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Fr. Jude Botelho
Theme : Corpus Christi
Receiving and being the body of Christ.
1st. Reading : Duet 8: 2 -3, 14b - 16a;
2nd Reading : 1 Cor 10: 16 - 17;
Gospel : John 6: 51 - 58;
Dear Friend,
-Fr. Jude
Today’s first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy attempts to remind the people of something that was fundamental to their very existence: the remembrance of all that God has done for them. Moses wishes to let the ancient traditions of Israel speak with force to the people of Israel, in the hope that remembering the past will help them cope with the present crises. Re-learning from the past can help the Israelites to be on guard against former failures. Remembering what God has done can be a stimulus to renewing our life at the present. Remembering is an important part of Jewish worship. In prayer they remind God and themselves of the promises of God, thus keeping alive their memory and their faith in God. Moses, as he exhorts them to remember God’s action on their behalf, is in fact reminding them that they need God. They might satisfy their bodily hungers and needs but only God can satisfy their deepest need.
Two fundamental needs
Ethiopia suffered a terrible famine during the years 1984 to 1986. Cardinal Hume of Westminster tells us about an incident that happened when he visited Ethiopia in the middle of the famine. One of the places he visited was a settlement in the hills where he people were waiting for food which was unlikely to arrive. He was taken there by helicopter. As he got out of the helicopter a small boy, aged about ten, came up to him and took his hand. He was wearing nothing but a loincloth around his waist. The whole time that the cardinal was there the little child would not let go of his hand. As they went around he made two gestures: with one hand he pointed to his mouth, and with the other he took the cardinal’s hand and rubbed it on his cheek. Later, the cardinal said, “Here was an orphan boy who was lost and starving. Yet by two simple gestures he indicated two fundamental needs or hungers. With one gesture he showed me his hunger for food, and with the other his hunger for love. I have never forgotten that incident, and to this day I wonder whether that child is alive.”
Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday & Holy Day Liturgies’
In the second reading Paul is addressing the people of Corinth, who were constantly bickering among themselves and were divided among themselves, even as they came to celebrate the Lord’s supper. We cannot celebrate and participate in the Eucharist meaningfully if were are divided and quarreling with one another. Paul uses the symbol of the one loaf and the one cup of which all partake of in the Eucharist. “The fact that there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form one single body because we all share in this one loaf.”
Fr.Donald Gelpi in his commentary says that “by eating the food of the Eucharist we show in effect that we no longer draw our life simply from the things of this world – no longer do we live by bread alone, or by beer, or by television, or by cars, or by balanced budgets, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. ….Not only that, but the people of God show that it is a people sharing its bread with others –bread for the hungry by helping the poor; bread for the oppressed by fighting for justice; bread for the lonely by offering friendship; bread for the despairing by giving encouragement.”
In the Gospel we have the discourse of Jesus on the Bread of Life, which itself follows the feeding of the five thousand and the journey across the lake. All these events form part of the remembrance of the Exodus and the covenant. Memories are a wonderful stimulus for growth in faith. The Eucharist is a memorial sacrifice, which Jesus asked us to celebrate. “Do this in memory of me.” In the Eucharist we can remember how God has saved us from some particular catastrophe or blessed us in un-thought of ways. The Eucharist can also jog our memories into realization of our failures. It is frightening to remember that many of the Nazis who committed atrocities were Christians and also Catholics. Many who participate in wars and brutal acts of terror do so in the name of God. Memories can be dangerous because they force us to take a stand that we otherwise might not do. The Eucharistic mystery then is not something that we have to understand and grasp but something that we have to believe and live.
How Can God be present in a tiny host?
Some time ago, a street-corner preacher who knew how to make religious truths come to life, was faced by a hostile crowd. “How,” one of them demanded, “is it possible for bread and wine to become the body and blood of Christ?” The preacher looked calmly at the stout questioner for a moment and answered, “You have grown somewhat since you were a child and have more flesh and blood than you had then. Surely, if a human body can change food and drink into flesh and blood, God can do it too.” “But how,” countered the heckler, “is it possible for Christ to be present in his entirety in a small host?” The preacher glanced up at the sky and down at the city street before them and answered, “This city scene and the sky above it is something immense, while your eye is very small. Yet your eye in itself contains the whole picture. When you consider this, it won’t seem impossible for Christ to be present in his entirety in a little piece of bread.” Once more the heckler attacked. “How, then, is it possible for the same body of Christ to be present in all your churches at the same time?” The preacher’s answer was, “In a large mirror you see your image reflected but once. When you break the mirror into a thousand pieces, you see the same image of yourself in each of the hundred fragments. If such things occur in everyday life, why should it be impossible for the body of Christ to be present in many places at once? And tell me, just what isn’t possible for God, anyhow?
Harold Buetow in ‘God Still Speaks: Listen!’
Jesus reminds us that without him we cannot live. “I tell you solemnly, if you do not eat of the flesh of Son of Man and drink his blood you will not have life in you. ….He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I in him….anyone who eats this bread will live forever.” Let us remember that eating and drinking are meant to be symbolic of our wanting to live by the word of God. As St Augustine said: “It is no use feeding on Christ with our teeth if we are not feeding on him with our minds,” that is by faith.
As human beings we cannot live on bread alone. We need more than food to live. Jesus offered different kinds of ‘bread’ to people satisfying their many hungers. To people who followed him in to the desert, and who were starving, he offered ordinary bread and so satisfied their physical hunger. To the leper whose body was falling apart, he offered the only bread that mattered –the bread of physical healing. To the lonely woman at Jacob’s well, he offered the bread of human kindness and acceptance. To sinners he offered the bread of forgiveness. To the rejects and outcasts, by mixing with them, he offered the bread of companionship. To the widow of Nain, and Martha and Mary, who had lost some one dear to them, he offered the bread of compassion. To the thief who died by his side, he offered the bread of reconciliation with God. What bread are we looking for? Only Jesus can offer us that bread.
May we realize that without God we cannot live!
jude@netforlife.plus.com
P.S. :The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. I would be happy if you could link this website to your own parish/diocesan/institutional website. If you wish to receive these reflections by e-mail, or send them to a friend, do send in the e-mail address to <jude@netforlife.plus.com>