The administration of a Church sacrament has recently made national news. Why would the secular media concern itself with a Church sacrament, specifically the Lord’s Supper? Like all things concerning national news, it involves controversy and controversy sells. In this particular case, a Roman Catholic priest refused to allow a professing lesbian to participate in the Lord’s Supper. The woman protested and the priest has since been disciplined by his leadership.
First, I am not a Catholic, so I will not defend their position. I am, however, an Orthodox Presbyterian and will speak from that position on religious matters. Second, I am a libertarian and speak from that position as an individual on secular matters. This point is applicable because in the secular sphere I support an individual’s right to do what they want free from government interference, as long as they do not cause harm to another person. I believe an individual should be free to succeed or fail; to experience the positive or negative consequences of their actions. This includes a person’s right to engage in heterosexual or homosexual relations.
The religious sphere is a completely different matter. The action of the priest denying Communion to this woman is commonly referred to as “Fencing the Table,” at least in Reformed Christian circles. Ministers, God’s ambassadors, declare who may come to, and who are excluded from, the Lord's Table according to the Word of God. Ministers exclude those from the Table who have not approached in a worthy manner, which includes consciously discerning the body of Christ given for the sins of His people. This discernment includes repenting of sin, which likewise includes homosexuality. To participate in the Lord’s Supper without having repented of one’s sins is to make oneself guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord, eating and drinking judgment on their self. (1 Cor. 11:27-29, ESV)
I believe this Roman Catholic priest was being a good shepherd. Rather than protesting, the woman should be grateful she was kept from making the worst of choices with damning eternal consequences. Unlike the secular sphere, ministers are in the religious sphere and are charged with the care of people’s souls. Far from being a bully, this priest was displaying a remarkable act of grace. He was willing to take on persecution from within the Roman Catholic Church and outside all for the sake of protecting the eternal soul of this ungrateful sinner. Sound familiar? Our Lord Jesus also took on the ultimate persecution for the sake of his people’s sins even while they were still sinners.
