"...So turn from youthful desires and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord with purity of heart. Avoid foolish and ignorant debates, for you know that they breed quarrels. A slave of the Lord should not quarrel, but should be gentle with everyone, able to teach, tolerant, correcting opponents with kindness. It may be that God will grant them repentance that leads to knowledge and truth.." 2 Timothy 2 20:26.
A friend of mine was studying this passage today and shared it with me. It was good timing and a great reminder. If I am being honest with myself, all too often I find myself in the midst of quarrels and foolish debates in regards to faith. While I do believe I am right about the beliefs of the Catholic Church, I have to respect the beliefs of others. Just like I, they too hold fast to their own beliefs and customs.
One thing that was brought up in our conversation was the "true presence" in the Eucharist. My friend is Lutheran and explained that they too, believe that the body and blood of Christ are present in the Eucharist. However, they also believe that at the same time, it is still bread and wine. Although the Eucharist does have the appearance of being bread and wine, as Catholics, we believe it is no longer bread and wine and becomes the body, blood, soul and divinity after the priest prays over it. As we continued our discussion, she stated, "I sometimes think we get too caught up in the little details and we allow them to cause such a great division. I think Jesus must be looking down at us right now shaking his head in frustration on such details".
Is she right about our inclination to get caught up in the little details? Yes. Most definitely. Many of us, myself included, get too caught up in the small stuff that we prevent our hearts from latching onto the bigger picture. Is she right about the "True Presence" being a small detail. That is where I would disagree. In fact, it was so far from being a small detail that it eventually led to the separation of Martin Luther from the Catholic Church, leading to the Reformation. While my knowledge regarding Martin Luther is very limited, I do know that his beliefs on Transubstantiation, The Eucharist, and True Presence were key elements leading to his separation from the universal church.
My argument in regards to the Eucharist "being a small detail" is this: Why be Lutheran? If the most significant reason that the founder of the Lutheran religion left Catholicism was over this was such a "small detail", why was it significant enough for he and others to leave? If it was such a "small detail" and so insignificant, why not be Catholic? Why not be Baptist? Why not be Methodist?
While we differ on our beliefs, I can't help but wonder how many people are missing out because they view the Eucharist and the sacraments as a small and tiny details. I just thank God that my heart has been opened to the promise of "knowledge and truth" that accompanies the acceptance of His church, the Eucharist and the sacraments.
