Posts Tagged ‘Why is the Eucharist Important; A Taste of What’s to Come’

The Eucharist- A Taste of What’s to Come

Sunday, May 29th, 2016

Corpus Christi

Gen 14: 18-20; 1 Cor 11: 23-26; Luke 9: 11b-17

By Deacon Larry Brockman

 

Today we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi.  Corpus Christi means “The Body of Christ”.

So, do you believe?  Do you really believe that The Eucharist you will receive in just a few minutes really is the body and blood of Jesus?  And why is that so important for us in our faith?

In the first reading, the ancient priest Melchizedek brought out bread and wine, blessed those gifts, and blessed Abraham and God over this basic meal.  Thus Abraham left his established home for the promised land on Faith in response to God’s original covenant promise to him.  A man whose wife was barren, who had no ancestors, was promised “salvation” for his lineage, descendants as numerous as the stars of the heavens, if he listened to the Lord and left his established home.  And so he left his home on faith, and he went with God’s blessing.  Indeed, Abraham was blessed with descendants as promised.  “Salvation” had been realized.

Later on, The Lord memorialized the Passover event in which the Israelites were saved from the power of the Egyptians.  They were promised “salvation” in the form of independence and their own land.  The Passover symbolized the covenant the Lord made with Moses.  Both Bread and Wine are integral parts of the Passover celebration in which the presider blesses the bread and wine, and the blessing cup is shared amongst all the participants, memorializing and reminding them of their salvation.

Jesus used the same two fruits of the earth at the Last Supper as the Second reading describes.  Only now, the presider is not Melchizedek or Moses, but Jesus Christ himself, the perfect priest.  The bread and wine are first blessed, and then they become the body and blood of Christ.  They no longer symbolize the salvation that was promised by Jesus Christ.  Rather, they give us a taste of that salvation.  We call, this the New Covenant.  We are invited to eat this bread and wine turned Body and Blood of Christ because when we consume the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, we share in the life of the Risen Lord, a life that transcends our earthly life.

Recall our Gospel acclamation today from the Gospel of John:  “I am the living bread that came down from heaven, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”  If we believe, really believe, that the Communion we will receive in just a few moments is the body of Christ, then we believe that we are participating in the everlasting life of the Risen Christ as our Gospel acclamation asserts.  And not only that, but we keep receiving this gift each and every time we receive Communion.  We become an integral part of the Mystical Body of Christ, and we are participating in the coming Kingdom of God.

The Church has the Sacrament of the Sick for those who are sick or close to death.  And part of the sacrament is “Viaticum”, which is the reception of Holy Communion.  “Viaticum” means “food for the road”.  And so, Viaticum can lead the recipient from this life to eternal life.  Beautiful, isn’t it?

But you know what?  After a while it all just seems so mechanical to us- the same old same old week after week.  We can lose our sense of awe, of reverence, over this holy sacrament and what it offers not because we are weak in faith, but because we are human.  And we just don’t hold on to the significance; we become dulled to its meaning just like we would become dulled to the joy of eating chocolate cake every day.  Rather, we need to remind ourselves constantly of the meaning of the sacrament and the joy it brings.

Jesus works a monumental miracle in the Gospel reading today.  First, he talks about the Kingdom of God, everlasting life with God.  Then, he gives them real, earthly, food, all 5,000 families; families mind you, not individuals; from just a few loaves and fishes.   Jesus performed this miracle to show us that everything is possible with God.  Our earthly food sustains us for a day.  But the Bread of Life sustains us for a life that lasts forever.

Today, when you receive Communion, remember that your everlasting life has already begun.  You are living with Christ.  And no matter whether you are agile or feeble in this world, the life and spirit of the almighty God is there for you in the Eucharist.  It is a taste of what is to come.  Amen.