Word to the Wise
Saturday, April 16, 2016 - 3rd Week of Easter - Sat
[Acts 9:31-42 and John 6:60-69]SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 2016 SATURDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK OF EASTER [Acts 9:31-42 and John 6:60-69] Many of the disciples of Jesus who were listening said, "The saying is hard; who can accept it?"...As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer walked with him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God." [John] In a gospel filled with dramatic scenes, surely the scene in the synagogue at Capernaum at the end of the Bread of Life discourse ranks among the best. Jesus' teaching about eating his flesh and drinking his blood was too difficult to accept for even some who considered themselves his disciples. It was a kind of theological "line in the sand." He directly challenges the Twelve and Simon Peter answers for them: "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God." Does he answer for us, too? The ritual celebration of Jesus' real presence is what we Catholics call the sacrament of the Eucharist. We know that its basic structure took form early in the years after Jesus' death and resurrection. We can see the process of development in the story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24). One theologian has put it this way, "Gather the people, tell the story, break the bread." In today's gospel scene, it is the nature of that bread that is a dividing point. Is this bread (and wine) truly the Body and Blood of Jesus? If Jesus is truly "the Holy One of God," the one who heals the man born blind (John 9) and raises Lazarus from the tomb (John 11), can he not make himself truly and physically present to us in the form of bread and wine? He asks, "Does this shock you?...The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe." That was not just the situation back then, but is the situation now. The church's celebration of this mystery has swung wildly from the simple gathering, telling the story and breaking the bread in the homes of the faithful to the elaborate baroque celebrations of the Mass in enormous medieval cathedrals. The consecrated bread has been held in simple napkins and in jeweled display cases called "monstrances." No matter how we treat it, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ are made present through the action of the Holy Spirit working through the priest and the faithful. It is that reality that stays constant and demands our full commitment. AMEN
config
view
logs
4096.0 KB
121 ms
4
