Word to the Wise
Sunday, May 29, 2016 - Body & Blood / Corpus Christi - C
[Gen 14:18-20; 1 Cor 11:23-26; Luke 9:11b-17]I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. " For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.. [1 Corinthians]
Meals are about more than food. There is love in the preparation, love in the gathering, love in the serving, and love in the appreciation. We may stay at table and tell stories or trade recipes! We could get engaged to be married or make some other important announcement or even get into an argument. The great theologian of story-telling, John Shea, characterized the celebration of the Eucharist as: "Gather the people, tell the story, break the bread." This is what we do every time we celebrate the Eucharist. Today, the Church makes a special effort to talk about the bread and wine that become, through the action of the Holy Spirit, the body and blood of Christ.
This is a mystery of faith, as the priest proclaims after pronouncing Jesus' words, but it is a wonderful way of proclaiming our faith in Jesus. The Eucharist is not some symbolic wafer. It is the physical presence of the Lord. Yes, he is truly present when we gather. He is truly present when we tell the story, and he is uniquely present in the Eucharistic bread and wine. [Either form contains the whole mystery!] This is why St. Paul tells us in another place to examine ourselves as to our worthiness of this before taking it. It is not a casual thing. The long "communion lines" have a way of being a distraction, along with some of the music at this time. But at the end of the line a priest or deacon or Minister of the Eucharist will say to us: THE BODY OF CHRIST or THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. Our "AMEN" is our profession of faith in this great mystery.
Whatever other ceremonies - processions, benediction, etc. - may occur to help celebrate this day, the simple core element remains the bread and wine that Jesus took, blessed and gave to us as a way of remembering him until he comes again. AMEN
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