Eucharistic meditation, Third Sunday after Epiphany

1 John 4:18: Perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

One of the earliest Trinitarian heresies is called “modalism.” It taught that the “persons” of the Trinity are not distinct persons, but only masks or roles that the one Person of God adopts at various times. This can seem like an abstract and impractical issue. How could it matter practically if the Persons are masks of one Person or actual distinct persons? But it’s not abstract. It’s very practical, and getting this right is crucial to Christian faith and Christian living.

There are a lot of problems with modalism, but the fundamental problem is that modalism stretches out a veil, or digs a chasm, between God as He reveals Himself and God as He is . God shows Himself as loving, kind, gentle Jesus; but can we really be sure that’s His character? According to modalism, we can’t know. God never shows Himself ; God only appears in masks, masks that may distort as much as they reveal.

John says that we are not to fear, and that love casts out fear. He says that there is no room in the Christian life for abject, slavish fear. There is no room in the Christian life for the suspicion that God intends us harm. We often fall into the wrong kind of fear. We sin, and our consciences terrorize us, and we think that sooner or later God is going to get us. Or, something goes badly wrong in our lives, and we search around for the sin that brought it to pass. We stand in fear of our Father.

But this is unbelief. God has displayed His love for us in sending His Son. He invites us to take up residence in Him and abide in Him. He tells us that He wants to live with and in us. He reminds us regularly that He loves us, by speaking to us in His Word, by declaring our sins forgiven, by inviting us to His table. He woos us like a gentle husband, and yet we don’t believe it. We think it’s a cover. We think his love is a pretense.

This is unbelief. It is also heresy. It is just a kind of practical modalism. God shows us all this love, but we believe it’s a mask. We don’t think we can know that this is really how God regards us.

Many Christians wrongly come to this table with the same suspicions. Sure, God invites us to His table. Sure, He offers us His Son in His Spirit. That’s what appears to be taking place, at least. But can we really know what God is doing at this table? Couldn’t He just as well be laying a trap, making this table a snare? But these suspicions are unbelief. They are heresy – Eucharistic modalism.

Put away fear. Put away suspicion that God is out to get you. God reveals Himself here at this table as Host, as Food, as Life. That’s not pretence. That is not a mask. That’s what’s really happening here. Trust His gracious offer; eat, drink, and rejoice in the God who is your Host, your Food, your Life.