Topic: Eucharist

Jesus’ message is simple, but profound: come to me, and I will give you rest. This passage is also familiar to us, as it is cited in the Comfortable Words of our celebration of the Holy Eucharist. But what does Jesus mean by “rest”?

As sinful human beings, we have a unique talent for making ourselves and our needs the center of attention, if not the center of our universe. Holy Communion should shatter our illusion that we are the most important thing in our lives.

Every sinful instinct we have tells us we can do it all on our own. We are beholden to our pride. We are so held captive by our pride, that we have a whole month to celebrate it! The bread of man is this: you can define who you are; you can define your identity; you can do whatever you want and expect the world to affirm you; you can define your own meaning of life; you get to define your meaning of love, your meaning of truth, your meaning of justice. All the answers, and ultimately your salvation, are found deep inside yourself. The Holy Eucharist is a repudiation of all of this, everything our culture stands for.

Lesson given by the Rev. Nathan Stomberg on 3 Epiphany (1/23/2022). We at Holy Communion Anglican Church observe the Holy Eucharist every week. But what exactly is the Eucharist, and what does it mean for us in the Anglican tradition?

We claim to join the saints in following Christ. Are we willing to pay the price for that? Is the eternal reward something we really desire? Do we really just want to live a quiet, comfortable life where we don’t take any risks, and we don’t offend anyone, and we just minimize the amount we suffer until we pass away? Or do we want to join the saints in the beatific vision? Listen as the Rector reminds us of the importance of All Saints’ Sunday.