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The form of the Christian life is Eucharistic, or Holy Communion. The Eucharist signifies the shape of the true Christian life.
Life in Christ is to be lived Eucharistically. Pseudo-Macarius,4th Century, in Homily I of hisHomolies, compares sustenance of the soul to that of the body. The body, he observes, receives life from the earth. Therefore, the body cannot sustain itself from its own resources. Pseudo-Macarius proceeds to note that the soul must be "fed spiritually and progress by growing spiritually unto the Lord and be adorned by the ineffable garments of heavenly beauty flowing out of the Godhead [i.e., the Holy Trinity], without that food in joy and tranquility, the soul cannot clearly live." So, as the earth sustains the body, the Godhead flows with sustenance for the soul.
Pseudo-Macarius refers to several passages on spiritual sustenance, among them St. John 6.35 and St. John 4.10. St. John 6.35 reads, "Jesus said, `I am the bread that gives life. Anyone who comes to me will never be hungry. Anyone who believes in me will never be thirsty" (WE). St. John 4.10 reads, "Jesus said to her, "You do not know what God has to give. You do not know Who said to you, 'Give Me a drink.' If you knew, you would have asked Him. He would have given you living water" (NLV). Then, again, Pseudo-Macarius accents the essentiality of receiving spiritual nurture from the Godhead: "Woe ... to the soul if it finds its whole being in its own nature and trusts solely in its own operations, refusing the participation of the Divine Spirit because it does not have the eternal and divine life as a vital part of itself."
A monk complained to his Abbot about lack of spiritual vitality, even though the monk had sincere motives and longings for the life of the Blessed Spirit. The Abbot took the monk to the shore of the sea, and they stood on a rocky crag overlooking the water. The Abbot placed a sieve in the hand of the monk, and he told the monk, "Cast the sieve into the ocean." The monk threw the sieve into the sea. Slowly, the sieve sunk. The Abbot spoke, "My son, the only way to enjoy the flowing life of the Godhead is by becoming one with It through surrendering to the vast Mystery of the Divine. Cast yourself into the Living Waters of the Godhead and, becoming one with the Depths, you shall be filled with the Life and Light of the Blessed Spirit. However, your good intentions and sincere motives will not lead to the life your soul aspires to enjoy. You must engage spiritual disciplines that will lead you to surrender progressively."
The Eucharistic life, the normal life of people in the Church, is the life for every Christian. That the churches so easily accept "nominal discipleship" among both church members and church leaders does not speak well of professed faithfulness to the Gospel of Christ. Sadly, to be deeply and ardently spiritual makes one an oddity in many Christian congregations. And, we need many more ardently spiritual men and women among the clergy, also.
Every Christian is meant to plunge beneath the matters of institution and doctrine to imbibe and eat of the Flowing Life of the Godhead, growing up into Christ in all matters, as St. Paul says in Ephesians 4.15: "... we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ...” (ESV). This growing into Christ in all things is the normal Christian life, the Eucharistic image of Christian discipleship.
*OneLife writings are offered by Brian K. Wilcox, a United Methodist pastor serving in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. Brian lives a vowed contemplative life with his two dogs, Bandit Ty and St. Francis, in North Florida. OneLife writings are for anyone seeking to live and share love, joy, and peace in the world and in devotion to God as she or he best understands God.
**Material from Pseudo-Macarius is from Pseudo-Macarius: The Fifty Spiritual Homilies, Ed. and Trans. George A. Maloney, S.J., The Classics of Western Spirituality.
The Peace of Christ to All!
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