Eucharist and Unity
by Fr. Erasto Fernandez
That the Eucharist is the sacrament of unity should be a foregone conclusion for every Christian familiar with St. John's Passion narrative. We all remember how during the Last Supper Jesus prayed specifically that his disciples remain united in him, and through him with the Father. "Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us… I pray not only for these, but for those also who through their words will believe in me. May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me. I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one. With me in them and you in me, may they be so completely one that the world will realize that it was you who sent me, and that I loved them as much as you loved me." Knowing how difficult this unity is in actual practice, Jesus prays the Father to "keep them one, as I am in you and you are in me" - the same unity that exists within the Blessed Trinity itself.
Symbolism
We are all aware of the meaning of the symbolism of the bread and wine, the main elements used in making Jesus, the Risen Lord, present again at the Eucharist. Just as many grains of wheat need to be crushed and ground into flour, which when mixed produces the one bread, and just as several grapes need to be crushed to produce wine - so all the members who participate in the Eucharist become one body in Christ. This is also the prayer that is said as part of the Eucharistic Prayer III: we pray the Father to send down his Spirit to mould all Christians into one body, one spirit in Christ.
When talking of the Christian community Paul compares it to a human body that is made up of different parts, each having its own proper function. While these various functions are different, yet they all work together for the good of the entire body. Thus it is that the Spirit distributes his gifts differently to various members of the Church - so that they all work together for the benefit of the entire Body of Christ. It is worth noticing that when describing the inner life of the Church, Paul uses the analogy of an organic body, but while talking of the structure he refers to a building constructed with several bricks. In this latter case, the unity is somewhat external, while in the former the unity is organic, living and pulsating with the same life that is in God. Jesus brings out this last point through the analogy of the vine and the branches and prays his disciples to 'remain in me'. For just as a branch that is cut off from the tree withers and dies, so will anyone who remains cut off from Christ and his brethren.
Eucharist Produces or Presumes Unity?
This is a further question that always comes up in connection with Christian unity: does the Eucharist presume unity, in the sense that if there is no unity, there cannot be a real Eucharistic celebration? This is the point that Paul seems to make in his fiery communication with the Corinthian community: "when you gather together as a Church, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat, since when the time comes to eat, everyone is in such a hurry to start his own supper that one person goes hungry while another is getting drunk...And so, everyone is to recollect himself before eating this bread and drinking this cup; because a person who eats and drinks without recognizing the Body is eating and drinking his own condemnation." In other words, if one discerns a lack of genuine unity in the group, and that he himself is the cause, he should refrain from celebrating the Eucharist. In fact, if he does, it would even cease to be Eucharist at all for him.
The other side of the coin is that, granting that there is at least a minimal amount of unity in the celebrating community, the Eucharistic celebration will cement them into a deeper unity, since it also produces unity. This is the understanding behind the value of celebrating of Eucharist with other Christian groups. Most of us would have had the experience of Eucharist as a profoundly binding force, as is even mentioned in the Preface for Reconciliation: 'Your Spirit changes our hearts, enemies begin to speak to one another, those who were estranged join hands in friendship and nations seek the way of peace together.' If the Spirit does bring Catholics celebrating Eucharist together into such a deep unity, there is no reason to feel that the Spirit cannot unite people separated by even greater divisions, into one faith-filled body. This of course, requires much greater cooperation from the divided parties, as God never forces our will; if we bring the minimum desire for such a deep and lasting unity, it will surely be a reality. Unfortunately, such a desire requires great detachment and a readiness to 'lose' on different levels - one's material possessions, prestige, a sense of being in the right, position and power and a host of other benefits. Often this is what prevents the Eucharist from producing unity among Christians.
But where people are ready and willing to allow God's Spirit to prevail, marvelous examples of a deep and lasting unity are seen. Over the centuries, several splinter groups have rejoined the parent Church of Rome and now live in peace and harmony. The reunion of at least a part of the Jacobite Church in India to the Catholic Church in the 1930s is an example of this. Even in our own day, regular meetings are held among Christian Churches, all of which ensures that the thrust towards a complete unity is alive and there is hope that one day the prayer of Jesus will be fulfilled.
Unity in Diversity
Yet, if such a deep and pervasive unity is to be achieved we have to realize that the kind of unity Jesus prays for is a unity in diversity: it is not the same as uniformity. The tendency in all of us is to equate unity with uniformity. However, from the very beginning, a marvellous unity in diversity existed among the various communities established by the apostles. Gradually, various divisions arose because of different reasons; could the main reason have been that Christians forgot what the very nature of unity is all about? Jesus prayed for a unity among Christians based on the unity existing within the Blessed Trinity. But here we see that Father, Son and Spirit are three distinct Persons, each different from the Other and yet sharing their nature so fully that there is only one God. While we humans would never be able to attain that kind of unity, yet it is the ideal that Jesus places before us.
In order to achieve this kind of unity in diversity, we would need to learn to value differences. Another quality we would need is genuine trust in the other. Because the other person has a different way of expressing the truth, we should not be quick to believe that he is wrong and that only our way of expressing it is correct. If in the parable of the Wheat and the Weeds Jesus was prepared to allow the weeds to grow unchecked until harvest time, even though weeds are harmful to the growth of the wheat, how much more would he not want different varieties of wheat (but genuine wheat) growing side by side?
It is worth investigating why people are so intolerant of differences, especially where worship and service of God and neighbour are concerned. Maybe what we would discover underneath all our suspicion of one another is our own insecurities and lack of self-acceptance. Tolerating differences is not the same as compromising with the Truth. The latter can never be tolerated while the former calls for great inner emotional strength and assurance.
Again, the kind of unity Jesus wishes and prays for is not a 'live and let live' kind of approach where everyone does whatever he wills. It calls for a genuine respect for and trust in the other, and a readiness to collaborate at whatever levels and in whatever measure is possible at the present moment.
Practical Ways of Promoting Unity
One simple way of fostering unity is to pray for other Christian churches [Join the HSI Prayer Circle and pray for Christian Unity], to look on their work with appreciation and gratitude, to thank the Lord for the people he touches through their ministries and so on. Further, we could meet with some of the members of other Churches and pray with them, or meet them over a cup of tea or in other forms of sharing. Knowing one another better and removing fear and misunderstanding as much as possible would in fact, go a long way towards building bridges and breaking down barriers. If we could also share some ministries together in a fraternal manner - that would help too.
The key point that we need to keep in mind is that celebrating the Eucharist as Jesus wanted us to, will not let us rest without doing something to further Christian unity within our own communities and also among various communities around us. Success is not ours to guarantee, but we can certainly make the necessary effort while leaving the rest to Jesus and his powerful Spirit.
Where love and charity thrive, there God abides
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Copyright © Fr. Erasto Fernandez. All rights reserved.
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