Word to the Wise
Sunday, June 2, 2013 - 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.
St. Paul's words are the earliest account that we have of Jesus' institution of the "Eucharist." The very words, "This is my body!" "This is my blood!" are called "the words of institution" by liturgists! They are the words spoken by the priest in the name of the community invoking the Holy Sprit to transform the elements of bread and wine into the very physical presence of Jesus Christ. The old expression says, "body and soul, blood and divinity." It is this which we receive when we "go to communion."
St. Paul writes these words as part of his admonishment to the Corinthian community about their behavior at the celebration of the Lord's Supper. Some seemed to be unconcerned that not everyone had something to eat and others had too much to drink! It certainly seems different from our own experience of the Eucharist. This should alert us to the question, debated often for centuries, as to how we should conduct ourselves "in the presence of the Presence!" The feast of Corpus Christi, with its elaborate procession/stations is one example of the kind of devotional piety that developed in the Middle Ages concerning the consecrated host.
History as well as current usage teaches us that the celebration of the Eucharist can take many forms, most of which have little resemblance to the circumstances of Jesus' last meal with his disciples. It is remembrance and imagination that gave rise to the elaborate ceremony that surrounds the words of Christ and the breaking of the bread and drinking from the cup. This is not mere ceremony or ritual, however. As St. Augustine says, "You become what you eat!" Elaborate gestures, gold encrusted containers and incense may be expressions of awe and devotion, but it is what happens once we receive that "real presence" into ourselves that is most important. This is how we become "the Body of Christ" - the Church! The feast of Corpus Christi serves as a reminder to remember who it is that we take to ourselves. AMEN