Mercy, it can become just a thing
we do. Frequently or infrequently, the
Sacrament can have little meaning for us if we only go through the physical motions
while neglecting the spiritual disciple of our need to confess honestly and
openly.
The Christian Church established Sunday
not as the “new” Sabbath but as the Day of Resurrection, the Day of The Lord
when we are to be reminded that neither the Cross nor the Tomb are our final
resting places. Though we must endure
both, we are assured of Everlasting Life beyond each. And we are assured each time we “Do
this in remembrance of Christ Jesus”.
As the two disciples on the road to Emmaus
show us, a simple “burning heart” is not enough. We are as unworthy to See as we are unworthy
to Receive. Yet the One who alone is
worthy is the very One who commands us to Receive so we may See. And when we See, we Remember. And when we Remember, we will Follow. And when we Follow, we will finally and fully
Live the Life we are created to Live.
Let us never again take this Sacred Gift
for granted; for it is through Him, with Him, and in Him where Eternal Life is
found. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment