The Great Mystery

John 6:51-58

Almost everyone loves a good mystery, and if it’s not too terrifying, we also all love a good ghost story.  Fall is coming, a time to curl up with an intriguing book, or old favourite movie, with a mysterious plot by one of the legendary mystery writers.  Perhaps we have a well-loved ghost story, available in print or on screen.  Whichever we might choose – it’s the compelling nature of such stories, the who done it, or how do you explain that qualities that keep us enthralled.

Today’s Gospel lesson quotes Jesus, and presents us with the foundation for what we believe about Holy Communion.  If you listened closely, you realize His words are mysterious.  And because of the deep mystery they present, they are also controversial.  Thus, for centuries they been, not just intriguing, but also the basis of arguments and disagreements. 

Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

Explain that if you will, or if you can.  These words have been at the center of theological debate for millennia.

So, briefly, this is what has happened within Christianity in regards to the Eucharist over the last 2000 years – or as one of my friends said, when I explained it to her, here’s a brief summary of “Religion 101”.

Today, and for centuries, Roman Catholic doctrine has held that at the words of consecration, “This is my body” and “This is my blood”, the bread and wine cease to exist as such and become the actual Body and Blood of our Lord, while, in deference to human sensibilities, only keeping the outward appearance and taste of bread and wine.  This is called transubstantiation. 

With the Protestant reformation, argument began over what happens at this pivotal moment in the Communion service, and escalated until 1529 when two learned men came to loggerheads.  They were Ulrich Zwingli and Martin Luther.

Zwingli and his colleagues argued that the bread and wine only “signify” or “represent” Jesus’ Body and Blood, which, they argued, were not capable of being at the right hand of God the Father in heaven and in bread and wine on the altar at the same time. Because for Zwingli revelation cannot contradict reason, he based his argument for the bread “representing” Jesus’ body on passages of Scripture other than those directly connected to Jesus’ institution of the Lord’s Supper.  His argument ignored Jesus’ words in John 6, which we read this morning.  Zwingli’s belief, that the bread and wine represent bur are not Jesus Body and Blood is known as Memorialism.

Luther and his colleagues, argued that the words of Jesus, with which He instituted the Lord’s Supper, clearly teach that the bread, received into the mouth of those who eat it, is—not signifies, nor represents— is the Body of Christ.  For Luther, Christ’s words must stand as they are revealed to us in Holy Scripture, “the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh”. “Is” cannot be turned into something else.  Luther believed that after the words of consecration, the substance of the bread and wine do not change but rather coexist with the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist.  This is called consubstantiation.

If all this is not confusing enough, the term “Real Presence” is used by all three belief groups – but with a different meaning implied in each case.

There are many approaches to Holy Communion, and in the Congregational Church we may not all subscribe to the same belief.  It is a challenging image our Lord presents, Himself as the sacrifice.   Whatever we believe happens during Holy Communion, we all agree Jesus presents us with a sacramental mystery that should call forth from us the utmost awe and respect. 

When I was young, there was a reverence about Communion which began before the service.  There were traditions.  Back in the old days, once we arrived in church, fifteen minutes before the service the candles were lit, and everyone was quiet.  And, on a lesser note, back in those days, we came to church dressed in our “Sunday best”!  A friend recently asked me if kids today even know what “Sunday best” means.

But, we say, all that does sound rather out of date.  Does it?  We need to remember, some things, technology, fashion, become outdated, but, though the reverence and humility before communion may have gone out of practice, they have not gone out of date.  We need to be aware of the mystery, the sanctity and holiness of communion, and to prepare prayerfully to receive it with reverence.

Here at Mystic Side, we have communion once a month.  This is a very special service, which is meant to call forth from us our deepest reverence, and to reinforce and strengthen through the power of the Holy Spirit our very best qualities.  No matter what our particular belief about what happens at the altar with the bread and wine, it is a service that reinforces our desire to become the people Jesus is calling us to be.

As we prepare for communion, or even as we prepare for Sunday worship on other Sundays in the month, what we need is intention, the desire to become kinder, calmer, gentler, holier people.  We need prayer, asking for help to become ever holier people, and then we need the faith to let go, and let the Holy Spirit work in us.

Several years ago, having missed the Christmas Eve service, I ended up at the Christmas morning Eucharist.  Much to my amazement, a young mother and a toddler slipped into the pew behind me.  The little boy snuggled up to his mother and she put her arm around him.  He was very well behaved, but eventually he said, sotto voce, “Mama, I’m hungry.”  “First we feed the heart and soul,” she said gently, “then the tummy.”  “Then presents?” he whispered.  After all, it was Christmas.  “Then presents,” she said, and hugged him.

That Christmas morning, even before opening any prettily wrapped box under the tree, that mother and her toddler came to church, and sat snuggled together in that pew, waiting for the greatest gift ever given. 

Jesus’ gift is amazing and mysterious, and He has given it to us, because He knows we cannot become holy people, truly fulfilled and happy people, without His help.  Sunday services give us help through our prayers.  In some mysterious way, Communion Sunday offers us that extra help Jesus instituted for us when we receive the Bread and Wine.

In church, we hear the word Love, and when it is mentioned, we are often reminded to think of Jesus’ sacrifice and His suffering for us.  It calls us to reflect on our need to both forgive and repent, to pray for others, to be a worker in Christ’s vineyard.  All this is good, but sometimes it is more uplifting, more edifying, to simply think of a mother and her young child, cuddled up on a cold morning, waiting for the greatest miracle, the greatest mystery to begin – not explained – just given as a gift.  Holy Communion, is God’s gift of Love.

Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day”.

Let us pray (from another hymn):

Come down, O Love divine, seek thou this soul of mine, and visit it with thine own ardor glowing; O Comforter, draw near, within our hearts appear, and kindle them, thy holy flame bestowing.  In Jesus Name, Amen.