Feast of Corpus Christi, June 6, 2010

It is said that at any given moment of the day, the Eucharist is being celebrated in some part of the world. The third Eucharistic prayer says, a perfect offering is being made from East to West,  - a perfect offering is being made from the rising of the sun to its setting. On the Feast of Corpus Christ, on this feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, I would like to offer you three thoughts that arise from the readings. The Symbol, the Tradition, the Meaning.

1. The Symbol: We have Melchisedech, the King of Salem offering bread and wine.

The picture is so rich on different levels.  Although Melchisedech is blessing Abraham, the immediate picture that comes to mind, is the sacrifice of animals and birds as an offering to God.  This was the tradition of the People of God. These animals were slaughtered and there was an abundance of blood; blood symbolized life, which the Lamb of God would give to each one of us as Jesus shed his own blood on the Cross. But here the offering is blood-less. It is the fruit of the Earth, the fruit of the Vine, the work of human hands. Today we are not called to offer our blood, but to pour out our lives through the works of our hands for the Kingdom of God.  Now Melchisedech was not a Hebrew, not one of God’s chosen people, and hence some scholars say that Melchisedech was offering bread and wine not as a sacrifice but as a blessing.

The second significant thing is the place: Salem or Jerusalem. Melchisedech, the King offers the bread and wine in Jerusalem where so many centuries later, Jesus, the King of Kings will take the very same items: bread and wine and make them holy and offer them to us as the Bread of life. The alleluia verse reminds us, “the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

The third level of this picture is Melchisedech himself. He is both King and Priest. As King, he rules Jerusalem, as Priest he offers Bread and Wine. It reminds us of our own baptism. Soon after being baptized with water and the Holy Spirit, the one who baptizes anoints us with the Chrism as Christ was anointed Priest, Prophet and King. Melchisedech is appointed/anointed by God and his priesthood is forever. Through that chrism, we too are marked for God and forever. Melchisedech was not like the High Priest, Aaron and the tribe of Levi. The People of Israel chose Aaron and his successors. That was a temporary priesthood with priests, who offered sacrifices over and over again for their own sins and the sins of the people. Jesus, who followed the Eternal priesthood of Melchisedech, was chosen by God and not men. He would offer one perfect sacrifice, which would eternal and complete.

The second point: The Tradition: St. Paul tells us in the second reading, “I hand on to you, what I myself received. St. Paul gives us a narration of the Eucharist as Jesus celebrated the last supper. The priest does the same at the Consecration and it is a narration, not a “show and tell”. It narrates how Jesus took, blessed, broke and gave the Bread of life to the Disciples.  Sometimes, a priest tries to dramatize this action and it misses the action of the liturgy. If we make it a dramatic action, we should take the bread, break it and receive it as communion immediately.

 This teaching of St. Paul brings to mind the action of the Holy Spirit at the time of the Annunciation. We are told Mary conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is this same Spirit that is invoked at the Eucharistic Prayer, “Send your Spirit upon this bread and wine so that they may become the Body and Blood of your Son.” It is during this prayer, that the fruit of the earth and the fruit of the vine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. The Eastern Catholic Church has a more complete picture of this Sacred Mystery. In the west, we visualize it as a magic moment with a magical formula: now it is ordinary, the next moment it is sacred.

Finally: the Meaning: The Eucharist must spill out into the nourishing the Church, the Body of Christ – you and me. The Gospel describes the picture. We are so inadequate, we have so little: five loaves and two fish. Jesus wants us to use our meagre possessions, our meagre talents, our meagre understanding to accomplish the impossible dream and to go where the brave dare not go.

 If we trust in the Lord, Jesus will accomplish within us great things, which will be beyond our imagining. Our lives must be lived so completely that there should be always something left over, as was the case of the multiplication of loaves and fish.

Appendix: notes taken from readings:

• Today in 1844, the YMCA was founded in part to help people embrace a healthy life style.
• Exactly 100 years later, today was D-Day and the blood spilled at Normandy began the healing of the continent.
• This year, 2010, marks 100 years since children have been allowed to receive Communion. We use this gift by using our body and blood to help heal the world – as we are united with Christ.

If you have time: http://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=u4sfivCkaXM&playnext_from=TL&videos=ENEdJekL7us&feature=s ub