Inter-Communion
When I was in high school, after hearing yet another story about the Pope's failure to do something or other to be "inclusive," I complained - and wasn't and am not Catholic - "I'm sick and tired of these Jewish lesbians who want to become priests!"
So it will always be, I suppose. Protestants will always be angry with Catholics for being Catholic, and then complain about being excluded. As Fr. Jim Tucker writes,
And this brings me to the point I want to make now: the ecclesial nature of Holy Communion. Sharing the Eucharist is more than just a Communion with Jesus Christ Who is received: it is a Communion with every other person receiving, it is a "Yes" to everything the Church believes as the Body of Christ, it is a "Yes" to everything she is as Christ's Bride. It's not enough to share some basic, lowest-common-denominator Christian beliefs: to take Communion within a given ecclesial communion is sacramentally to "sign on the dotted line," accepting the same beliefs, submitting to the same governance, incorporating ("in-body-ing") oneself into that body of believers. "Whither thou goest, I shall go." That's what the Rite of Communion means from the ecclesiological vantage point. That's one of the many reasons why intercommunion is such an absurd thing: it's fundamentally dishonest. And, so, non-Catholics are not offered Holy Communion in the Catholic Church, because they are sadly no longer in communion with us. Nor can we receive communion in their congregations, even if we are invited, until such time that they re-enter communion with the Successor of Peter, who exercises the ministry of unity within Christ's Church.
"But we're all Christians," people sometimes object. Yes, and that's precisely why sectarianism and denominationalism is such an evil and tragic thing: every break in communion is a defiance of the oneness of Christ's Body, the Church. Splits, fragmentations, heresies, schisms, and spin-offs have been happening since the days of the New Testament, and the Church has been denouncing these breaks ever since, as contrary to the will of God. The Church yearns to be in communion with the whole world, for the whole world to answer "Amen" to her creed, for the whole world to submit to the authority of her keys, for the whole world to attend to the voice of the shepherd whom Christ has appointed to feed His sheep. But until that ecclesial communion occurs, sacramental communion will remain selective.
So it will always be, I suppose. Protestants will always be angry with Catholics for being Catholic, and then complain about being excluded. As Fr. Jim Tucker writes,
And this brings me to the point I want to make now: the ecclesial nature of Holy Communion. Sharing the Eucharist is more than just a Communion with Jesus Christ Who is received: it is a Communion with every other person receiving, it is a "Yes" to everything the Church believes as the Body of Christ, it is a "Yes" to everything she is as Christ's Bride. It's not enough to share some basic, lowest-common-denominator Christian beliefs: to take Communion within a given ecclesial communion is sacramentally to "sign on the dotted line," accepting the same beliefs, submitting to the same governance, incorporating ("in-body-ing") oneself into that body of believers. "Whither thou goest, I shall go." That's what the Rite of Communion means from the ecclesiological vantage point. That's one of the many reasons why intercommunion is such an absurd thing: it's fundamentally dishonest. And, so, non-Catholics are not offered Holy Communion in the Catholic Church, because they are sadly no longer in communion with us. Nor can we receive communion in their congregations, even if we are invited, until such time that they re-enter communion with the Successor of Peter, who exercises the ministry of unity within Christ's Church.
"But we're all Christians," people sometimes object. Yes, and that's precisely why sectarianism and denominationalism is such an evil and tragic thing: every break in communion is a defiance of the oneness of Christ's Body, the Church. Splits, fragmentations, heresies, schisms, and spin-offs have been happening since the days of the New Testament, and the Church has been denouncing these breaks ever since, as contrary to the will of God. The Church yearns to be in communion with the whole world, for the whole world to answer "Amen" to her creed, for the whole world to submit to the authority of her keys, for the whole world to attend to the voice of the shepherd whom Christ has appointed to feed His sheep. But until that ecclesial communion occurs, sacramental communion will remain selective.
posted by Unknown at 8:46 AM
2 Comments:
The issue about inter-communion for me as a Lutheran is not so much a problem of being excluded - last year I attended a RC church with a friend of mine, and went up to the priest and received a blessing rather than holy communion, which was wonderful - I receive communion weekly at my own church, so I don't NEED to receive it elsewhere. We have a good relationship with our neighboring RC church, and work together in many ways.
It is really a difference in eccelesiology, as Fr. Tucker's statement reveals. As a Lutheran pastor (of the ELCA, not the LC-MS), I give communion to every Christian who wishes to receive it. For ME to deny someone communion because they are not a part of my church body, because they do not fit into my hierarchical structure, would be an insult to the Holy Spirit, who blows wherever it wills and creates faith in the hearts of many people who do not share my denomination. I understand the difference between a Lutheran and RC ecclesiology, and I am not complaining about being excluded, just offering a different ecclesiology.
I am also not so sure that a multitude of denominations is an evil. Let me quote from the Augsburg Confession VII: "It is enough for the true unity of the church to agree concerning the teaching of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments. It is not necessary that human traditions, rites, or ceremonies instituted by human beings be alike everywhere." That is the difference in ecclesiology right there. So, there are Lutherans, Methodists, Catholics, Episcopalians, Baptists, Orthodox and more. As long as we have the same gospel, and the same sacraments, that diversity can be a gift to the world.
I also disagree with the image of the RC church as the mother church, and all other churches (including the Orthodox church!) as her rebellious children. But again, it's a difference of ecclesiology, and the question is, which ecclesiology is closer to the gospel truth.
I think the real difference is that most Protestants disagree with Catholics about what is actually being accomplished at communion. Based on their premises of transubstantiation and apostolic succession, I have no problems with their exclusion of other believers from the Lord's Table. I do have problems with their premises.
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