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First Reading: Genesis 14:18-20
Psalm: Psalm 110:1-4
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Gospel: Luke 9:11B-17
Today we celebrate the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. You see, in our faith tradition, we believe that the bread and wine are transformed into the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ.
In today’s Gospel from Luke 9:11-17, we hear the familiar story of Jesus feeding the crowd of 5,000 people. Now there are many things working in this account. Let’s try to tackle them.
First, why did it go so late that the disciples had to prompt Jesus to dismiss the crowds. Did he get carried away healing and teaching? No, I don’t think so. I believe Jesus wanted to spend more time with them. He wanted to experience that sort of peace and contentment that only comes from sharing a meal together. So, he asks his disciples to bring him what they have, just like in the mass when we bring forward bread and wine. He receives these small tokens and looking to heaven, prays to the Father and transforms the meager meal into such an abundance of food that there are 12 wicker baskets filled with leftovers.
Next, I’d like us to reflect on the crowd for just a moment. Jesus wants the crowd to stay so they can be fed. This is very important for us because as Catholics, we believe that the community is important. Jesus doesn’t come to save you are me by ourselves. He offers us eternal life in the context of each of us within the community. Can you sit on your porch with a cup of coffee, watch the sunrise and say, “Praise God!” Yes, of course you can. But we mustn’t forget that we are called to be part of the community of believers.
Now, you think this miracle would be enough, in the very next section of Luke’s Gospel, the people want another miracle. But Jesus tells them, that he himself is the true bread from heaven, John 6:32-40. When the Jews doubt his heavenly origin in verses 41-42, Jesus responds by saying that they must believe in him in order to have eternal life. He says, “I am the bread of life.” Then he makes his teaching more emphatic. He says, “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh,” (John 6:49-51).
The people scoff at the idea of eating Jesus’s body and drinking his blood. But Jesus says, “My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” (John 6:55). In verses 60-65, Jesus then clarifies that it will be his resurrected body which we are to eat. He isn’t asking his followers to cannibalize him. Through the power of the Spirit, we can eat his crucified, resurrected, and ascended flesh, wholly and entirely (without him having to die again). That’s why the Eucharist isn’t cannibalism: Jesus doesn’t die when we consume him. Instead, he lives in us.
This message is a difficult one for people to hear. We will read in John 6:66 that “many of his disciples drew back and no longer walked with him.” Some people cannot accept what Jesus is saying to us. Why?
I suggest to you this is difficult for those who wrestle with God’s Word intellectually – for those who are not willing to open their hearts to the question of faith. What’s missing is an encounter with Jesus Christ. Just like we heard in today’s Gospel, just as Jesus wants to be share a meal with the crowd, Jesus is waiting for us…he is waiting for you. It is Jesus who waits in the Eucharist. It is Jesus who waits in the Tabernacle of his divine presence. What are you waiting for?
Homework!
- Go to mass every weekend. It’s too easy to come up with excuses why we can’t get to mass, but whether you’re Catholic or not, come to mass.
- Try to spend time with the Eucharist, either in adoration or even with the tabernacle. Find some time to sit quietly with the Eucharist.
I think by doing our homework, we can open ourselves to the possibility of an encounter with the risen Jesus Christ. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!