The Eucharist: Sign Of His Continuous Incarnation!

 (Homily for the Solemnity of the Corpus Christi Year B)

     Today the Holy Mother Church celebrates one of her most sublime Mysteries: the Eucharist, the Solemnity of the Corpus Christi, the Solemnity that recalls the Mystery of the real presence of Christ in Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. The aim of  this solemnity is three-fold: first, it serves as an invitation for us to be always conscious of the greatness of this Gift; second, to make our faith always alife and convinced in It; third, to reawaken in us the sensibility always to render gratitude to Jesus who instituted It, “the very night he was to be betrayed”, as a sign of His extreme and endless love for us. The Eucharist is the perpetuation of both his Love and Presence. It is the Sacrament of Christ’s extreme love for humanity. It is a sign of his continuous Incarnation in human history. In the words of Giovanni Vannucci, “man is the only creature that has God in his blood”, we have in us a divine chromosome, for Jesus dwells in us! The word Eucharist comes from the Greek word “eucharistia” which is a translation of the Hebrew word “berakah” and they all stand to signify thanksgiving or praise to God for his wonderful deeds. This Sacrament therefore, reminds us of the Jewish religious tradition of Berakah, which has to do with blessing, thanksgiving and praise to God for the wonders he has wrought. The readings of this great Solemnity are replete with sacrificial symbolism, as such references to blood and sacrifice abound. Each time we celebrate the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, we often tend to lay much emphasis on the Body, in fact, it is even suggestive in the title “Corpus Christi”. We do not often talk about the blood, which is at the heart of this Sacrament and the most eloquent symbol of his self-donation. Indeed, the reading “are dripping in blood” to say it with Bishop Robert Baron. Blood is life, to offer one’s blood is to offer one’s life. This is what Jesus did, he offered his life Blood.

     Going through history lane, we remember that in the Old Jewish tradition, when the family gather for the Passover Meal, it was prescribed that the last born of the house, asks a question to the Father of the family, thus: What does this ritual mean? This was the question that someone (maybe John that was the youngest apostle) could have directed to Jesus, the evening they were at table for the Last Super. Maybe in response, Jesus might have explained to them how the whole celebration from the night of the Exodus on, with the killing of the lamb and the Passover Meal, were not but a figure and a prophecy of Him; the Lamb of God (cf. Gen. 22:7; Jn. 1:29), that has to be slaughtered in order to take away the sins of the world, and to be food and drink for his friends. Indeed, “Christ loved us and handed himself over to us as an offering and a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2). Similarly, the same question can situate us well into the context of our present gathering, thus, let us ask ourselves: What is the meaning of this ritual? Not because we do not know what we are about to do or the essence of our celebration, but for the Lord to explain it to us again, through his Word and Sacrament,  always for a more profound understanding. No doubt, to that question the readings of today have much in stock for us.

     In the first reading (Ex 24:3-8) prior to this wonderful gift, the people of Israel celebrated their covenant with God by means of the blood of sacrificed animals. This reading tells us how God one day at the foot of mount Sinai made a covenant with Israel. He promised to protect and defend them if they keep his commandments. Moses asked the people if they want to accept, and they all in one accord agreed. There Moses raised an altar representing God and the twelve tribes of Israel. Moses pours the blood of animal on the altar for sacrifice. This pouring of blood symbolizes that from that moment onward God and the people of Israel are one person (because of the blood). This is a powerful sacrificial symbolism. For this covenant to be effective, God demanded faithfulness from the people.

     The two readings from the New Testament throw more light to the awareness of the centrality of this passage to the understanding of the Christian redemption and its representation in the Eucharist. First, in Mark 14:24: “This is my blood of the Covenant”. Here, the covenant blood of Christ is contrasted with the blood that Moses sprinkled against the alter and over the people. Second, in Hebrew 9:15-21, with particular reference to verse 20, which cited Exodus 24:8, in a glaring manner. The basic question emanating from this passage goes thus: why was it necessary in the Scripture for a covenant to be ratified in and with blood? This boils down to the idea that the death of the victim has the finality of making the covenant irrevocable. More so, the sacrifice is an eloquent expression of the offerer’s total commitment to carry out the terms of the covenant. The passage from the book of Exodus is suggestive of a possible understanding and interpretation of the Eucharist from the view point of an atonement. In the Old Testament, before the covenant is completed, the people have to become participants. For instance, in the Sinai covenant, Moses sprinkled the people with half of the blood, after he must have applied the other half on the alter (which represents Yahweh). Be that as it may, in this parlance, the Eucharist becomes an integral part of the once and for all sacrifice of Calvary.

     The second reading (Heb 9:11-15) reminds us of the yearly celebration of the feast of Expiation by the people of Israel, to wipe their sins away. The High Priest enters the Holy of Holies where God was believed to be present and there he poured the blood of the covenant. The author of the letter to the Hebrews makes a comparison between what the High Priest of old did and the sacrifice of Christ. He says that the new is greater than the old. Why? Because the old was offered with the blood of animals, while in the new Christ offers his own blood. Christ shed his blood once and for all (and commanded us to continue to do it in memory of Him). In todays readings we hear repeatedly of blood that purifies, and that is the blood of Christ. Jesus is the High Priest of the New Testament. He is not in opposition with the Jewish worship, rather he came for its fulfilment. The high priest of the Old covenant was entering into the Holy of Holies once a year and he sprinkled blood to offer atonement for sins. But Jesus entered the Holy of Holies offering his blood, and the sacrifice of and with his blood is effective at all times. Jesus is both the Priest and the Victim. However, this sacrifice of Christ has some moral-existential implications for us, for it is not just a ritual of external purification, rather of inner purification, unlike the blood of animals that restored only bodily purity. “How much more will the blood of Christ, who offered himself, blameless as he was, to God through the eternal Spirit, purify our conscience from dead actions so that we can worship the living God” (Heb. 9:12-14). 

     The Gospel (Mk 14:12-16.22-26) can be divided into two parts: preparation for the last supper and the institution of the Eucharist. It is in this passage that Mark identified the Last Super with the Passover meal. Mark in his account desires to affirm that the Eucharist is the Christian Passover meal. Little wonder, Jesus is depicted as the eschatological Prophet (Mk. 14:12-16), owing to his foreknowledge of the direction to which the disciples were to meet the man with the water jar. Therein, we need to pay attention to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, which actually captures what we traditionally refer to as the institution of the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist: He took a loaf of bread and after blessing it gave it to them and said: take; this is my body. Here we pay attention to the fact that what he was having was a loaf of bread but after the blessing it became his Body. After the blessing he no longer called what he had loaf of bread but My Body. The same thing is applicable to the cup of wine after giving thanks he said take, This is my Blood. He says “take”, a marvelous verb that is replete with miracle, for us to become What or Who we receive. At the end of this special meal he told them to do what he had done in memory or remembrance of him (cf. 1Cor. 11:24.25).

     Extrapolating from the passage, we can identify three important elements in relation to this sublime mystery, namely: ●The substantial change of the bread to the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ and the wine to his Blood. This is what we refer to as transubstantiation, as opposed to transfiguration. ●The element of thanksgiving, which in Greek is “Eucharistia”. ●The phenomenon of remembrance or memorial. This serves as a reminder to the people of God not to forget the good deeds of the Lord.

          Drawing the issue further, the three readings of today propel us to consider the Holy Eucharist above all, from variegated points of view:

►The Eucharist as a Sacrifice: The Eucharist is above all, the sacrifice that renders the self-immolation of Christ actual and perennially present. It is the sacrifice of the New covenant ratified with the Blood of Christ. ●As we read in the first reading, God through Moses made the chosen people to know of his laws and commands. And the people on their part, resolved to observe them, repeating it with an oath: “All the words Yahweh has spoken we will carry out” (Ex. 24:3). ●The letter to the Hebrews declares in a definitive manner the conclusion of the time of the Old law, which was to serve as a preparation for the coming of Christ and for salvation through faith in Him. The numerous sacrifices with animals gives way to the unique and perfect sacrifice of Christ, a sacrifice of infinite value. The blood of animals was replaced with the Blood of the unique and immaculate victim: Jesus Christ. By means of the replacement with the Blood of Christ, we are no longer talking about a provisory covenant, that has to do with the Israelites alone, but a definitive covenant. It is not just a ritual of external purification, rather the “purification of our conscience from the works of death to serve the living God” (Heb. 9:12-14). ●For this Jesus instituted the Eucharist, according to Mark (14:22-23), with the pronouncement of the following words: “When he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to them. Take it, he said, this is my body. Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he handed it to them, and all drank from it”. On the other hand, Luke in his gospel (22:20) and St. Paul in 1Corinthians (11:25) speak explicitly of the “New Covenant”. The Eucharist, therefore, is the representation in a sacramental way under the signs of bread and wine, of the unique and perfect sacrifice of Christ, to the glory of the Father, for the expiation of sins.

►The Eucharist as a Banquet: The Eucharist is not only the sacrifice of Christ, but at the same time, it is a supper, a feast, to which everyone is invited. Jesus instituted it in the context of the Last Supper, with typical elements of a banquet: bread and wine, and he said clearly and distinctly: “Take, this is my Body” (v.22). “Then he took the chalice and gave thanks and handed it to them and they all drank from it” (v.23). Indeed, the Eucharistic celebration is inseparably a sacrifice and a banquet.

►The Eucharist as a mystery which calls for commitment: The Eucharist is not a mere rite or a simple cultual act, that is repeated in a formal way. Above all, it is a mystery that requires a conscious and active participation. It is a mystery that demands fully the commitment of a believer. The Eucharist as a sacrifice requires those who participate in it the effort to make themselves a living sacrifice acceptable to God, to unite their daily sufferings to that of Christ. And as a banquet, it is a feast around which we gather as children of God, the Eucharist as such, invites us to live in communion, fraternity and love.

     Again to our earlier question: What does this ritual mean? Our Lord responds to us, first of all, with the words of St. Paul: “whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming the Lord’s death until he comes” (1Cor. 11:26). And at the moment of the Institution of the Eucharist Jesus said to his apostles: “Do this in remembrance of me” (1Cor. 11:24). Indeed, it does appear the keyword for the understanding of the Eucharist is Memorial / Remembrance. But memorial of what? Of the death of the Lord, certainly, but not only of this, Jesus said: “In memory of me”, the Eucharist, therefore, remembers (brings to heart) Him, all his mysteries; His prefiguration in the Old Testament and his actualization in the New Testament. The Eucharist is a Remembrance / Memorial of the Lord and the Salvation he wrought, that culminates in his Death and Resurrection. Drawing the issue further, here remembrance entails something more than mere recollection. In the context of the Passover, it is God and not just the people who remembers. And as such, He makes present the great acts of redemption. Similarly, at each Eucharist, we do not just look back in remembrance of the Last Supper; instead the Last Supper is made present to us in order that we might experience the saving power of Jesus. In the Eucharist we both remember and relive what Jesus has done for us and this great gift of Himself in the Eucharist. It is worthy of note that in the biblical language, ‘remembrance’ (zikkaron) rather makes one to relive the reality really; it is a remembrance and a presence at the same time!. The Death and Salvation of Christ, in the Eucharist, are not relived only in our memory, but they are relived really even though in an unbloody manner; there is a real presence on the altar. It is the presence of the Risen Lord who says: “Touch me, it is really I” (Lk. 24:39). (Along history lane some have doubted this, we recall the Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano (Italy) in the year 700).

      Above all else, however, from what has been said it is clear that the participation in the Eucharist does not end with the final blessing, it is to be lived, it must permeate and influence all our actions. And here we want to consider a Eucharistic experience from three different but interconnected perspectives: before, during and after the celebration. In the ‘before’ of the celebration, there are numerous elements that predispose us to an ever more lively celebration of the sacrament. Before the celebration, the believer is invited to consider the gratuitousness of the gift that he goes to celebrate and to recognize himself as a sinner. The ‘during’ is the time of celebration, the space in which the encounters between one believer and another; the human and the divine take place. It is a moment of a very strong involvement, of feeling welcomed by God and the brethren. So, it is also a time of fraternity. It is a time to let ourselves be given the therapy by the Word of God. It is a time of confrontation with oneself and the Word, and this attitude holds the secret for constant growth in Christian maturity. Lastly, the ‘after’ of this encounter with God and with the brothers and sisters should instill in us a life of communion already anticipated during the celebration, as an element coming from the encounter with Jesus. What we celebrate must have moral and social values in our life or in our experience. After the example of self-donation, sharing and love given to us by Jesus, the ‘after’ celebration must therefore be a time of extension of the Eucharistic experience in our everyday life. And I would like to conclude with these profound and piercing words of Don Tonino Bello: “Unfortunately, flashy opulence makes us easily see the body of Christ in the Eucharist of our altars. But it prevents us from seeing the body of Christ in the uncomfortable tabernacles of misery, need, suffering, loneliness. (...) I believe that the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ demands our conversion. Not the altitude of our words. Nor the empty pomp of our liturgies.” Truly, Jesus in the Eucharist continues to demand for our conversion. May He make our presence before his Presence a transforming encounter. May we become more of Him and less of us. Amen!!!

Verbum caro factum est!

Verbum panis factum est!

Verbum caro factum est!

Verbum panis factum est!

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)