By Bill Mefford
It was reported on Tuesday that a Catholic priest in Florence, South Carolina refused Vice-President Biden communion because he disagrees with Biden’s stance on abortion, which actually continues to be quite moderate relative to most of the Democratic candidates. Now, I do not want to shame the priest for not offering communion to Vice-President Biden as I see many doing on Twitter and elsewhere, but let’s be honest; he is just following an exclusionary, elitist, non-liberating gospel that judges before it loves, demands before it welcomes, and represses before it transforms.
As liberationists, we are called to something higher.
From the time I was a child, receiving communion was my favorite part of being at church. In fact, for many years, especially recently, communion was the ONLY thing I liked about church (except for the people, well, most of the people). Having spent my formative years in the grips of evangelicalism and singing praise songs that had a great sound, but with lyrics were at best theologically suspect, I have grown to detest most church music. Hymns sound like funeral dirges and praise songs are thinly-layered sugar pills meant to satiate us emotionally.
And I am literally sermoned out. No more please. Occasionally I hear something challenging or engaging, but I am cool when there is no sermon.
So, for me at least, communion was and is my favorite part of being at church. Communion connects me. It lifts me out of myself to unite with the Spirit of God; to know that I am loved and I am faithfully carrying on a very specific request Jesus made of his disciples, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Communion also draws me out and reminds me I am part of a worldwide and historic Body of Christ. This is a Body that I love passionately and one I am also so frustrated with - like when a priest in South Carolina denies someone communion. When I receive communion I am walking with my siblings and parents in the faith - people who risked so much more than I could ever dream of and who walked so faithfully with Jesus and the oppressed and marginalized.
Communion has pierced me for my own hatreds and biases and judgments. Communion has set me free to love people more passionately. Communion has humbled me as I reflect on the very small part I play in this enormous group of people who share one love and one Lord across cultures and across oceans.
I am particularly thankful for the many times I have led the Great Thanksgiving for others. Yes, I am not ordained and yes I have led communion services, both formal and informal. I was empowered to do so by the United Methodist Church for a time when I was a pastor and Wesley Foundation Director, but I did it numerous other times at much less formal times without any backing of any denomination. And yes, it was just as powerful, if not more so. If we are part of a priesthood of believers, then we are all charged to administer the sacraments.
I will always remember the time I led communion for a couple of homeless guys. Me and a good friend of mine from seminary, Ken Suhr, were hanging out with in down town Lexington and we ended up staying the night at the church we attended. Before we all fell asleep on the floor I got some orange Fanta and old Ritz crackers and we did what Jesus asked us to do: we remembered his gift of life to us. Man, that was a good time.
I remember several years back when I visited Honduras. I was part of an interfaith group of leaders who were highlighting the struggle of the Honduran people. We went to a Catholic church for worship and the priest there, who believes in and practices liberation, invited all of us to the table for communion. That was so powerful because I knew that the priest could have easily (and safely) denied us based on his religious tradition, but he chose the Body over denomination. He chose love over doctrine.
And that is what liberationists are doing today. While the Franklin Grahams of the world want to weaponize communion as an act of political gain for one party over another, liberationists will welcome everyone to the table for the table belongs to Jesus and not to us. We will welcome the homeless, immigrants, regardless of their legal status, those who are incarcerated, and the poor from across the world.
And liberationists go further. To the priest who denied Joe Biden, we welcome you.
To Rep. Matt Gaetz who utters all kinds of nonsense in a desperate bid to impress trump, we welcome you.
To Attorney General Barr, who refuses to be anything less than trump’s private attorney, we welcome you.
To donald trump, who uses people like tissue and then throws them away, we welcome you.
To any remaining members of the leadership of ISIS, we welcome you.
And to the exclusionary, religious elitists who want to build walls around the sacraments that Jesus wants to share with everyone, we reject your walls, but we do not reject you.
You are welcome to Jesus’ table for all really does mean all.