LUKE 9: 11B-17 JUNE 2, 2013
When we celebrate this feast, the first thing
most
Catholics think of is the food,
bread and wine, or host and
cup. How come we don’t think of
ourselves as the body
and blood of Christ? Did we
forget that with baptism we
are brothers and sisters of
Jesus? We are Church, the
body of Christ. We forget this
for many reasons. One
reason is right here in the
Gospel. The twelve want to
dismiss the crowd. The people are
a “nuisance.” People
are work. The Twelve want to go
get something to eat for
themselves. Another reason is
that the rich did not care to
eat with the poor. Paul speaks
about this in his first letter
to the Corinthians. In a class
system, one group looks
down upon another. No way to see
Christ in the poor.
Then there was plague. People
tried to stay away from
one another. People were a
threat, not Christ. Then there
was the pew tax. The rich paid it
and sat in the special
section for themselves. The poor
had their own place to
sit at the mass. Finally, a
theology grew up that said we
were basically unworthy to
receive communion. Many
reasons there are to forget we
are each the body and
blood of Christ. This allows
Christians to kill Christians in
many a war right into recent
times. You could go to
communion, then go off and kill
someone in “war.” We
even killed people over
disagreements as to the what and
how of the Eucharist.
Well, what about the what and the
how of the host
and cup? One of the symbols of
the Last Supper is Jesus
speaking first about his body and
then about his blood, as
in a separation. It symbolizes
that he will suffer, give up
something, in this case, his
life, when his blood is literally
separated from his body in
torture and crucifixion. He
calls it a covenant. All
covenants, that is, who belongs to
whom, require sacrifice, the
giving up of something. When
God made covenant with Abraham,
animals were split in
two and God went between them as
fire. The death of
animals signified that something
in us must die if we are to
have a covenant, a belonging to
God. Give up what? Try
self-will run riot. Selfishness.
Trying to get all you can,
regardless of the needs of
another. The focus on self
needs to die, and this is a great
suffering for many of us.
When we come to communion are we
ready to have
our body and blood separated,
that is, let go of
selfishness, the ignoring of one
another? Another thing
Jesus says is that this covenant
is for the forgiveness of
sins. Will we forgive one another
when we have been
offended? This is a lot of dying
to self. Married people
know that their covenant requires
sacrifice. Monks know
this, or else a monastery would
come undone.
Then there is the question of
“what is the host?” Go
to Genesis. God speaks the Word.
The Word creates.
God says, “Let there be light”
and light comes into
existence. It is creation,
something from nothing. When I
say, “Let there be light” I turn
on a switch or press a
button. I create nothing. I can
describe the sunrise as
light, but I do not make it
happen. Now, we say that Jesus
is the Word, The Son of God in
the Trinity. When Father
and Son communicate, creation
happens. In the Gospel
Jesus looks up to heaven. This is
the communing of God.
Jesus speaks a blessing. The Word
speaks over the fish
and loaves. “More” comes into
existence. There is now
going to be enough for everyone.
It is a creative moment.
Notice that the people cooperate.
They take enough to
satisfy, but not too much. No
hoarding. Pass some on to
the next person. This is the
Kingdom in action. Grace is
at work.
Now at the Last Supper, The Word speaks over
the
food. It becomes Jesus. If Jesus
is God, The Word,
things happen when the Word
speaks. If The Word says it
is Jesus’ Body and Blood, then it
is so. Consecration is a
creative moment.
Notice that after the
consecration we say the Our
Father prayer, which says,
“Forgive us as we forgive
others.” Then we share the sign
of peace, which says we
ought to recognize the Christ that
is in us and in the ones
around us. Then we receive
Christ, which sparks all the
fruits and gifts of the Spirit we
received in Baptism and
Confirmation. Becoming selfless,
or at least less selfish, is
our hope now. The mass ends with
“Go forth.” Become
the Kingdom. The Twelve said that
they were in a
deserted place. With Christ, as
Eucharist, with you, no
place is every deserted.
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