20180917
A WORTHY RECEPTION OF
THE LORD
17 SEPTEMBER,
2018, Monday, 24th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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If each one hurries to be first, it is
not the Lord's Supper you are eating
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On the subject of instructions, I cannot
say that you have done well in holding meetings that do you more harm than
good. In the first place, I hear that when you all come together as a
community, there are separate factions among you, and I half believe it –
since there must no doubt be separate groups among you, to distinguish those
who are to be trusted. The point is, when you hold these meetings, it is not
the Lord’s Supper that you are eating, since when the time comes to eat,
everyone is in such a hurry to start his own supper that one person goes hungry
while another is getting drunk. Surely you have homes for eating and drinking
in? Surely you have enough respect for the community of God not to make poor
people embarrassed? What am I to say to you? Congratulate you? I cannot
congratulate you on this.
For
this is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on
the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and
thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for
you; do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the cup after
supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink
it, do this as a memorial of me.’ Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time
you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death, So to sum
up, my dear brothers, when you meet for the Meal, wait for one another.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Proclaim the death of
the Lord, until he comes.
You do not ask for sacrifice and
offerings,
but an open ear.
You do not ask for holocaust and victim.
Instead, here am I.
Proclaim the death of
the Lord, until he comes.
In the scroll of the book it stands
written
that I should do your will.
My God, I delight in your law
in the depth of my heart.
Proclaim the death of
the Lord, until he comes.
Your justice I have proclaimed
in the great assembly.
My lips I have not sealed;
you know it, O Lord.
Proclaim the death of
the Lord, until he comes.
O let there be rejoicing and gladness
for all who seek you.
Let them ever say: ‘The Lord is great’,
who love your saving help.
Proclaim the death of
the Lord, until he comes.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Ps118:27
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Make me grasp the way of your precepts,
and I will muse on your wonders.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Jn3:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
God loved the world so much that he gave
his only Son:
everyone who believes in him has eternal
life.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Give the word, and my servant will be
healed
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When Jesus had come to the end of all he
wanted the people to hear, he went into Capernaum. A centurion there had a
servant, a favourite of his, who was sick and near death. Having heard about
Jesus he sent some Jewish elders to him to ask him to come and heal his
servant. When they came to Jesus they pleaded earnestly with him. ‘He deserves
this of you’ they said ‘because he is friendly towards our people; in fact, he
is the one who built the synagogue.’ So Jesus went with them, and was not very
far from the house when the centurion sent word to him by some friends: ‘Sir,’
he said ‘do not put yourself to trouble; because I am not worthy to have you
under my roof; and for this same reason I did not presume to come to you
myself; but give the word and let my servant be cured. For I am under authority
myself, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man: Go, and he goes; to
another: Come here, and he comes; to my servant: Do this, and he does it.’ When
Jesus heard these words he was astonished at him and, turning round, said to
the crowd following him, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found faith
like this.’ And when the messengers got back to the house they found the
servant in perfect health.
A WORTHY RECEPTION OF THE LORD
Both readings today
focus on the theme of unworthiness in receiving the Lord. In the first reading, St Paul was
reprimanding the Christians at Corinth for receiving the Lord at the Eucharist
unworthily. What happened was that the Christians were celebrating the
Eucharist but they did not exercise love among themselves or foster unity. This
happened because in the early Church, the meal fellowship among them took place
before the actual celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Those who were rich
and could afford were eating among themselves. The poorer members were
segregated and often came late and had nothing to eat. St Paul saw this
situation as a contradiction of the Eucharist that they were
celebrating. Such a celebration no longer truly reflected the
meaning of the Eucharist and the objective of the Eucharist. Many
Catholics who are used to attending mass regularly on Sundays and even on
weekdays can also fall into this same mistake of treating the mass like a
ritual and missing the real intent of the Eucharistic celebration. How
then can we ensure that our reception of the Lord in the Eucharist does not end
up as a mockery of what we celebrate?
Firstly, the Eucharist
celebrates our deliverance from sin and death through the sacrifice of Christ
on the cross. When
we celebrate the Eucharist, we are reminded of how Christ instituted the Lord’s
Supper on the night of the Passover Meal. (Cf. Lk 22:13-20) Just as the Passover celebrated the
deliverance of the Hebrews from the slavery of the Egyptians, so too, the Last
Supper Meal celebrates our deliverance from sin through the passion, death and
resurrection of our Lord. Although St John had it as a farewell meal so
that Jesus was the Passover Lamb as He died at the time when the lambs were
slaughtered for the Passover Meal, both commemorate our Lord as the
Passover. For Catholics, every mass therefore is a memorial or a
remembrance of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
Secondly, the Last
Supper is celebrated as a thanksgiving for our salvation. St Paul said, “For this is what I
received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night
that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it
and broke it.” So when we celebrate the Eucharist, we want to thank God
for all the blessings given to us in and through Christ, especially the gift of
forgiveness for our sins and new life through His sacrificial death on the
cross.
Thirdly, the Eucharist
is celebrated as a meal. It
is a fellowship among the disciples of our Lord. By partaking of the
Eucharist, we are united with Jesus and with each other. By coming together
to celebrate the Eucharist, we become more and more the body of Christ.
The Eucharist should promote fraternal unity and love among ourselves as
Christians because we are all united in Christ. Receiving the Eucharist
is more than just receiving the Body of Christ but also to welcome the members
of His body, the Church. Christ has died for us all. As people of
the New Covenant, we become the new People of God. Jesus said, “This cup
is the new covenant in my blood.” Hence, we must live together as God’s
people.
St Paul felt it
scandalous that the Christians were not regarding each other as brothers and
sisters. There were
factions among themselves. “In the first place, I hear that when you all
come together as a community, there are separate factions among you, and I half
believe it – since there must no doubt be separate groups among you, to
distinguish those who are to be trusted.” Secondly, they were
acting uncharitably towards each other, especially the poorer members of the community.
For St Paul, this was a serious breach of unity and charity which went against
the spirit of the celebration of the Eucharist.
And all these are not
just symbols but truly a memorial, “anamnesis” which makes present the
sacrifice of Christ and transforms the bread and wine into His body and blood. Jesus said, “‘This is my body,
which is for you; do this as a memorial of me’. In the same way he took the cup
after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you
drink it, do this as a memorial of me.'” It is Jesus’ real presence in the
Eucharist that we celebrate. It is His presence that makes all the
difference. This is why Catholics regard the Eucharist as Christ’s
presence par excellence.
Consequently, we must
receive the Lord with reverence and respect. This is not just any other meal but it is
the meal of the Lord where He makes Himself truly present. We must
remember what we are celebrating and why we are celebrating, otherwise it
becomes a ritual and a routine which does not bring any real effect in our
lives. We must confess our sinfulness and unworthiness when we receive
Him. This was what the Centurion did when the Lord wanted to come to His
house to heal his servant. He said, “Sir, do not put yourself to trouble;
because I am not worthy to have you under my roof; and for this same reason I
did not presume to come to you myself; but give the word and let my servant be
cured.” The centurion was mindful that as a pagan, Jesus could not
enter his house, lest He became ritually unclean. So in his humility and
unworthiness, he was contented to receive the Lord from afar. In reality,
this is our case too. We also must examine our conscience and confess our
sins before Holy Communion, asking for the Lord to forgive us our sins so that
we will be more worthy to hear His Word and receive Him in the Eucharist.
Secondly, to receive
Him, worthily, we must examine ourselves, whether we hold resentment against
others, especially members of our community, bearing in mind what the Lord said, “So when you
are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or
sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and
go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your
gift.” (Mt 5:23f) Receiving the Eucharist without forgiving our
brothers and sisters is an act of contradiction because the Eucharist takes
away our sins, reconciles us with God and with our neighbours. To receive
the Eucharist and yet hold grudges in our hearts against our fellowmen is to
deny the saving effects of Christ’s death for us on the cross. Sinning
against unity, and worse still, pretending to be in unity with Christ and the
Church, is to drink the cup unworthily.
Most of all, after
receiving the Eucharist, we must live out the Eucharist in our lives. St Paul says, “Until the Lord comes,
therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are
proclaiming his death. So to sum up, my dear brothers, when you meet for
the Meal, wait for one another.” Fraternal charity is the manifestation
of a Eucharist properly received. Pope Benedict wrote, “As the
years went by and the Church spread further afield, the exercise of charity
became established as one of her essential activities, along with the
administration of the sacraments and the proclamation of the word: love for
widows and orphans, prisoners, and the sick and needy of every kind, is as
essential to her as the ministry of the sacraments and preaching of the Gospel.
The Church cannot neglect the service of charity any more than she can neglect
the Sacraments and the Word.” (Deus Caritas Est, 22)
This was precisely why
the Centurion was loved by the Jews.
They spoke up for him because of his love for the people. The centurion
sent some “Jewish elders to him to ask him to come and heal his servant. When
they came to Jesus they pleaded earnestly with him. ‘He deserves this of you’
they said ‘because he is friendly towards our people; in fact, he is the one
who built the synagogue.'” Love is the ultimate truth that God lives in
us. So says, St John. “Beloved, let us love one another, because
love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does
not love does not know God, for God is love.” (cf 1Jn 4:7f) Indeed, there are many non-Christians who love
without explicitly knowing God, as in the case of the Centurion. But they
certainly have known God in love.
To find the strength to
love, we must celebrate the Eucharist as a memory of Him. St Paul says, “‘Whenever you drink
it, do this as a memorial of me.’ Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time
you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.”
This means remembering what Jesus did for us and then imitating Him in dying to
self so that we can give life to others in self-sacrifice and love.
Indeed, this is what the psalmist says, “You do not ask for sacrifice and
offerings, but an open ear. You do not ask for holocaust and victim. Instead,
here am I.” We must make ourselves a living sacrifice for Christ and our
fellowmen.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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