The Consumerist

A young person said that their peers were threatened by becoming "consumerists" of holy communion. You can take it or leave it. It might make you feel better. We consume pills, drugs, booze, sex, movies, TV, music, and it all might make us feel better, for the moment. But none of these things will really change us. Communion is not supposed to be a pill for an upset soul.

Communion is the very opposite of self-focus. It is anything "but" all about me. It is a matter of touching the divine. How so? Well, Jesus said, "This is my body, which is given up for you." It was not just his body, with good things to fix us, but it was a body given up for us. All around him were nasty people who wanted their own self-will. Jesus was a nuisance or a threat. His response. Love. He forgave them, including the ones who nailed him to the cross and divided up his belongings. He did not hate or seek revenge, or curse anyone out, or even feel particularly sorry for himself. He died rather than hurt people. So impressive was his response that 2100 years later people still admire, talk about and even want to be more like him. The rest of the nasty people at the cross, no one talks about them at all.

Now, many people believe that Jesus' actions and even his person were divine, and still are. What he did was Godness in the flesh. So that wafer you eat is not just to fix you. It is to change you. Touch divine things and you get more divine. Touch dirt and you get dirtier. Now becoming more divine does not mean you will feel better right away. You might feel like your life is a bit more of a cross for a while. That is what transformation is all about. You live more for love of others, you forgive those who are nasty, and you chose to love even when you don't feel like it. Know anyone like that? Rare, those people. It is a tough way to grow. It is also the only way to grow. No wonder we avoid receiving holy communion on any regular basis. But what if transformation ultimately is quite a bit more happiness than you could ever imagine? Touch the divine too often and you might find out.