The Eucharist: Sign of his Continuous Incarnation!

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

      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 alive 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 symbolisms, 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, this Sacrament “is dripping in blood”. 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.

          The first reading (Gen. 14:18-20) presents the figure of Melchizedek the priest of the Old Testament, and he is like a torch light that points to the reality of Jesus. But for us to understand the real import of the message we cannot but make a backward step into the historical context surrounding the passage. The context that precedes the passage was a war between some Kings in the region where Abraham’s nephew: Lot was residing. In the course of that war Lot was captured and taken to prison. On hearing this, Abraham gathered about three hundred men, who defeated the enemies and rescued Lot and his possessions (cf. Gen. 14:12-16). While returning, Abraham met Melchizedek the King of Salem who brought bread and wine and blessed Abraham. Indeed, here we see a glaring difference between him and the priests of the Old Covenant who offered blood of sacrificed animals, while he offered bread and wine. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews says: “he is like the Son of God” (Heb. 7:3). That is to say, that through Melchizedek we catch a glimpse already in the Old order of Jesus. Melchizedek is a priest of old and Jesus is the high priest of the New Testament. Our response to the psalm bears witness to it: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Ps.110:4). Melchizedek brought bread and wine, which is a prefiguration of the Eucharist that Jesus would offer in a personified manner. Similarly, in the gestures of the Priest of Salem who offered bread and wine, the Church sees a prefiguration of her own offering (CCC 1333). The victory and rescue of Lot by Abraham symbolizes the Lord’s victory over our enemies and our rescue too.

     Melchizedek brought out bread and blessed Abraham. In the Old Testament, bread and wine is a sign of blessing (he blessed Abraham), a sign of gratitude (blessed be God who has delivered your enemies in your hands) because it calls to mind the wonders God has wrought. In the Exodus 16, the Israelites received manner and ate. Indeed, we can see a sort of progression in the bread and wine of the Old Testament and the body and blood of Christ of the New Testament, we can say that, Melchizedek brought the bread and wine, but Jesus did the real offering (of himself). Melchizedek’s offering of bread and wine prefigures Christ’s offering of bread and wine, not just bread and wine, but his body and blood, his life.

          In the Gospel passage (Lk. 9:11-17) Jesus performed a miracle of loaves, feeding five thousand men from only five loaves and two fish. This miracle in turn prefigures the greatest miracle of the New Testament: The Eucharist. The apostles adopted a hostile solution to the urgency of the hunger of this crowd. They went to Jesus and said: “send the crowd away”. But Jesus never sent anybody away. He helped the apostles to understand that the first step of this miracle is sharing and not multiplication, for Jesus retorted, “You give them something to eat”. The verb ‘to give’, is the action word that vehicle the miracle. In the Gospel the verb ‘to love’ is always translated with another concrete verb ‘to give’, for instance: “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son” (Jn. 3:15). The apostles had only five loaves, which means one loaf for one thousand men, and in human calculation it seemed impossible. However, in God’s calculation, the miracle of that night, was that the small piece of bread shared became sufficient for all.

          The second reading (1Cor. 11:23-26) describes the event of the last supper. This as we have it from St. Paul is the oldest account of the Last Supper. He says: “this is my body”, “this chalice is the new covenant in my Blood”. He did not say this represents my body or my blood. Little wonder, the Catholic doctrine teaches about Transubstantiation (that is while maintaining the appearance of bread and wine, the substances of bread and wine are transformed), inter alia. 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 memory of me”. 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 mystery; His prefiguration in the Old Testament and his actuation 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. It is the memorial for the people of God. Every people that has a history, has also a memorial, which can be a day of feast or something that condenses the history. 

      The Eucharist is equally a Banquet that unites. In the verses preceding the passage of the second reading Paul warns: “And so, when you assemble together as one, it is no longer in order to eat the Lord's Supper. For each one first takes his own supper to eat. And as a result, one person is hungry, while another is inebriated. Do you not have houses, in which to eat and drink? Or do you have such contempt for the Church of God that you would confound those who do not have such contempt? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I am not praising you in this” (11:20-22).

          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. ●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. ●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. Jesus answered the question of Isaac in the Old Testament:where is the lamb? (Gen. 22:7). 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). ●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, “the Lord Jesus took some bread and after he had given thanks he broke it” (1Cor. 11:23). 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: “This is my Body” (1Cor. 11:24). “This cup is the new covenant in my Blood” (1Cor. 11:25). 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 themselve 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). 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. 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. 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 spiritual, moral and social values in our life. 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)