OPINION (The Stream) – When I addressed the question of a Catholic priest refusing communion to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, I took certain scriptural truths for granted. Please allow me to fill in that gap here. Three passages in 1 Corinthians are especially relevant when it comes to who should or should not partake of the Eucharist.
The first passage is found in 1 Corinthians 5, a chapter dealing with a pressing moral issue for the believers in that famous Greek city. A man was sleeping with his father’s wife, and some of the Corinthians thought it was fine. After all, they reasoned, we are free in Jesus! Paul was quick to address this, stating plainly in his letter that the freedom we enjoy in Jesus is a freedom not to sin rather than a freedom to sin.
In this case, since the man had refused to repent and turn from his sinful ways, the church needed to practice holy discipline: this unrepentant must be disfellowshipped. The believers were not even to have a meal with him.
As Paul enjoined, I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people — not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. (1 Corinthians 5:9–11) READ MORE
