The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.

—Colossians 1:15-23 (TNIV)

Here we have a well developed description of Jesus as being fully human and fully divine several years before the first gospels were written and not even 30 years after Jesus’ crucifixion. Notice how it echoes the Prologue in John’s Gospel (John 1:1-18). Note too the Resurrection hope that is contained in this passage. Paul tells us that Jesus is the firstborn among the dead and that through his blood we have our hope of joining him in his resurrected state. Here again the themes of faith, hope, and (by implication) love are dominant in Paul’s writings.

Moreover, this is why Paul calls his message Good News. God has rescued us from sin, darkness, alienation, and separation from him. This is why we have a glorious hope in Christ. It is not because we are somehow superior or “better people” than unbelievers. In fact, it is just the opposite. Christians have hope because we believe God’s message to us that he has acted decisively on our behalf in the death and resurrection of Jesus. We know that if left to our own devices we have no hope at all. And because we love others, we want them to have life too.

What thoughts and feelings are evoked in you as you read this? How you answer will provide you with good insight into the state of both your faith and your relationship with Jesus.

Lady Continence, to receive and embrace me, stretched out her pious hands [which were] filled with numerous good examples for me to follow. There were large numbers of boys and girls, and a multitude of all ages. In every one of them was Continence herself, in no sense barren but “the fruitful mother of children,” the joys born of you, Lord, her husband. And she smiled on me with a smile of encouragement as if to say: “Are you incapable of doing what these men and women have done? Do you think them capable of achieving this by their own resources and not by the Lord their God? Why are you relying on yourself, only to find yourself unreliable? Cast yourself upon him, do not be afraid. He will not withdraw himself so that you fall. Make the leap without anxiety, he will catch you and heal you.”

—Augustine, Confessions, 8.11.27

In a very poignant way, Augustine reminds us here why the Christian life, from the very beginning to the very end, is never to be lived alone.

When, through my tears, I began to tell him something of the years during which I betrayed him, he lovingly placed his hand over my mouth in order to silence me. His one concern was that I should muster courage enough to pick myself up again, to try and carry on walking in spite of my weakness, and to believe in his love in spite of my fears. But there was one thing he did, the value of which cannot be measured, something truly unbelievable, something only God could do. While I continued to have doubts about my own salvation, to tell him that my sins could not be forgiven, and that justice, too, had its rights, he appeared on the Cross before me one Friday towards midday. I was at its foot, and found myself bathed with the blood which flowed from the gaping holes made in his flesh by the nails. He remained there for three hours until he expired. I realized that he had died in order that I might stop turning to him with questions about justice, and believe instead, deep within myself, that the scales had come down overflowing on the side of love, and that even though all, through unbelief or madness, had offended him, he had conquered for ever, and drawn all things everlastingly to himself. Then later, so that I should never forget that Friday and abandon the Cross, as one forgets a postcard on the table or a picture in the wornout book that had been feeding one’s devotion, he led me on to discover that in order to be with me continually, not simply as an affectionate remembrance but as a living presence, he had devised the Eucharist. What a discovery that was!

—Carlo Carretto, In Search of the Beyond

Yesterday we saw in Carretto’s writing, the necessary prerequisite of having a saving faith—the difficult and painful task of acknowledging our sin and our utter inability to fix ourselves. Today, we start to see the Good News of Jesus Christ. In vivid imagery that startles our modern senses, Carretto reminds us of the basis for our Christian hope—the Cross of Jesus Christ. In the cross, God has satisfied his Holy Wrath and his Holy Love. It is simply mind-boggling and it is simply True.

Carretto also tells us why he thinks regular participation in the Eucharist is so important. We come to the Table to feed on Christ so that he can dwell in us and remind us of his love and his Presence. We have Christ’s Holy Spirit living in us, feeding us, and reminding us of his Truth. It is a glorious gift of God and we are to feed on him in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving.

No one may share the eucharist with us unless they believe that what we teach is true, unless they are washed in the regenerating waters of baptism for the remission of sins, and unless they live in accordance with the principles given us by Christ. We do not consume the eucharistic bread and wine as if it were ordinary food and drink, for we have been taught that as Jesus Christ our Savior became a human being of flesh and blood by the power of the Word of God, so also the food that our flesh and blood assimilate for their nourishment becomes the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus by the power of his own words contained in the prayer of thanksgiving.

The apostles, in their recollections, which are called gospels, handed down to us what Jesus commanded them to do. They tell us that he took bread, gave thanks and said: “Do this in memory of me. This is my body.” In the same way he took the cup, he gave thanks and said: “This is my blood.” The Lord gave this command to them alone. Ever since then we have constantly reminded one another these things. The rich among us help the poor and we are always united. For all that we receive we praise the Creator of the universe through his Son Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit.

—Justin Martyr (ca. mid-second century), First Apology, 6

Justin’s rationale for placing restrictions on who may participate in the holy Eucharist destroys any argument for allowing the so-called “communion of the unbaptized.” Notice here the central role of faith. Those who partake of Christ’s Body and Blood must be believers and their faith leads them to have been baptized. It is faith that leads people to the Table. It is faith that consumes the elements, believing them to be the Real Presence of Jesus himself. It is faith that allows our Lord to be Present to us, strengthening us in our weaknesses.

Second, notice the authoritative role of Christ in this passage. Justin is concerned that they preserve the tradition handed down to them from the Lord himself through his apostles. Given that in Christ we have the privilege of becoming adopted children of God, this is not unlike preserving cherished family traditions. Justin is reminding us here of one of our most sacred and cherished traditions as the household of God.

This is why the rationale of hospitality is a bad idea for allowing unbaptized and/or unbelieving people to take communion. It simply does not make sense for an unbeliever to want to partake of the bread and the wine. If a person does not believe in Jesus, what would be the point of coming to the Table? Communion is a means of grace which perforce relies on faith. Everyone is invited to a saving faith in Jesus which will grant them access to his Table. Until that time, we can show unbelievers hospitality in a number of other ways, but not at our Lord’s Table, not until their eyes of faith have been opened and they believe the bread and the wine to be the sacraments they are: outward and visible signs of inward and invisible realities. Offering unbelievers or the unbaptized communion on the basis of hospitality completely misses this critical point.

As Justin points out, partaking of the Eucharist should be a regular part of our salvation story. It is a time to literally feed on our Lord Jesus so that he can work within us to remind us of our faith and hope that is in him. What a wondrous and glorious gift! Thanks be to God!