Word to the Wise
Sunday, August 16, 2009 - Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
[Proverbs 9:1-6; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:51-58]Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding. - Proverbs This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever. - Gospel of John
The Second Vatican Council makes clear that the Eucharist is the "source and summit" of all that the Church is meant to be. Any good reading of the history of worship in our Church will reveal that our efforts to follow the command of Christ: "Do this in memory of me!" have had their ups and downs, to say the least. The "upper room" in Jerusalem had little in common with St. Peter's Basilica in Rome! I recall, in the early years following the implementation of the "new" rite of Mass, seeing a cartoon that was a reproduction of Leonardo DaVinci's THE LAST SUPPER and two of the disciples supposedly saying to one another: "Wait till the chancery hears about this one!" The images from the Book of Proverbs, the teaching of Jesus about the reality of the Eucharist as his "flesh to eat" and his "blood to drink," and the setting of the Last Supper as a kind of Seder meal - all these seem far removed from the liturgical setting that we encounter each Sunday, especially with the long line to receive a wafer that has little resemblance to bread. (The wine does a better job!) Is it any wonder that so many keep walking right out the door after receiving communion? It is clear that Jesus' audience in the Gospel of John did not understand his teaching about the Bread of Life. Two thousand years later of reflections and worship, we are still struggling to give this "mystery" the place and setting that is best suited to enable us to fulfill Jesus' command. Whether it be a simple celebration around a rude table in an upstairs dining room or a full-dress Pontifical Solemn High Mass, the teaching and reality remain the same. It is Jesus Christ whom we receive and it is Jesus Christ whom we are meant to share with the world when we leave whatever space and music and costumes we use to help us "Do this in memory of me!" AMEN
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