Nothing Much to See

Nothing Much to See

But Jesus said to them, "You give them something to eat..."

Luke 9.15

Gospel for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ:

Luke 9.11-17  

A few years ago, I was attending Sunday Eucharist and being pleasantly distracted by the interaction between a little girl of about six or seven, and her mother. Yes, I know my focus should have been somewhere other than the pew in front of me, but as it turns out, there was an important Gospel message unfolding there. 

The little girl was quite intrigued by all the things that were going on in front of her, and her mother was getting more and more frustrated by all the questions.

Then, it came time for the consecration. This was a few years ago, so in this particular parish we were all standing. The girl could not see.

She asked, "Momma, what is happening?"

Her mother replied, "Never mind, there's nothing to see..."

My heart broke.

"So when someone says, 'Look, there's nothing out there, what we are really saying is, 'I cannot see.'" (Terry Tempest Williams)

Why Corpus Christi?

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ is also known as the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, which translates from Latin to "Body of Christ." This feast originated in France in the mid-thirteenth century and was extended to the whole Church by Pope Urban IV in 1264. This feast is celebrated on the Thursday following the Trinity Sunday or, as in Canada, on the Sunday following that feast.
Why was it necessary to have such a feast? A couple of reasons. While we do celebrate the Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, The Church recognizes that there is a lot going on in that celebration, and so there was a need to focus solely on the mystery of Christ's presence in the bread and wine transformed (or more correctly, transubstantiated) into his body and blood.

The other reason is that it gave the regular folk of the Middle Ages a chance to get "up close and personal" with Jesus. You see at that time, regular reception of the Eucharist was not happening like today. Jesus, for most, was seen and not received. It was at this time in our history when adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was more predominant. The Feast of Corpus Christi included processions with the Blessed Sacrament through the streets. This is still practiced in some parishes today. 

From Nothing to Something

The Gospel yesterday may cause us to ask, "Why the feeding of the 5000? Shouldn't we proclaim one of the Last Supper accounts?" But if we look deeper into the story, we can see the Church's wisdom in the selection.

While we can be transfixed by the wonder and awe of 5000 being fed by five loaves and two fish, the miracle is not the message. The real story here is the interaction between Jesus and his disciples. Jesus has just "fed" the five thousand, as he "spoke to them about the kingdom of God." (Lk.9.11) The disciples want to send the crowds away so they find something to eat- basically saying to Jesus that these people can fend for themselves.

Jesus says no, they can't. "You give them something to eat." At this point the disciples, figuring they need to do this on their own, rustled up their meager resources of five loves and two fish.

Impossible.

But not with God.

Jesus feeds the people again. 

The feeding of the 5000 points the way to Eucharist, "the source and summit" of our lives.

Only after Pentecost will the disciples get Jesus' command, "You give them something to eat".

Although the command changes to Give them me.

"Become what you receive" 

If all we were celebrating was Christ's presence in the bread and wine, Deyenu, in Hebrew - "that would be enough!"

But there's more, much more.

St. Augustine said it best when he told the Church, "In the Eucharist, we become what we receive."

Perhaps when the priest or Eucharistic minister says to us "The Body of Christ", we heard "Become what you receive."

I think our "Amen!" might have a little more conviction.

And it is not that we are taking into ourselves a little bit of Jesus like Popeye getting spinach. This great mystery is not about me as a single person. It is about my "incorporation" into the Body of Christ! It is why I was baptized!

And, paraphrasing Fr. Ron Rolheiser, if the only thing that is changed at Mass is the bread and wine, then something is wrong.

A short rant.

There's a song being sung in some of our Catholic parishes that does not come from our tradition, that on the surface, is quite pleasant:

Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary

Pure and Holy, tried and true

With thanksgiving, I'll be a living sanctuary for you.

 Quite pleasant. And quite wrong!  A sanctuary is a place of protection, safety. It is a place to hide. 

No, as a disciples, we receive the Body and Blood (don't get me started on people refusing the cup!) to say to the world: We proclaim your death O Lord, and profess your resurrection, until you come again.

It is a solemn profession and proclamation.

More often than not, it will bring us suffering, and we'll get crucified in the public arena.

And we will rise in glory with Christ Jesus. 

For this week

For Catholic educators

Think about ways that you can help the families in your school to be truly part of the Body of Christ. Pray that those students who are receiving First Communion and Confirmation will return again and again and again and again and again. Maybe it's tine that we look at how we can mentor families into the Catholic way of life, the center of which is regular attendance at the weekend Eucharist.

For all of us

Pray this week that the Holy Spirit help you to become what you have received. Recommit to Sunday Eucharist. If you are from a different Christian denomination, recommit to your community and worship with them as many Sundays as you can.  

Let us all open our hearts to recognize that there is indeed something... NO, someone to see, and that He comes that we might be fed with his very Life.