ONE BREAD, ONE BODY: THE EUCHARIST AS THE ANTIDOTE TO DIVISION IN THE CHURCH
TEXT: 1 CORINTHIANS 10:16-17, JOHN 10:16
Dearly Beloved in the Risen Lord,
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We stand today in the radiant light of the Easter Season. The tomb is empty! The stone is rolled away! Death has been swallowed up in victory. Yet, as we bask in the glory of the Resurrection, we must also turn our gaze inward, to the household of faith. While the Resurrection proclaims a universal victory, the Church often presents a fractured picture.
We celebrate the Life of the World, yet the Body of Christ often appears wounded – not by the nails of Rome, but by the sharp edges of our own disagreements, denominational walls, and theological pride.
It is into this tension that the Holy Spirit directs us today, through the ancient and sacred words of the Eucharist. As we approach the Holy Table, we are accustomed to hearing a dialogue that is so familiar we may risk missing its revolutionary power. Listen again to the words we speak, perhaps mechanically, every time we break bread:
> Officiant: "The Bread which we break, is it not the communion of the Body of Christ? The cup which we bless, is it not the communion of the Blood of Christ?"
> People: "Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one Bread."
Or, as it is sometimes proclaimed: "We break this Bread to share in the Body of Christ."
My brothers and sisters, these are not merely liturgical formalities. They are not just poetic transitions between the Prayer of Consecration and the Distribution. They are a spiritual indictment and a divine declaration.
The Theology of the Broken Bread
The Apostle Paul, writing to a Corinthian church plagued by division – where the rich shamed the poor and factions rallied around different leaders – asks a rhetorical question. In the Greek, he uses the word Koinonia. Communion. Participation. Sharing.
When I, as a priest, break the Bread, I am not merely tearing a wafer. I am enacting a mystery. The Bread is the Body of Christ. But Scripture also tells us that we are the Body of Christ. Therefore, the Eucharist is the mirror in which the Church sees its true identity.
The Response we give is staggering in its claim: "Though we are many, we are one body."
Notice the tense. It does not say, "Though we are many, we hope to be one body." It does not say, "We should try to be one body." It declares: We ARE one body. Why? "Because we all share in one Bread."
The unity of the Church is not manufactured by human committees. It is not achieved by merging denominations or signing ecumenical treaties alone. The unity of the Church is ontological. It is rooted in the very substance of what we receive. If you eat the same Bread as me, you are made of the same spiritual DNA as me. We are fused by the Body of the Risen Lord.
The Scandal of Disunity
Here lies the pain of our current Easter season. We proclaim "One Body" with our lips, but we deny it with our lives.
How can we approach the Altar rail together on Easter Sunday or every other Sunday, for that matter, and then spend the rest of the week tearing one another apart on social media?
How can we share the Cup of Blessing and then bless gossip that destroys a brother's reputation?
How can we claim the Bread makes us one, while we build walls that keep other Christians out: Denominational identity crisis? What happened to John 10:16? One flock/fold, one shepherd!
Today, the Church is fragmented. We have become a marketplace of spiritualities. We identify more by our labels – Anglican, Catholic, Pentecostal, Baptist, Evangelical – than by our Lord. We fight over secondary issues while the world perishes for lack of knowledge. We have turned the Table of Unity into a battlefield of superiority.
But the Eucharist whispers a hard truth to us: You cannot be in communion with Christ if you are in rebellion against His Body.
To receive the Eucharist while harbouring hatred for a fellow believer is to eat and drink judgment upon oneself. It is to say, "Lord, I accept Your life, but I reject Your family." It is to break the Body of Christ all over again.
The Lesson for Today's Christians
So, what is the lesson for us, the Christians of the 21st Century, in this Easter tide?
1. The Eucharist is a School of Humility
To say "Though we are many, we are one" requires humility. It means acknowledging that the person sitting next to you – who may vote differently, worship differently, or look differently – is your sibling because Christ is in them. The Bread does not discriminate. The Cup does not ask for your theological résumé before you drink. If Christ receives us, who are we to reject one another?
2. Unity is a Practice, Not Just a Theory
Unity is not a feeling; it is a discipline. It is practised at the Table, so it can be lived in the marketplace, school or workplace. If we cannot share a meal in peace, how can we share the Gospel in power? The lesson is this: Reconciliation must precede Celebration. Before we sing "Alleluia," we must seek to make peace with our brother.
3. The Bread Breaks Us to Make Us One
Consider the grain. Many grains are gathered, crushed, and baked to become one loaf. Consider the grape. Many grapes are pressed to become one wine. There is no unity without sacrifice. There is no oneness without the breaking of our ego.
The lesson for today is that we must allow the Eucharist to break our pride. We must stop asking, "Who is right?" and start asking, "Who is loving?"
A Call to the Table
As we continue in this Easter Season, let us resolve to make the Eucharist the centre of our unity. Let us not allow the devil to use our differences to nullify our testimony.
When you hear the Officiant ask, "The Bread which we break, is it not the communion of the Body of Christ?"
Let your heart answer with a resounding Amen.
And when you proclaim, "Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one Bread,"
Let it be a vow. A vow to forgive. A vow to listen. A vow to recognise the Risen Christ in the face of the "other."
The world is watching. They do not need to see us agree on everything. They need to see us love one another. They need to see people who, despite their many voices, sing one song. A people who, despite their many backgrounds, eat from one Table.
The Empty Tomb proves that death cannot hold Jesus.
The Holy Table proves that division cannot hold us – if we truly believe what we say.
Let us go forth from this place, not just as individuals saved by grace, but as a Body united by Bread. Let us show the world that the Resurrection power of Christ is strong enough to heal the fractures of the Church.
Though we are many, let us be One.
Because we share in One Bread.
Because we serve One Lord.
And we walk in One Hope.
Amen.
Rev'd Professor Uwomano Okpevra, JP, PhD, MDiv.
