Just a word before we go...The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ...June 19, 2022
Did you happen to see the moon the other night? It was named the “strawberry moon,” and was June’s full moon, signaling the time when strawberries ripen. The moon was breathtakingly beautiful, and seemed larger and brighter than usual because its orbit was closer to the earth. I have always loved looking at the moon, but that action gained greater significance for me after I lost my father. You see, the morning after he died, I left the house heading for my car when I felt a pull to look up. There it was, that remnant of the moon that is sometimes visible in the morning sky. Gazing at it, I felt my father’s presence. I felt loved, embraced and protected. Ever since then, when I look at the sky and see the moon, I do so in remembrance of my father, and the feelings of our mutual love are stirred and renewed.
Paul recounts the institution of the Eucharist in our reading today, echoing Jesus’ words about his Body and Blood, when he said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Doing something in remembrance of another connotes much more than a simple remembering. Theologian Sr. Mary McGlone describes doing anything in remembrance as “allowing the past to touch the present in such a way that the past gives direction and meaning to the future.” When we receive the Body of Christ we become that Body. What does that mean for us? The Eucharist evokes God’s love for us, knitting us together as a community to be blessed, broken and shared. As for Jesus, so also for us. Receiving the Eucharist reinforces our identity as followers of Christ, not only in remembering him, but in allowing that remembering to direct and give meaning to our lives as we do what he did... feed the hungry, heal the sick, comfort the lonely. Jesus showed us the way forward in our gospel today. When we allow ourselves to be blessed, broken and shared, we and those we help will find baskets full of abundance...just look at the Resurrection Garden!
We hear talk today about who is worthy to receive this Eucharist, this gift of God’s love meant to strengthen and nourish us. Let’s face it, who is worthy? We are a motley crew… trying to do our best as we make our journey through life, but often falling short of the mark. So, let’s think about what Jesus didn’t...and did do. He didn’t poll the five thousand about their politics or way of life before feeding them; he didn’t exclude Judas from the Last Supper table. He did dine with sinners. As Pope Francis has said, the Eucharist is food for sinners, not a reward for the perfect. And who are we, but those very sinners?
Jesus is setting the table, inviting us all to share our lives with one another and to do as he did. Who are we to exclude others from feeling God’s love, embrace and protection? Let us instead be a people who are so grateful for God’s breathtakingly beautiful gift to us that we truly become what we receive.