Communion

Homily for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gallons of ink have been spilled on commentaries about the reading from Genesis that we hear today. It is the second of two creations stories that we find in the opening pages of the Book of Genesis. The second is decidedly different than the first. In the first, male and female humans were the last thing that God created. In the second, it seems that God created Adam before he created the other creatures of the earth. After creating Adam, God noticed that Adam was lonely. First God created all manner of creatures to keep Adam from loneliness. Eventually, God created Eve as his companion by fashioning a woman from Adam’s rib. Metaphorically speaking, man and woman, ish and ishah, walk side by side. The first time the words “man” and “woman” appear in the Bible is in this second story.

The point of this second story is that man and woman were originally meant to be in communion with one another. Their relationship was despoiled when sin entered the world. As a result, that which was originally meant to be a matter of spiritual and physical communion became something that was often disrupted and torn apart, what we commonly call divorce.

Just as Adam was not meant to be alone, we are not meant to be alone. From the moment of our birth, when the doctor first cut the umbilical cord that tied us to our mother, our lives are characterized by a search to be with the other. As infants and toddlers, we form a bond with our parents. As we grow older, we begin seeking a different kind of bond with friends our own age. This search for friendship most often results in forming an intimate bond with a mate. For most this is accomplished when we enter into marriage with another. For those who choose celibacy, the companionship of God is their goal. However, no matter what our vocation in life, we are not and were not meant to wander through this life alone. We, like Adam and Eve, were meant to be in communion with another.

The very word communion, cum unitas, means “with unity.” Each time we gather around the table of the Lord, we enter into communion with our Lord and Savior as well as with each other, a community of believers.

Each relationship, each communion that exists in our lives brings us closer to the ultimate relationship; namely, our relationship with God. The second reading for the liturgy this Sunday speaks of how God sought communion with us by becoming one of us, taking on human flesh with all of its limitations. Jesus becomes our brother. Wishing to lead us to glory, he suffered and died for us. Now that which Adam lost is once again available to us. Through our communion with Jesus we regain access to God, our Father, and look forward to the day when we will once again enter the Garden of Paradise for which God originally intended us.

Our Eucharist is the pledge that God gives us for our future. We receive communion; we are united with Jesus through the sacrament of consecrated bread and wine. That union points us in the direction of the future when our communion will be complete as we live for all eternity with the Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator