My
parishioners and I were on our way to a picnic one Sunday. As we reached the
picnic spot, some of them said to me: “Father, let’s finish Mass, then we can
enjoy”. At first, this request took me
by surprise since I had not regarded the Eucharist as separated from life and
enjoyment. I later realized what they
meant when they made their request. The Eucharist is seen as something to be
“finished” as quickly as possible so that real life can begin. It is also often
seen as an obligation to be fulfilled in order to be safe from sin and from
God’s wrath and punishment. If it is understood as either something to be
quickly finished or as an obligation, it means that the one who so understands
it has missed the point. This is because if one still uses the language of
“obligations” when one is referring to the Eucharist or, if one mistakenly
believes that the Eucharist is concluded with the final blessing in the Church,
then one has not experienced the power of the Sacrifice of Jesus and has not
grasped its significance.
The
feast of Corpus Christi,
or the Body and Blood of Christ, has been interpreted to mean the feast of the Eucharist
and, while this is certainly true, it would be a mistake to restrict the
understanding of the feast to the ritual of the Eucharist. The feast goes
beyond the ritual to life itself, just as the Eucharist does. Communion with
Christ has always been a mark of the follower of Christ. We would make significant gains in our life
of following or discipleship if we would focus on the Eucharist. It is the deepest expression of our communion
with Christ. It is not simply a
"going to" or "taking of" that begins and ends in the
Church.
One theme which is
brought out powerfully in all the readings for the feast of today is Covenant.
The first reading from Exodus recounts the ratification of the Covenant between
God and his people made on Mount Sinai. His people agreed to do all that the Lord had
commanded them. The letter to the Hebrews speaks about the Covenant between God
and people made, not with the blood of animals but, with the blood of Jesus
himself. This was, therefore, the more perfect and complete covenant. The
Covenant that Jesus made with the whole of humanity through his disciples is
narrated by Mark in the Gospel text of today. At the Passover meal, Jesus
offers his body and his blood as the mark and sign of the new covenant.
The covenant with the
people of Israel
is consummated when, after building an altar and offering sacrifice on it,
Moses sprinkles the blood of the sacrificed animals on the altar and on the people.
This sprinkling of blood, which is a symbol of life, is also an indication that
the people who accepted the covenant are bound by it and will do everything in
their power to live it out.
The letter to the
Hebrews affirms that, like with the people of Israel, blood was also used to
consummate the new covenant between God and humans. However, this blood is not
any longer the blood of sacrificial animals but that of Jesus himself. It is
the blood that he poured out on the Cross and which he confirms that he will shed
for many in the Gospel text of today. Even as he did that, he invited those who
partook of it to keep remembering and renewing this Covenant of unconditional
love. By his own words, this broken bread was now his own body that would be
broken and then raised to glory. This simple yet profound action signifies that,
as we share this sustenance, we are bound to him and to one another. It is
significant that Mark has placed, on either side of the breaking of the bread
and sharing of the wine, the predictions of the betrayal by Judas and the
denial by Peter. This is to indicate that, despite betrayal and denial, Jesus
will continue to give of himself. He would
not let his sacrifice depend on the cowardly response of his disciples. He would
continue to give and to love, unconditionally.
Though at first,
the disciples did not respond to the Covenant that Jesus made with them because
of their lack of understanding, their cowardice, and their fear, they later
relented and accepted it fully. This acceptance was shown in their bold
proclamation of the Kingdom that Jesus had inaugurated.
The Covenant which
Jesus made with his disciples, and continues to make with us even today, has to
be constantly accepted by us if it is to be a covenant in the true sense of the
word. This acceptance is shown when we first partake of the body of Christ at
every celebration of the Eucharist and, in doing so, express our willingness to
do the same with others. It is shown when we do not regard the Eucharist as a
merely a ritual to be celebrated only in Church and only in order to fulfill an
obligation. It is shown when we are courageous enough to let the celebration of
the Eucharist continue in our lives and in our willingness, like Jesus, to
become bread for others.
If our celebration
of the feast of Corpus Christi
is to be meaningful we need to realize that we, as disciples of Jesus, are
today his body and blood. When we are willing to give of ourselves to others as
Jesus did, without counting the cost and without heeding the pain then we, in a
true sense of the word, make him present even today. It is in our doing this
that his promise to be in the world till the end of time will become a reality
here and now.
>The Eucharist is seen as something to be “finished” as quickly as possible so that real life can begin.
ReplyDelete- Guilty! Until a few years ago. I burst out laughing at the memory.
>When we are willing to give of ourselves to others as Jesus did, without counting the cost and without heeding the pain then we, in a true sense of the word, make him present even today.
- I’ve veered in this direction, but it’s a hard path to tread.
Kate