1 Cor. 11 came up in a debate over infant baptism that I read yesterday. The Lutheran side was arguing against Infant Baptism on the basis that infants supposedly could not "discern" the Lord's body and thus should not receive the Eucharist.
Fr. Gregory Hogg replied to this argument from an EO perspective. He noted that first, some infants can "discern" suprisingly much, like which food that they want. Fr. Hogg also noted that declarations and rules can be conditional and fact-specific. He noted that he gave his kids a rule like they can't cross the street without holding his hand, and that although he never revoked this rule, conditions simply changed due to them growing up whereby it no longer applied to them. In the case of infant baptism, the rule aimed at adults making a correct judgment as to whether the Real Presence is in the Elements would not apply if they are too young to make a judgment on the topic.
By Fr. Gregory Hogg Commemoration of the Holy Innocents, 29 December 2014 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. John 6:51 The young children...
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Here is my own reading of the relevant verses: First, 1 Cor. 11: 27 has: “Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. ” This is Paul’s main concern. Would Paul see an infant who takes the bread in a childlike way as doing so “unworthily?” Matthew 18 records Jesus saying, “3. Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5, And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me.”
To take the Communion in a childlike way does not seem particularly “unworthy.”
Based on the next two verses, Paul may be worried that people look at the elements and solidly reject the Christian teaching on the topic instead of discerning the body, making their manner “unworthy.” The infants don’t have some kind of hostile attitude to the Real Presence. 1 Cor. 28 has, “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.”
The verse says “let”, not “must”, and it says man, not “men, child, infants,” etc. The verse clearly encourages people to examine themselves first but isn’t making it an absolute requirement. Should mentally ill elderly people with Alzheimer’s be banned from communion? I am doubtful that the RCs and Lutherans would impose such a strict mental rationality limit.
1 Cor 11:30 has: “For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.” The verse does not say what the “judgment” is. Would the “judgment” not be case dependent, as with someone who is anti-Christian and openly hostile to the teaching about the direct Presence in the elements, compared to someone with childlike innocence?
