Holy Mysterion

Here at FAC, the first Sunday of every month is an invitation to mystery. The mystery of Holy Communion.

For nearly two thousand years, theologians have tried to solve it. Some insist the bread and cup become the actual body and blood of Christ. Others term it a “spiritual feeding” on Christ. Still others say He is simply present in an unusual way as we remember His death for us. The church has been trying to lay it all out in black and white for nearly two thousand years, but the case remains unsolved.

No wonder. The Greek word used in the early church for sacrament is mysterion, usually translated mystery. It indicates that through sacraments, God discloses things that are beyond human capacity to know through reason alone (gbod.org). In a way we can’t fully understand, He uses communion as a “means of grace” to help open us up to Himself and His work.

So as for what exactly happens at Holy Communion…it seems we ought to let it be a mystery. God’s ways can be hard to define. Sometimes only a mind as large as His can fully understand what He’s doing.

Instead, the next time the plate of bread is coming our way and the tray of juice is passed… we might do better to shiver at the inexplicable: Someone is present; Something is happening. Christ is attending by His Spirit, grace is flowing, the ancient sacrifice is still pleading for us. And then we should take up the broken bread and the wine-red juice and, as the old Methodists said, “feed on Him in our hearts by faith.”

For it’s a mystery… a mystery that should keep us on the edge of our seats the first Sunday of every month at FAC.