The Body and Blood of Christ, June 2, 2024

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Gratitude for all God has done for us and for Jesus’ gift of Himself must lead to action

Mark 14:12–16, 22–26

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?”

He sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.”

The disciples then went off, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.”

Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many. Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Music Meditations

Opening Prayer

Lord, what shall we do with the gift you have given us of your very self? How can we learn to “see” you in the breaking of the bread? How can we go beyond wonder and gratitude to an actual living out of your presence in ourselves and in this world? How can we bring the comfort of your real presence to those we meet? [Call to mind particular people who may be especially in need of God’s presence.] Help us to be Christ for others.

Companions for the Journey

From First Impressions 2003, a service of the southern Dominican Province

I don't remember the first time I tasted wine, I was too young. While I can't say when, I can tell you with some surety how it happened, because as I got older, I saw how my younger siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews got their first taste of wine. At a holiday or special meal a parent would take a crusty piece of Italian bread, dip it in his or her own glass of wine and give it to a youngster to suck on and then eat. As we got older, say ten or twelve, we would be given a teaspoon of wine in a whiskey shot glass–our first "glass" of wine. Later, much later, we graduated to an "adult" glass of wine with our meal. I think we kids got to associate the graduations in the amount of wine we were given as signs of our fuller acceptance into the adult circle of the family. The full glass told us we were adults and, as adults, were expected to behave as responsible and full-fledged members of the family.

At this meal today, set initially at the feast of unleavened bread, I think we are like children around the table trying to mature and become full members of our new family—as Jesus' brothers and sisters. We have been eating this bread and, for many years now, drinking from this cup. We are being shaped and formed around the table. We know we still have a long way to go and hope that, little by little, this bread and wine will enable us to change---let go of whatever habits and ways of acting that are not befitting a family member. Happily this meal holds out a promise of completion, for someday we will eat and drink together with our Lord in the fullness of his reign. Before our meal begins today we listen to the gospel and Jesus' words, "this is the blood of the covenant which will be shed for many." In the eucharistic prayer we will hear the words spoken over the cup, "this is the cup of my blood which will be shed for you and for ALL so that sins may be forgiven." "Many"–"all"? Who are these people Jesus has in mind? The Jewish disciples around the table would have understood the "many" to be the Gentiles, those not at the table. The "many" referred to the very people the religious leaders told the Jews to avoid so as to keep their religious purity safe.

How about us, we who are gathered around this table? Who are the "many," the "others," not at our table today? In our comfortable parishes the "many" may be the less financially secure, the poorer dressed, the foreign newcomers whose language, customs and education set them apart from us. In a poor white community the "many" may be those who have just arrived and threaten our jobs; for the black community they may be the Latinos; for Asians they may be their African-American neighbors, etc.

Jesus is not just blessing our parish community with his "real presence" in this eucharist. The meal, if we hear his words, is also a challenge to include the "many"; to make them welcome and a part of our worship, working, and social worlds. On the cross where Jesus poured out his blood, his arms were stretched out to embrace all. As we raise the cup at this eucharist, we ought to look over its rim to see who is here with us and think of those we have avoided, but must now include—the "many." We were also included in Jesus' embrace; we at this eucharist who are asking for forgiveness and inner growth. We also remind ourselves that his loving embrace extended to those who would never think of entering our church building. He bled for the polite and schooled; but also for the loud, boisterous and unkempt; the perfumed, manicured and hairsprayed, but also for the tattooed, tongue-pierced and shaved heads. Mark's gospel invites us to Jesus' vision. Someday he will come and we will drink the "fruit of the vine...in the kingdom of God" with him and one another. Jesus anticipates the "many" who will be one with him there. We have work to do, for eating his body and drinking his cup means his outreaching-vision is becoming ours.

We don't all have to become the same at this meal—how boring that would be! But we do have to be open to God's presence in those gathered around this table. We all eat the same food; we hope it draws us close to the risen Christ and closer to one another. Lord knows we need help! We are a divided community: those favoring quiet and "respect" before, during and after the service; others wanting to "build up the community" by visiting members they only see here at the eucharist; those wanting more social concerns preached; others saying the pulpit is "no place for politics; some want a new church building; others a parochial school. There are political liberals and conservatives, the newly married, recently divorced and the long-time widowed. Some come on a Saturday or Sunday evening to "get mass in," others come at eleven am to hear the choir at the more "traditional mass." And so it goes, we all gather at the table—not always thinking the same theologically, politically, culturally or liturgically. Nevertheless, we hope that eating this meal and drinking the wine will make us one "in Christ." We hope that, as Hebrews says, "the mediator of a new covenant," the one who died to reconcile our alienation and wipe out our sin, will "covenant" us anew with God and each other. In eating the bread and drinking the cup, we hope that we can look beyond our differences and see the body of Christ we already are--- and are becoming. We hope we are growing up, becoming mature Christians, around this table. We come to the meal knowing our personal and communal shortcomings. We want to change and this is the meal that affects the change for which we long. The Word we heard proclaimed has shared a vision and opened our eyes to a not-yet reality, a kingdom coming, but not yet fully arrived. Come, let us eat, for we hunger and thirst for the day when we will drink the cup in the new and complete kingdom.

Today the eucharistic ministers will repeatedly say, "the body of Christ," "the blood of Christ." I have gotten into the habit of looking at the person to whom I am offering the eucharist. I consciously remind myself that each person receiving the eucharist is the body and blood of Christ and is coming to receive his life so as to become even more conformed and shaped into this identity. It is as if we eucharistic ministers are saying, "You are the body of Christ and this food and drink is helping you more and more to become Christ in the world." We used to have a big procession on this feast. Many parishes still do. Whether we have one or not at the beginning of this liturgy, we will have one at the end when each person processes out into the world to be the Body and Blood of Christ. Today we celebrate Christ and we celebrate our true reality as well.

Jude Siciliano, O.P., Promoter of Preaching, Southern Dominican Province, USA

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today's session….

Take it, this is my body. This is my blood of the new covenant, which will be shed for many

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today's reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions which follow:

Reflection Questions:

What are your favorite memories of meals?

Have you ever sat down to eat a meal with people you do not know?

What happened during the meal?

How do your family meals reflect the relationships that exist within the family?

Jesus gathered his disciples around the table to offer himself to them. Who is gathered around the table with me today?

Who are the “many” who are not at the table with me today? (This could be those from whom I am estranged, or it could be those who don’t feel comfortable in the setting I find myself in, or those who mightn’t feel welcome because they are poor or don’t speak the language, or who are not educated enough)

What am I doing to gather others to the table of life?

What are some of the things you associate with blood?

What memories, emotions, experiences come to mind?

What are the things you associate with the word body?

How are they different from your associations with blood?

What does it mean for you, personally, that this feast is the body and blood of Christ?

From Walter Burghardt, S.J.:

Do I marvel in what I see, or in the fact that I see?

There is a saying : “You are what you eat”. If this is so, those of us who partake of Jesus body and blood in the Eucharist PUT ON Christ, BECOME Christ. Do I believe this?

In what ways this week have I done so, or failed to do so?

What does it mean for you that you and God share a bodily identity in Jesus, with all the wonderment, joy and messiness that our humanity encompasses?

Can others see Christ in me?

Are any of the daily sacrifices I make similar to the ones Jesus made?

How does my life reflect the true presence of Christ in the world?

Have I ever had to summon courage to do the right thing?

Was there a cost?

There is a temptation to turn this feast into a theological discussion of “transubstantiation” or the “real presence. If instead, I allow myself to submit to both joy and wonder I maybe the richer for it.

For me, what is wonderful about this feast?

How does this miracle fit into some other wondrous acts of God in history?

In my own life?

Which action of God do I marvel at the most?

What in the text has meaning for me and my relationship to God?

What of God’s desire for me is reflected in this text?

Meditations:

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Adapted from First Impressions, written by Father Jude Siciliano, O.P.:

Jesus offers his disciples the cup. In the Scriptures the cup is a symbol of suffering and death. For example, after the supper Jesus will go with his disciples to the garden of Gethsemani. In his distress and fear he will pray to Abba, "take this cup away from me" (14:36). But he will accept the cup of suffering before him; he will offer his life for us. When we take the cup and drink from it today we are saying our "Yes" to Jesus' way of life and we are receiving his life so that we can live the "Yes" we are professing.

What might partaking in the "cup" cost me personally? How willing am I to drink from that cup?

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

A celebration of the food of life can lead to reflection on the importance of food (health, education, and shelter as well) … The US Catholic bishops on the Christian response to poverty:

Perhaps the first step that needs to be taken in dealing with poverty is to change our attitudes to the poor.

Everyone has special duties toward the poor; all who have more than they need must come to the aid of the poor.

Seek solutions that enable the poor to help themselves through such means as fairly compensated employment.

The policies we establish as a society must reflect the hierarchy of values in which the needs of the poor take priority over the desires of the rich.

Share the perspectives of those who are suffering.

Which of these suggestions is the most challenging for you to agree with or adopt?

What concrete action can you take this week to bring the care of Christ to those in need?

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Christ is truly present in the wine and bread after it has become the body and blood of Jesus… Have we ever reflected on the ways that Jesus is truly present at our Sunday banquet?

He is present in the Word. How actively do I really listen as Scriptures are proclaimed?

He is present in the presider. Do I see the priest as a true representative of Jesus at each Mass?

He is present in the gathered community. Do I see in the assembly the presence of Jesus? Do I see myself as the actual presence of Jesus in Mass and in the world?

I offer a prayer of thanksgiving and humility for the privilege of participating in the Eucharistic banquet.

Poetic Reflection:

Sometimes we need to look at the mystery of the body and blood of Christ with our hearts and not with our heads:

“The Vast Ocean Begins Just Outside Our Church: The Eucharist”

Something has happened
To the bread
And the wine.

They have been blessed.
What now?
The body leans forward

To receive the gift
From the priest’s hand,
Then the chalice.

They are something else now
From what they were
Before this began.

I want
To see Jesus,
Maybe in the clouds

Or on the shore,
Just walking,
Beautiful man

And clearly
Someone else
Besides.

On the hard days
I ask myself
If I ever will.

Also there are times
My body whispers to me
That I have.

—Mary Oliver, from Thirst

Poetic Reflection:

This is a wonderful meditation on Eucharist:

"Gather the People"

What return can we make
for all the Lord has done in our lives?
We bring bread, wine, our clay dishes
and our clay feet
to this altar
and we pray that we may here
make a beginning—
that somehow in our days
we can begin to see the promises
the Lord has made us.

The promises do not always
glow with obvious light, or
overwhelm us by their obvious truth.
No matter what anyone says,
it is difficult to understand an invisible God
and belief is not always
the easy way out.

So we gather the people
and we tell the story again
and we break the bread
and in the memory of the one
who saves us,
we eat and drink
and we pray and we believe.

We gather, we pray, we eat.
These things are for human beings.
God has no need of them.
Yet he himself gathered the people,
prayed, broke bread
and gave it to his friends.

And so the invisible God became
visible
and lives with us.

—Ed Ingebretzen, S.J., from Psalms of the Still Country

Closing Prayer

I beg you to keep me in this silence so that I can learn
from it
the word of your peace
and the word of your mercy
and the word of your gentleness to the world:
and that through me your word of peace may perhaps
make itself heard
where it has not been possible for anyone to hear it
For a long time.

—Thomas Merton