Why Do We Celebrate the Eucharist? Edmund Laldin’s Response

In my previous article, responding to the question “Why go to church?” I argued the following:

• The church provides a loving, caring, and like-minded community for the participant.
• There might not be a clear demarcation between the sacred and the profane, since the whole universe is God’s creation.
• Every human being reflects the image of God.
• Today’s church should rediscover the passion of the first-century followers to rekindle Jesus’ mission in the world.
• The institution has become irrelevant, and the post-modern pilgrims have rejected it.

The premise of this article is to elucidate the essence of the Eucharist and how participating in the common elements of bread and wine enables us to encounter the world beyond the Church. This intention will be examined through the lens of the Indian (Hindu) concept of worship and divine presence, and by interpreting “remembrance” in its liturgical context. Finally, the conclusion will bring these concepts together to consider the Eucharist and its effects in our lives.

India is a land of contradictions. It is home to hundreds of religious orders and sects, and to diverse ethnic communities. Despite these apparent differences, one unifying concept among its inhabitants is the perception of the divine image in everything and, through it, the experience of being in God’s presence. Darsana (or Darshan) is the religious belief that unites all creation. It can be translated as “being in the presence of” or “in audience with” the deity.

Derived from the Sanskrit root drś (“to see”), Darshan refers to the auspicious viewing of a deity, sacred image, holy person, or sacred site, in which the viewer receives a blessing through an active, reciprocal exchange.

In Hindu religious practice:

• Receiving a blessing: When a devotee goes to a temple for Darshan, they see the deity, who in turn “gives” Darshan by presenting itself to be seen.
• A spiritual communion: This sight is not passive but an active spiritual communion through which the devotee receives the deity’s blessings.
• Extended to people and places: The principle of Darshan extends to encounters with revered holy persons or sacred pilgrimage sites.

“It’s a gift; it’s like there’s a moment in which the thing is ready to let you see it. In India, this is called darshan. Darshan means getting a view, and if the clouds blow away, as they did once for me, and you get a view of the Himalayas from the foothills, an Indian person would say, ‘Ah, the Himalayas are giving you their Darshan’; they’re letting you have their view. This deep way of getting a sense of something takes time. It doesn’t show itself to you right away. It isn’t even necessary to know the names of things as a botanist would. It’s more important to be aware of the “suchness” of the thing; it’s a reality and a source of inspiration for creativity.”[1]

A Hindu temple is adorned with an imposing statue (murti) of a god. The statue’s piercing eyes are fixed on the devotee. The choir (pujaris) recites holy texts and sings spiritual songs. The devotee stands before the statue and, after a while, receives holy food (parshad) from the priest. Parshad is usually a piece of Indian sweets or a spoonful of dessert (halwa). Being in the divine presence allows the devotee to perceive God in everything outside the temple. Thus, a devotee remains in God’s presence through the rocks, trees, animals, and celestial bodies.

It is worth noting that Darshan is a cyclical process that unfolds as follows:

• The devotee enters the temple for prayers and Darshan.
• The devotee receives blessings and partakes in the holy food.
• The devotee leaves the temple and continues to be in audience with the divine through encounters with creation.
• The devotee returns to the temple, and the cycle begins anew.

This return to the temple constitutes the continuation of the cycle. However, each act of worship (puja) is new, for every Darshan is a unique encounter. The devotee brings their concerns, thanksgivings, petitions, and stresses from the previous week to the divine, and the ritual repeats over and over again.

The concept of Darshan can be employed to appreciate and understand the service of the Holy Eucharist. The parallels are as follows:

• The altar is Christ’s table. It occupies a prominent place and is adorned with frontals, candles, and other sacred objects.
• Worshippers are expected to bow before the altar as an act of reverence and acknowledgment of Christ’s presence.
• The choir leads the congregation in song to enhance the worship experience.
• The Holy Scriptures are read, and the preacher reflects upon them in the homily.
• Worshippers partake of the bread and wine.
• The worshipping community is then sent into the world to love and serve the Lord.

Although the rituals of the temple and the church differ in theology and purpose, both prepare their participants to perceive the divine in all aspects of life. In both, God reveals Himself to the worshipper.

The authors of the Eucharistic Prayers recognized the sacrament’s significance in uniting past, present, and future. The first part recalls the mighty deeds of God—from the beginning of the earth to Jesus’ birth. The words of institution at the Last Supper, invoking the Holy Spirit to sanctify the bread, wine, and gathered community, bring the sacrament into the present moment, right in the midst of the worshipping community. The closing paragraph offers insight into the kingdom of God, thereby leading us into the future.

In the Eucharistic prayer, the past tense is used until the words of Jesus are spoken. We read and listen that on the night Jesus was handed over to suffering and death, a death he freely accepted, Jesus, at supper with his friends, took the bread, broke the bread, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat, this is my body which is given for you.’ After supper, Jesus took the wine, and when he had given thanks, gave it to them and said, ‘Drink this all of you, this is my blood shed for all of you.’ And then there is the commandment to do this in remembrance of Jesus. The invocation of the Holy Spirit on the bread, the wine, and the gathering community is, ‘Send down your Holy Spirit on us and on these gifts that they may be for us the body and blood of Christ.’

The Holy Spirit is asked to descend into the present, while the prayer concludes with a vision of the future: “Bring us to that city of light, where you dwell with all your saints, that we, with people of every language, race, and nation, may share the banquet you have prepared for all people.” This hope and proclamation of God’s kingdom establish the Eucharist as a foretaste of the heavenly banquet through the unity of God’s people. At the altar, the diverse community gathers to receive the sacrament, symbolizing equality and common purpose. The altar is the place where superficial barriers and differences fall away, for we are all nourished by the same spiritual food.

At the end of the service, the community is dismissed and sent into the world. This sending forth parallels Jesus’ sending his disciples (as recorded in the Gospels) to proclaim the Good News, heal the sick, and feed the hungry. In our context, Jesus sends us to build communities where people of every language, race, and nation care for one another.

Thus, we see the Darshan of the divine in the Holy Eucharist through the remembrance of the past, present, and future in the Eucharistic prayers, through receiving the sacrament at the altar, through song, reading, and prayer. We are in audience with God through the remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins. Being in the presence of the sacred and interacting with it leads us to perceive God in all that we encounter, whether in human beings, animals, birds, trees, mountains, or celestial bodies.

The embedded memory of the Last Supper, as recorded in the Gospels, allows us to relive it with the conviction that it is happening once again in our lives. To touch, taste, and receive the bread and wine at the altar assures us of our encounter with God, whose eyes are lovingly fixed upon all of us. Our audience with the divine does not end when the service concludes; rather, it accompanies us into the world, enabling us to see God in everything around us.

[1]Davis, Richard H. (2008). “Tolerance and hierarchy: accommodating multiple religious paths in Hinduism”. In Neusner, Jacob; Chilton, Bruce (eds.). Religious tolerance in world religions. West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Foundation Press. pp. 360–376. ISBN 978-1599471365. OCLC 174500978.