Friends, Despite all the frustration over doctrine & practice in this Communion, let's not forget the true Sacrament spoken of by C.S. Lewis: "Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbour, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat - the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden." ~ The Weight of Glory How do we "adore the blessed Sacrament" of Jesus-in-the-person-of-others? Do you welcome - and rejoice in the presence of - newcomers? Do you make the lonely & lost feel completely at home in your heart? Is your constant greeting: "Peace be with you"? Are you more ready to hand out good company than spare change?
A frequent puzzle of both head and heart that one should try to solve when outside, each day, is to look at every person and think "that could be the Lord". None of us know what He really looks like, and at any moment He could simply cause Himself to walk upon the Earth in cognito. Would we brush Him by, or greet Him? Even more, will we pass by on the other side when an Image Of God is before us? We can think "that might be the Lord" of a random stranger, and yet in a sense the stranger already is the (image of the) Lord. The person's "otherness" conveys God to us, because that person is entirely formed by God for God. Relationship! Where does it all go in the fierce doctrinal storms?
My goal is summed up in the Baptismal Covenant, "To seek and serve Christ in all persons, and to respect the dignity of every human being". Most days I fall short. Jeff