Today, I am going to break a bit from the daily Lectionary. My reason for doing so is because the Eucharist has become a very deep and important part of my life ever since I became convinced of the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. The teaching about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is just one matter that made me fall in love with the Roman Catholic church so many years ago. After having spent a lot of time in Protestant Evangelicalism where the Sacraments are treated as "ordinances" with very little reverence, I sought a tradition that would give Baptism and Holy Communion a much more central place in it's teachings and life. And to this day, there is no doubt in my mind that the Holy Eucharist is very precious and important to the Catholic church. It was one of the reasons that for a time I agreed to disagree with the church about my being gay, because I didn't want to have to give up the Eucharist.
As time moved along and I saw how the local Archdiocese treated lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Catholics, I was growing more uncomfortable with a church that claims believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and then uses that as a reason to engage in discriminatory behavior. In the last few years, the Archbishop of this Archdiocese has used his "pastoral" authority to tell Carol Curoe and her father that they were not to give talks about the book that they wrote: "Are There Closets in Heaven." They were told to not give presentations about their book in any Catholic parish. Shortly after this, the Dean of St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral made an invitation to Carol, that they would be welcomed to the Cathedral and to the Lord's Table any time. I have been told that Carol attends St. Mark's early service on Christmas and Easter.
In the year that Pope Benedict XVI was elected and installed, Cardinal Arinze, Prefect of the Congregation for the Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments told former Archbishop Harry Flynn that no parish in the Archdiocese was to distribute Holy Communion to anyone wearing a rainbow sash, because the Eucharist is not a place to make a political statement. In other words, LGBT individuals cannot use the Eucharist to make a political statement encouraging the church to consider change, but the Catholic church can use the Eucharist to make a very political statement about LGBT people.
The problem that I see with attitudes and behaviors such as these is that they do not convey what the Eucharist is about. It makes use of the Eucharist, the Real Presence of Christ as a means to exclusion. The Eucharist being the means, exclusion being the end to be achieved. The very presence of Christ, Who is the One who invites, sacrifices and wants to be one with and in all of us to help unite us all as that One Body, is used as the means to divide, exclude and if I may be so daring to say that they decide who is worthy and who is not.
In his book: "An Introduction to the Episcopal Church" J.B. Bernadin writes the following about the Eucharist: "Devout Christians truly believe in the Real Presence of our Lord in the Sacrament which He instituted, but also believe that He is only perceived by faith. Various theologians have attempted to define more closely the exact manner of His Presence, such as the Romans by transubstantiation and the Lutherans by consubstantiation; many limiting it to the consecrated Bread and Wine. The important thing is not how our Lord is present in the Sacrament, but that through the Sacrament His Presence becomes real in the life of the person receiving it." (Page 103).
In Eucharistic Prayer A in the Book of Common Prayer, we pray with the Priest who is celebrating: "Sanctify (this Bread and Wine) by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of your Son, the holy food and drink of new and unending life in him. Sanctify us also that we may faithfully receive this holy Sacrament, and serve you in unity, constancy, and peace; and at the last day bring us with all your saints into the joy of your eternal kingdom." (Page 363).
Christ does not become present in the Eucharist and then become present in and through us to become a barrier between us and other people. More specifically, Christ becomes present in us so that as J.B.Bernadin wrote: "His Presence becomes real" in our lives. The life of Christ is not present in us when we discriminate or divide. Christ is not present when we refuse to listen and are not open to those marginalized and stigmatized by society or the church. If we go to Holy Communion and we are not open to Christ changing our hearts and lives, allowing him to help open us to those who society and even the church stigmatizes and dismisses in an uncharitable manner, then how has Christ's Presence in the Eucharist become "real"?
Consider if we will for just a little while the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand in Matthew 14: 13-21, Mark 6: 34-44 and Luke 9: 10-17. In that story, Jesus fed everyone who hungered. God became real to these people through Jesus feeding them through the offerings of five loaves and two fish. Among five thousand people there were all kinds of folk who were marginalized by society and the local church. Yet, Jesus made sure that each of them was fed. The presence of God was experienced by everyone who came to Jesus looking to be nourished. So it must also be with the Eucharist.
This is why my partner and I have been making the transition to the Episcopal Church. We are very appreciative of the work of Rev. Susan Russell and Walking with Integrity to work for the full inclusion of LGBT individuals into the Church and society. Jesus Christ came in to the world to be God's presence to everyone and to invite everyone to share in the life that God has for all. In the past few months we have seen the Episcopal Church as well as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America open the ordained ministry to include discerning the call of LGBT individuals as Bishops within the Church. They have also begun collecting materials to create ceremonies for LGBT individuals to celebrate their unions in Episcopal and Lutheran churches. Jesus Christ opened the ministry of God to all people, and the Church needs to follow suit. That is why I like the symbol and slogan for Walking with Integrity: "All the Sacraments for All the Baptized."
Let us continue to pray for a more open and inclusive Church. Let us give thanks to every movement the Church makes towards full inclusion of all God's people. May there be a day when no one will ever feel that there is no place in God's House and at the Lord's Table for them. Amen.
O God, who created all peoples in your image, we thank you for the wonderful diversity of races, cultures, genders, sexual orientations and gender expressions in this world. Enrich our lives by ever-widening circles of fellowship, and show us your presence in those who differ most from us, until our knowledge of your love is made perfect in our love for all your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, #7, Page 840. The words: "gender, sexual orientations and gender expressions" were added by the author of this blog, without apology).
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