20220506 THE EUCHARIST AS THE BODY OF CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH
06 May, 2022, Friday, 3rd Week of Easter
First reading | Acts 9:1-20 © |
This man is my chosen instrument to bring my name before the pagans
Saul was still breathing threats to slaughter the Lord’s disciples. He had gone to the high priest and asked for letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, that would authorise him to arrest and take to Jerusalem any followers of the Way, men or women, that he could find.
Suddenly, while he was travelling to Damascus and just before he reached the city, there came a light from heaven all round him. He fell to the ground, and then he heard a voice saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ he asked, and the voice answered, ‘I am Jesus, and you are persecuting me. Get up now and go into the city, and you will be told what you have to do.’ The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless, for though they heard the voice they could see no one. Saul got up from the ground, but even with his eyes wide open he could see nothing at all, and they had to lead him into Damascus by the hand. For three days he was without his sight, and took neither food nor drink.
A disciple called Ananias who lived in Damascus had a vision in which he heard the Lord say to him, ‘Ananias!’ When he replied, ‘Here I am, Lord’, the Lord said, ‘You must go to Straight Street and ask at the house of Judas for someone called Saul, who comes from Tarsus. At this moment he is praying, having had a vision of a man called Ananias coming in and laying hands on him to give him back his sight.’
When he heard that, Ananias said, ‘Lord, several people have told me about this man and all the harm he has been doing to your saints in Jerusalem. He has only come here because he holds a warrant from the chief priests to arrest everybody who invokes your name.’ The Lord replied, ‘You must go all the same, because this man is my chosen instrument to bring my name before pagans and pagan kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he himself must suffer for my name.’ Then Ananias went. He entered the house, and at once laid his hands on Saul and said, ‘Brother Saul, I have been sent by the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on your way here so that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ Immediately it was as though scales fell away from Saul’s eyes and he could see again. So he was baptised there and then, and after taking some food he regained his strength.
He began preaching in the synagogues, ‘Jesus is the Son of God.’
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 116(117) © |
Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.
or
Alleluia!
O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him all you peoples!
Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.
or
Alleluia!
Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful for ever.
Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Lk24:46,26 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
It was ordained that the Christ should suffer
and rise from the dead,
and so enter into his glory.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn6:56 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
lives in me, and I live in him,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | John 6:52-59 © |
My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink
The Jews started arguing with one another: ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ they said. Jesus replied:
‘I tell you most solemnly,
if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you will not have life in you.
Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood
has eternal life,
and I shall raise him up on the last day.
For my flesh is real food
and my blood is real drink.
He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood
lives in me
and I live in him.
As I, who am sent by the living Father,
myself draw life from the Father,
so whoever eats me will draw life from me.
This is the bread come down from heaven;
not like the bread our ancestors ate:
they are dead,
but anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.’
He taught this doctrine at Capernaum, in the synagogue.
THE EUCHARIST AS THE BODY OF CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Acts 9:1-20; Ps 117:1-2; John 6:52-59]
In the gospel, Jesus was no longer simply speaking about Himself as the bread of life that comes from heaven and therefore demanding belief in His word but that the Bread is His flesh. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (Jn 6:51) For the Jews to accept Jesus as the Word of God, although great faith is needed, it is still very much in line with Judaism. After all, Moses and the prophets spoke of the Word of God to the people. Moses told the people, “He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (Dt 8:3 cf Mt 4:4)
But believing in His Word is not enough; we must eat His flesh. “I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day.” Jesus is not contented that we have a change of mind and a change of heart after hearing His Word, He wants us to have a personal encounter with Him physically. Jesus understands that as human beings, constituted of body and soul, we encounter God with our mind, heart and with our flesh. This physical presence of Jesus is real when He makes Himself present in the bread and the wine. Hence, the Lord reiterated, “For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.”
Receiving His body and blood, is to receive the entire Christ in our hearts. The Word is to prepare us to understand God, ourselves and others. The Word is to prepare our hearts to receive our Lord as we grow in wisdom and understanding. This is why the Mass comprises fundamentally of two parts, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Clearly, therefore, receiving the Word and then the real presence of our Lord in the bread and wine, we enter into communion with Him. This explains why Jesus said, “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him. As I, who am sent by the living Father, myself draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will draw life from me. This is the bread come down from heaven; not like the bread our ancestors ate: they are dead, but anyone who eats this bread will live forever.”
This theme of indwelling continues after the farewell meal Jesus had with the apostles. It is significant that John’s gospel did not have the institution of the Eucharist as this had already been given sufficient discourse in chapter 6. Instead, presuming that the meal had taken place, Jesus from Chapter 13 to 17 of John’s gospel elaborated on the indwelling of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the person who remains in communion with Him. (Jn 14) Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches whereas the Father is the vinedresser. (Jn 15) In John 16, Jesus spoke about the coming of the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in His name. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit will lead them to Jesus and understand Him more fully. And finally, in the priestly prayer, He spoke of the mutual indwelling between the Father and Himself; and He with His disciples. Jesus prayed, “that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one.” (Jn 17:21-23)
Because the Lord lives in us through the Holy Spirit given to us when we receive the Eucharist, the Bread of Life, His Word and His real presence, we become one with Him. This explains why the Eucharist is often given the term, “Holy Communion.” We hope that by receiving our Lord in the Eucharist, we become more united with Him in mind and heart. In this way, we can act like Him and be identified with Him. When we are identified with our Lord, we become in a real way, members of His body.
St Paul gives a theological discourse on Christians as members of the Body of Christ because of His indwelling in us. He said, “He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.” (Col 1:18) Writing to the Corinthians, he explained that the basis for our union with Christ is the Holy Spirit. “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free–and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:12; 27)
So real is Christ’s identification with us that we are called His brothers and sisters. The letter to the Hebrews says, “It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason, Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.” (Heb 2:10f) This explains why Jesus asked Saul who was on the way to persecute the Christians, “‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ he asked, and the voice answered, ‘I am Jesus, and you are persecuting me.” Jesus was identified with the Christians.
When a member of the Church is hurt, Christ is hurt as well. This is why receiving the Eucharist implies also that we welcome the Church, members of His body. To love the Eucharist and yet not have respect for the members of His body is to show disrespect for Christ. It is tantamount to a sin of sacrilege. St Paul had harsh words for the Corinthians. He reprimanded them, “For, to begin with, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you; and to some extent I believe it. Indeed, there have to be factions among you, for only so will it become clear who among you are genuine. When you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord’s supper.” (1 Cor 11:18-21) Consequently, a genuine love for the Eucharist as the real presence of our Lord will lead us to identify Him in our brothers and sisters.
Concretely, we see this in the action of Ananias. When the Lord appeared to Ananias in a vision instructing him to go to Straight Street and ask at the house of Judas for someone called Saul who comes from Tarsus, Ananias had his misgivings. But the Lord told him, “You must go all the same, because this man is my chosen instrument to bring my name before pagans and pagan kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he himself must suffer for my name”. Immediately, Ananias obeyed. He called Saul, the persecutor of the Christians, “brother” and the moment he laid his hands on him, Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit. “Immediately as though scales fell away from Saul’s eyes and he could see again. So he was baptised there and then, and after taking some food he regained his strength.” Saul was now a member of the family of God and their brother in Christ.
But the fact that Jesus is truly present in the bread and wine remains a reality even when we are not disposed to His real presence. He said, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves.” (1 Cor 11:27-29) We must never therefore reduce the Eucharist to a mere symbol of His presence. Rather, if Christ could be present in us and we become members of His body, it is because the Resurrected Lord, in His humanity and divinity, can make Himself truly present in the bread and wine at every Eucharistic celebration we commemorate. This is why St Paul would later command the Christians to celebrate the Eucharist so that they could become more united with our Lord. “Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Cor 11:25f)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment