Homily - Feast of Corpus Christi -   June 13, 2004

 

 

 

Shortly after undergoing major surgery, a woman decided to put her thought in writing. She wrote:  “When someone said that when Jesus referred to the Passover wine as his blood, and then shared it with his disciples, he was being cannibalistic, I could not help thinking of the modern practice of giving blood by transfusion.  While it isn’t eaten, the blood is definitely taken into the body in a life-giving way.

 

“After surgery I had a vivid experience of this type of life-receiving from a blood transfusion.  All day, in the recovery room, my only conscious feeling was the awful coldness, in the middle of summer. Nothing seemed to bring warmth to my body.  I was inert and completely uninterested in anything going on around me.

 

“I finally was aware of a timing of two hours which seemed to be the time taken for the careful dripping of this blood into m y veins. Suddenly, I felt warmth pour over me right out to my fingertips and to the ends of my toes.  I seemed to come up from the bottom of the sea.  I felt like smiling and greeting someone.

 

“I opened my eyes.  The first thing I did was to find a clock.  This seemed to relate me to my own real world.  I was amazed that it was nearly midnight and I was elated to think I was alive and warm and happy.

 

“Then I saw the doctor and I couldn’t help joking with him about keeping such awful hours.  I heard him say, ‘Now you can go home,’ so everything was all right.

 

“Later, I felt I would give anything I own – anything – to find the stranger whose blood had brought this warmth, this life to me.  Now I walk the streets, grateful to some unknown person whose very blood flows in my veins and contributes to my daily joy.  This is a debt I can never repay.”

 

We celebrate this feast of Corpus Christi – a doctrinal feast that reminds us of what we believe – that in fact we gather in a special way when we share the Eucharist. We gather knowing that our Lord and Savior Jesus is present with us. We know that this bread that will be presented in the Procession with the gifts has new meaning because of how we use it. This wine that might be like any ordinary wine that we might drink at dinner has new meaning because of how we use it. And we believe that it is Jesus that has given it new meaning – He has told us to do this – to gather and to pray and to share this bread and wine – in memory of him.

 

Thich Nhat Hanh the Vietnamese Buddhist monk had this thought on the Eucharist.

 

“One time”, he said, “ I meditated on the meaning of the Eucharist.  Suddenly I found the message of Jesus so clear.  The disciples had been following him, they had the chance to look at him, to look into his eyes, to see him smile, to see him in reality.  But it seems to me that they were not capable of being truly in touch with that marvelous reality.  Then Jesus broke bread and poured wine and said, this is my flesh, my blood.  Drink it, take it, eat it and you will have life eternal.  I think the message is so clear,” said Nhat Hanh,” so clear even to a Buddhist monk!”

 

I think we can meditate on all these readings today – and on this feast and on our gathering and realize the power of this feast.

 

Notice that in the feeding scene in the Gospel – a story that is told six times in the Gospels, Jesus doesn’t ask any questions of those who came to hear him teach and to witness his healing power.  He set no prerequisites as to who would be fed or who was worthy of what he offered.  Certainly the crowd had not been screened or interviewed or evaluated beforehand. Surely there were sinners among such a large gathering.  Luke says there were 5,000 men; if the women and children had been counted, those who ate would have been far more numerous.  Numerous, as well, would have been their faults and failures, their shameful thoughts, words, deeds and decisions.  Many of those present were probably numbered among the unclean by their self-proclaimed righteous contemporaries.  Nevertheless, all were generously fed with the food that Jesus took, blessed, broke and gave.  His was food for sinners that day in Bethsaida, and all the sinners ate their fill.

 

Perhaps as Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us we all spend a fare share of time with Jesus. We are after all baptized into Him. We would call ourselves his followers.  We believe in His Word and way – that is why we gather here this morning. But we need help in recognizing him. We need help in understanding how he is present to us. We need help in knowing that He is not just IN this bread – or in the tabernacle – or in the Word spoken. Our reason for this feast – for this doctrine, perhaps, is to challenge us to expand our understanding of how large His presence is for us.

 

In John’s Gospel, the author doesn’t talk about bread and wine – he neglects to talk about that aspect of the Last Supper. Instead he talks about washing feet – about attentiveness to the other – about the intimacy of touch.

 

Our feast of The Body and Blood of Christ, I think, is supposed to jolt us into the realization that Jesus is present to us.

 

Jesus is present here in this assembly – our gathering together has new meaning because of him. We are not strangers sharing this place and time. We are his Body and Blood for one another – we are connected because of him.

 

Jesus is present in our sufferings and loss. We know because of him that we are not alone in the fears and doubts and afflictions and sickness. He heals us and feeds us and touches us.

 

Jesus is present in those people that confront us.  Perhaps they are poor and homeless. Perhaps they are simply different from us – they dress differently – they think differently – they have lifestyles that are different from us. Jesus feed us through them – Jesus wakes us up to his presence in surprising places.

 

Jesus is present to us in our joys – our happiness – our successes and our good times. We are nourished by his joy and his smile and his love.

 

The Body and Blood of Christ is for us. Everyone we meet – everything we do – even the bread and wine we drink is different – has new meaning – is transformed because of Who Jesus is for Us,  What Jesus did for us, how Jesus lived and died for us.

 

Perhaps this week we should reflect –as did the woman who was the recipient of that transfusion – as we walk down the street and drive the roads on how connected we are with all those others – who give us life – who help us experience life through Jesus.

 

We are the Body – not just you and I gathered here this day – but all who share our life are the Body of Christ- Corpus Christi.