For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 (KJV)

 

This has been a difficult passage of scripture for many faithful Christians, but not because of anything St. Paul actually said. The difficulty comes in vs. 27-29, and especially with the 29th verse as it reads in the King James Version: "For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily , eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body."

 

To put it simply, this does not mean that you have to be worthy to partake of our Lord's body and blood. "Worthy," in this passage, is used as an adverb, never as an adjective, and, as such, it modifies the act, not the actor. The manner of partaking is in question, not the one who is partaking. What we are called to examine is the way we are partaking, and our focus as we partake. While this may have a personal dimension, the worthiness to receive was never the question. The simple fact is that no one is worthy to receive the Lord's body and blood in Holy Communion. Indeed, we come to the table precisely because we are unworthy. All we have to do is receive with our faith focused upon Christ Jesus and we will be receiving worthily.

 

Now, I understand that this is not how some pastors have taught this passage. On the western frontier it became common to hear a judgmental call for people to examine their spiritual lives. Instead of having their congregations focus upon the worthiness of Jesus, preachers told their flocks that they had to be "worthy" of admission to the Table. They had to be "worthy" to receive because, if they partook of Communion while being unworthy, they would profane the Table and bring sickness and maybe even death upon themselves. As a result, thousands were made to feel guilty when they came, for they knew they were not perfect. And, of course, many refused to come to the Table at all. This kind of thinking resulted in the closed communion rules which were very common among Protestants until quite recently. And it was, all of it, absolutely unscriptural.

 

St. Paul never said we had to make sure we were worthy before we received Communion. Only Christ is worthy. We are capable, however, of receiving in a worthy manner through faith in Christ. Indeed, as I have already said, it is because we are unworthy that we must receive. Our unworthiness makes it imperative that we receive, and receive frequently.

 

And this brings up another question. I am sometimes asked about the frequency with which one should partake of the sacrament. To put it simply, one should partake of the sacrament as frequently as possible, and as often as it is offered. The Sacrament of Holy Communion is a Means of Grace: it is a gift through which we are reminded of, and reconnected to, the powerful love and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is through receiving the Sacrament that we are empowered by the mysterious Real Presence of Jesus to live a Christian life. Personally, if I go too long without receiving Holy Communion, I begin to get "spiritually hungry." To put it another way, I crave the Sacrament; and, without it, I begin to starve.

 

Remember: the Eucharist is celebrated at Candlelight, and the next one is October 11 at Sabine Creek! Come and feast on the riches of Christ's Presence!

 

At the time I attended my Emmaus Walk, I wasn't a particularly good Pilgrim. Throughout the weekend, I kept thinking how nice it was for everyone else to be hearing all those wonderful talks because I was sure there were lots of people in the room who really needed to hear those messages. I confess, however, that at the time I did not consider myself to be one of them. My daughter and my best friend, who were my co-sponsors, told me just enough to get me to the retreat but not enough to scare me off because they knew that if they told me about poster parties and skits there was no way I would go. You see, at that time in my life, I was determined that I was not a public speaker and I was absolutely terrified to get up and speak in front of anybody. Rarely did I open my mouth to express my opinion in a group of strangers and absolutely never did I ever plan on ever being in front of a microphone. And, praying out loud was absolutely not going to happen!