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Monday, 27 June 2011
Yesterday was the feast of Corpus Christi - the Body of Christ.
I listened to the reading of the apostle John's words, written probably about 30 years after the events he describes:
Jesus said to the
Jews, "I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.
Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give
is my flesh, for the life of the world.'
Then the Jews started arguing among themselves,
'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?'
Jesus replied to them: In all truth I tell you, if you do not eat the flesh of
the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall
raise that person up on the last day.
For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in that person.
As the living Father sent me and I draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me
will also draw life from me.
This is the bread which has come down from heaven; it is not like the bread our
ancestors ate: they are dead, but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.
What are we to make of this?
We can certainly ask ourselves, as the people listening to Jesus did, 'How can
this man give us his flesh to eat?'
It is only when we come to the re-enactment of the Last
Supper that it is possible to begin to make sense of it.
As usual, at Sunday Mass yesterday, the priest said, speaking to God, our unseen Father,
"On the night he was betrayed he
took bread and gave you thanks and praise.
He broke the bread, gave it to his disciples and said: Take this, all of you,
and eat it:
This is my body which will be given up for you."
When supper was ended he took the cup. Again he gave you thanks and praise,
gave the cup to his disciples and said
"Take this, all of you, and drink from it: This is the cup of my blood, the
blood of the new and everlasting covenant.
It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in
memory of me."
What to make of this?
The prayer after communion sums up my grateful reaction:
"Lord Jesus Christ, you give us your body and blood in this Eucharist as
a sign that even now we share your life.
May we come to possess it completely in the kingdom where you live for
ever and ever."
What do you think?
Do anything about it?
