CORPUS CHRISTI 2015 BOYNES
Today we celebrate the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. I've talked about this belief in recent weeks: John chapter 6 and 1st Corinthians chapters 10 and 11 are key scripture passages here. That's been the constant belief in the Church since the time of the Apostles. And yet people too often find the Mass to be boring. Or they say, "I don't really get anything out of it."
Well, in some ways that's understandable. Not something we should just live with, but understandable. Have you ever done any mountain climbing? I've hunted in the mountains and I love it! I climbed to the top of Mt. Sinai when I was in the seminary. That's a hike! The point is: you don't just magically find yourself at the top of the mountain. You have to get there.
Well, the Church refers to the celebration of the Eucharist as the "source and summit of the Christian life." The summit is the top of the mountain. You have to get there.
I heard a great quote on Catholic radio recently. It said, "The Mass is not intuitive." You don't just automatically "get it." It comes out of a specific tradition. It finds its roots in the faith of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob...or even earlier. It's modeled after the Passover meal, which commemorates the great act of God in freeing His people from slavery in Egypt. That's why we're given this Gospel reading today which mentions the Passover meal, and sacrificing the Passover lamb. Why does the Mass refer to Jesus as "the Lamb of God?" Why does it use the word "covenant"? Those are things we don't just "get" on our own.
Jesus was presiding at the Passover meal when He took the bread and wine and gave them a new meaning, a new purpose. And of course you have to understand that He did all this on the night before He died, the night before He became the Sacrifice that frees us from slavery to sin and death. We participate in that once for all saving action of Christ, right here at this table...if we immerse ourselves in this great act of prayer and thanksgiving. It is re-presented, made present for us outside of the bounds of time and space.
You don't just "get that" if you don't know the rest of the story.
There's a great book called "The Lamb's Supper" by Scott Hahn. It's one of the best books out there for understanding the meaning and power of everything we do here when we celebrate Eucharist together. I wish every Catholic would read it, and give it to someone. Scott was a Presbyterian minister and great bible scholar before becoming Catholic. The first time he attended Mass, he was floored by the amount of scripture he was hearing and seeing in every prayer and action and movement. He wanted to shout to all the other people in the pews, "Hey, that's from the Book of Revelation....that's from Isaiah...that's the angels singing to the shepherds at Bethlehem: 'Glory to God in the highest'!"
He "got" the Mass because he knew the scriptures, and he knew Jesus.
That reminds me of another quote I heard on Catholic radio: "Mass is really for those who are already evangelized." That means for people who have heard the good news, who know Jesus and the saving friendship He offers. Now, we're still being evangelized. We need to continue working on that friendship with Jesus and letting His way become our way. But if we don't at least know Him and know His story, then the fact that He comes to us here at this table is gonna pass right over our heads.
Those first disciples were friends of Jesus, and they began this practice of celebrating the Eucharist every Sunday, every Resurrection day. Even then, we read in Hebrews chapter 10, they had to remind each other: "We must consider how to rouse one another in love and good works. Do not stay away from the assembly, as some are doing, but encourage one another." (Heb 10:24-25)
That's another reason we should be here: to support and encourage one another, and to be supported and encouraged in following Him. It forms us more and more into the Body of Christ that we're called to be. As members of that body, we are supposed to be with each other and for each other.
Another great image for thinking about Mass is a pyramid. If this celebration is the "summit" of our faith life, then it's like the peak of a pyramid. Well, the peak is supported by those broader layers below it. The Mass is that very focused and structured high point, but it can't be our entire faith life...there'd be nothing to support it. We can't expect this 1 hour out of 168 hours each week to stand on its own.
One of the base layers is prayer. To form a friendship with Jesus we have to do what friends do: spend time with Him; to talk about important things and trivial things, and listen; to hang out with each other. That's how friendships grow. If we don't know Him, we're not going to be excited to come here and meet Him.
Another layer is learning, spending time in scripture and Catholic Tradition. That's how we get to know the story of salvation history, which leads us to this table. That's how we come to understand the meaning of the symbols and words and actions that take place in this celebration. That's how we come to "recognize Him in the breaking of the bread," as did the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. (Luke 24:13-35)
Listen to these powerful words which we'll pray to the Father in a few moments:
"Blessed indeed is your Son, present in our midst when we are gathered by His love, and when, as once for the disciples, so now for us, He opens the scriptures and breaks the bread."
Let's continue to climb this mountain together, as we reach for the summit. Let's encourage and support one another on the way. And let's really immerse ourselves in this great celebration where Jesus comes to us and shares His life with us.