Holy Communion is a Pledge of Future Incorruptibility

Deacon Les
Homily

WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF EASTER (C)
21 APRIL 2010

John 6: 35 - 40

[John 6:35] Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.
[John 6:36] But I told you that although you have seen (me), you do not believe.
[John 6:37] Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
[John 6:38] because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me.
[John 6:39] And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it (on) the last day.
[John 6:40] For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him (on) the last day."


At baptism, we are freed from separation from God through original sin. Moreover, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, by whose power the Blessed Trinity dwells in our souls, infusing them with the very life of God.

As natural food nourishes our human lives, so does the Word of God nourish the divine life within us. In today’s Gospel, Our Lord states:

[John 6:35] ... "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.

We grow in belief in Jesus through scripture, spiritual reading, and a disciplined prayer life. We grow in the divine life given to us in baptism through prayer and the sacraments, and by the Holy Eucharist in particular.

As we progress through this, the wayfaring state, our bodies are subject to sickness, debilitation, and finally, corruption. This is a consequence of the proclivity of our fallen nature to commit sin, resulting in the actual sins that we do commit. The connection between lack of or lesser holiness and bodily corruption has been manifested to us by Our Lord in reverse: there are scores of saints of great virtue and holiness whose bodily remains have undergone little or even no corruption even centuries after they have experienced physical death.

In 1 Corinthians 15, we read:

[1 Cor 15:53] ...that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality.
[1 Cor 15:54] And when this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about: "Death is swallowed up in victory.
[1 Cor 15:55] Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. We have the promise of Our Lord that our corruptible bodies will be clothed in incorruptibility, as it is His will that we live forever with the Blessed Trinity in heaven.

A foretaste of incorruptibility is granted to each of us whenever we partake worthily of the Body and Blood of Our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ in Holy Communion. Each time we approach Our Lord in Holy Communion, we remind ourselves of these words of 1 Corinthians 15. We take into our corruptible bodies that which is incorruptible, as a pledge of our eternal salvation and incorruptibility. An appropriate prayer before receiving Holy Communion is as follows:

I forgive all who have injured me, and I beg pardon of all whom I have injured: especially any whom I may have scandalized.

Let not the partaking of Your most spotless body and Your most precious blood, which I, Lord Jesus Christ, all unworthy presume to receive, turn to my judgment and condemnation. Rather, through Your infinite mercy, compassion, kindness, and love, may they be for me a pledge unto salvation; a saving plea unto forgiveness; a well-taken remedy for mind, body, and spirit. Amen.