Monday, March 3, 2025

The Eucharist: Holy Sacrament or Powerless Ritual?

 

By David Ryser

Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (Jesus of Nazareth, John 6:53)

 For more than a year now, I have been attending a men’s study/fellowship group sponsored by a local church. Although I am not a member of this church, nor do I attend the religious services there or share many…if any…of its core beliefs, I am enjoying the fellowship of the men in the group. Like many Christians, these men are desiring to know and serve God better. And their desire is sincere and heartfelt.

 And because I am a guest at this church, I strive to be on my best behavior and not contend against any of their beliefs at our meetings.

 The sect of Christianity of which this church is a part is currently in the midst of a three-year Eucharistic Revival. Exactly why it would take three years to train the faithful members of this sect adequately concerning the Eucharist (or Communion, or Lord’s Supper, if you’d prefer) is somewhat bewildering to me, but I have found the discussions of the Eucharist at our meetings to be quite illuminating.

 Because I was raised in this particular sect of Christianity; and although I have not practiced this form of religion for more than 50 years, I do speak the language and understand its core teachings.

 The doctrine of the Eucharist is this sect’s theological cornerstone. According to their doctrine, the elements of the Eucharist…the bread and the wine…are transformed (transubstantiated) into the literal spiritual body and blood of Jesus when consecrated by a priest during their religious ritual. And this doctrine is based upon the biblical passage in John 6:48-56 combined with the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper. So, partaking of the consecrated Eucharistic elements is the same as partaking of Jesus’ body and blood.

 And now things become interesting.

 Because in one of our meetings, a question was posed as to how long the grace received at the partaking of the Eucharist remains effective. Having received the body and blood of Jesus, why is it necessary to receive the Eucharist more than once? Why does one need to receive the Eucharist multiple times? Does the presence of Jesus leak out of us over time? Does Jesus’ body and blood have an expiration date? And if it does have an expiration date, how long does it last before it becomes ineffective? Is there something that can cause this grace to become null and void?

 All good questions, and there is an answer to them.

 According to this sect’s teachings, the presence of Jesus and the grace received upon partaking of the Eucharist is effective until the recipient sins. When the participant sins, they have fallen from a state of grace, and the benefits of Jesus’ body and blood are no longer effective in their life.

 What? My sin drives Jesus out of me?

 Oh, but there’s more. Because receiving the Eucharist with certain kinds of sin on my soul can render the whole thing ineffective from the start. If I have unconfessed small sins (venial sins such as lying or having impure thoughts) on my account, the grace received at the partaking of the Eucharist will wash these sins away. But if I have unconfessed big sins (mortal sins such as rape, murder, or missing mandated church services), these will remain unforgiven even though I have received the literal spiritual body and blood of Jesus.

 It seems that some sins are just bigger than Jesus.

 Fortunately for the members of this sect, there is an avenue to receive forgiveness for sins prior to receiving the Eucharist so that the grace imparted can be obtained by the recipient. Instead of relying on Jesus’ broken body and shed blood for forgiveness, one needs merely to confess their sins to a priest who can do for us what Jesus’ body and blood cannot…forgive our big sins.

 And it doesn’t matter what is the spiritual condition of the priest administering this forgiveness to me. He might be engaged in grievous sin (homosexual pedophilia, for example) and still be able to forgive me for cheating on my taxes.

 So, on those rare occasions when I attend a service at a church associated with this sect, I do not go forward to receive the Eucharist, in part because I am not an active member of the sect and would be respectfully denied the Eucharist as a result. Also, to receive the Eucharist at this church would imply that I am unified with this sect in its doctrine of the Eucharist…which I am not.

 So, I don’t.

 But what is the alternative? I have received the Eucharist at churches which are a part of other Christian sects. Typically these churches refer to receiving the Eucharist as taking Communion. And, typically, this partaking of Communion consists of a five-minute add-on to the end of the church service where the communicant is given a stale oyster cracker and small cup of Welch’s grape juice to consume when the cue is given to do so after a brief review of the institution of the Lord’s Supper.

 Aside from giving me atrociously bad breath, this disrespectful form of receiving the Eucharist does virtually nothing for me.  It certainly does not bring me closer to Jesus. And it is, at best, unbiblical.

 Because while I do not subscribe to the doctrine/teaching of the first-mentioned sect concerning the Eucharist, neither do I see the receiving of Communion to be merely symbolic. To do so would be to ignore the clear teaching of 1Corinthians 11:17-34 in which the apostle Paul chastises the Corinthian believers for receiving the Communion in an unworthy manner and writes that to do so brings judgment upon the recipient…to include physical illness and even death (verses 27-30).

 Mere symbolism won’t kill you.

 So, what exactly is the Eucharist? Is it a holy sacrament? Is it a powerless ritual? I have come to believe that it likely is, strictly speaking, neither; rather, it is an observance and proclamation in memory of Jesus and His redemptive work that is best received with reverence, gratitude, and a pure heart. And when a fellowship of believers receives the Communion in this manner, Jesus is present.

 So where does that leave me?

 I find that I can no longer, in good conscience, receive the Eucharist in either of these kinds of churches. But I also desire to experience the presence of Jesus in this special way shared with other believers.

 Fortunately, I have come into contact with a small group of godly people who are passionate about Jesus. Because we do not live in the same town, or even in the same state, we meet regularly, remotely, via the internet. We share our lives and our faith journeys during our time together and recently have expressed our desire to receive Communion collectively. No ritual. No priests needed to consecrate the elements. Just a handful of garden-variety lovers of Jesus who want to share a sacred moment together.

 And that’s what the Eucharist is to me.

 Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com