Articulating Christ's Body

Sermon for the Sunday in the Octave of Corpus Christi

"The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper

was not by Christ's ordinance

reserved,

carried about,

lifted up 

or worshipped."

Does that sound familiar?

And yet,

we do reserved the Body of Christ,

we do carry it about,

we do lift it up

and we worship Christ

in the Most Holy Sacrament. 

Are we being wrong?

Are we being idolatrous?

Are we blaspheming?

[PAUSE]

One reason why 

we Anglican Catholics 

do not regard 

the Thirty-Nine Articles

as being authoritative 

is because of their ambiguity.

They were designed to appease

polarising factions 

within the Church of England.

They were designed

to stop the struggle 

for the Soul of England

to be a war within the streets.

And that's why 

the Articles have 

a historical importance 

that has allowed 

Anglican Protestants 

to walk with Anglican Catholics 

until comparatively recently.

So they are necessarily ambiguous. 

And this Article 

about the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper,

which we Catholics 

commonly call the Mass,

is deliberately ambiguous. 

It's true to say

that Our Lord

at the Last Supper

does not tell His Disciples

to reserve His Body

nor to carry it about

nor to lift it up

nor to worship it.

Neither does He expressly 

forbid it

even though He knows full well

the tendency of human beings

to fall into Idolatry.

He remembers the Golden Calf incident 

all too clearly.

And He does not forbid 

the reservation,

the carrying around,

the lifting up

or the worship

of His Body.

Why not?

Why does He not forbid it?

[PAUSE]

There is three underlying factors

behind how we Catholics

treat the Sacrament of the Mass.

Simply, it's Faith, Hope and Love.

By our Faith in Christ

we believe that 

what we behold

in the Sacrament of the Altar 

really, truly and fully 

is the Body and Blood

of Christ.

It is what He promised:

His flesh and blood

so that we might have life within us.

By our Hope,

we believe that showing people 

the Body and Blood of Christ,

displaying our faith

that what seems to be 

a disc of unleavened bread

is truly the Body of Christ,

we may stir in the hearts

of people hungry for hope 

the truth of Christ's presence with us.

By our Love, 

we reserve that Sacrament 

so that those who are unable 

to come to Mass 

may partake of the Body of Christ

and we carry it

to those who are too sick

to receive it.

And we do not worship 

bread and wine

because we believe 

that they have been transformed 

into the true Body and Blood of Christ,

Body, Soul, Mind, Humanity and Divinity

all that pertains to

the Person of the Son.

And the Son is God

and God is to be worshipped 

for our benefit

not His.

[PAUSE]

No. Christ does not command

that we should take the Sacrament 

of His Supper

and reserve it,

carry it about,

lift it up

and worship it.

He does not command that

but He does give us Himself

to be present with us

and to be consumed by us

so that we might love God

and neighbour.

We reserve the Love of God 

for our neighbour to eat.

We carry about the Love of God 

to our neighbour in his frailty.

We lift up the Love of God

for our neighbour to see.

We worship the Love of God

for our neighbour to share.

This is why

we put the Consecrated Host

into a monstrance 

for people to see

and be blessed 

so that one day they might receive.

[PAUSE]

The Articles of Religion 

are not authoritative 

for us Anglican Catholics 

especially when they give the impression 

that what we do is not 

part of the Catholic Religion. 

We don't need to hold them now

because, we pray,

we know better than going to war

with Anglican Protestants

whom we love despite our separation.

Nonetheless,

the Real, Objective and Physical Presence 

of Our Lord in the Most Holy Sacrament 

should draw us closer to Christ

in faith, hope and love for our neighbour.

Food for thought?

Or food for prayer?