Commentary
Sunday, June 18, 2017, The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Always Remember: Not by Bread Alone
First Reading Commentary Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a
Moses told the people to remember everything that the LORD had done for them and he reminded the people that the LORD had led them through the desert and had tested them to see if they would keep the Commandments.
When we consider the fact that God is all-knowing, it is only natural for us to ask the question: Why did God test the Israelites? Was it really to see what they would do or was it get their attention so that they would realize that He was the LORD their God?
No matter what God did for the Israelites, they had to be reminded over and over again of His awesome power. Every time that the people were told and shown that the LORD and the LORD alone was their God; they had to be told and shown again.
The Israelites were not unique in being this way. I believe that it is human nature. We all have to be reminded over and over again that our God is an awesome God who will provide for our every need and we should therefore, place all of our faith in Him.
This is one of the reasons why we need to go to church. We are in constant need of being fed by the Word of God. This is why Moses told the people that the LORD had allowed them to be afflicted by hunger and then fed them with manna so that they might learn that one does not live by bread alone. People who feel as though they do not need to go to church either do not understand this fact or refuse to accept it.
What does being fed by the Word of God do for us and why is it necessary for us to constantly be fed by the Word of God? The answer is simple. God wants us to know who He is and He wants us to know that all good things come from Him. God wants us to know these things so that we will want to be with Him in heaven and God wants nothing more than for us to be with Him in heaven.
Everything that God does for us and everything that God provides for us is designed to lead us to Him. But God does not want us to follow Him simply because He tells us to. God does not want us to obey His commandments simply because they exist either. God wants us to desire Him and be with Him because we want to be with Him.
This is why God tested the Israelites and it is why we are tested as well. I used to work with someone who always said, “Ain’t nothing; but a test!” Indeed, life with all of its challenges is a test.
God does not need the answers to the questions on the test but we do! We need to be reminded over and over again that there is only one answer no matter how the question is asked. That answer is: Have faith in God from whom, all good things come.
We All Have a Part
Second Reading Commentary 1 Corinthians 10;16-17
Today’s reading from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is very short and very direct but makes us stop and think.
Each of us is a part of the Mystical Body of Christ which St. Paul refers to when he tells us that even though we are many, we all partake of the same loaf. But first, St. Paul tells us that our receiving the Eucharist when we go to Communion is not a participation in the body and blood of Christ.
To understand why, we need to go back to the Last Supper and study what Jesus said in Matthew 26:26-29 when He instituted the Eucharist. Specifically, we need to look at Matthew 26:28. Jesus said, “…for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of the many for the forgiveness of sins.”
We have to remember that the New Testament begins with the life of Christ and that Christ made a new covenant with mankind promising the Kingdom of Heaven. Throughout the Old Testament, when a covenant was made with God, that covenant was sealed with a sacrifice on the altar. So, Jesus was telling us that He was sealing His covenant with us by making Himself the sacrifice. Never again would blood have to be spilled on any altar because the blood of Christ was spilled for everyone.
We are truly blessed to be a part of the Mystical Body. But it was not our bodies that went to the cross and it was not our blood that was shed for the forgiveness of all of our sins. It was the body and blood of Christ. However, because we are all sinners and because the New Covenant was made with all of us, we all have a part in the crucifixion just as we all have a part in the one Body.
Full of Mysteries
Gospel Commentary John 6:51-58
While speaking in a synagogue in Capernaum, Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
Try to take yourself back to the time of this event and imagine being one of the people that Jesus was speaking to that day. Even if you were one of His disciples, you would have to take what Jesus said as being profound beyond comprehension. The idea of someone proclaiming, that their body is the bread of life for the world. Who could ever say such a thing? Who does this guy think that he is?
This is exactly how the Jews reacted and John tells us that one of their questions was, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” But Jesus responded by telling the Jews that if they did not eat His flesh or drink His blood, they did not have life within them.
Jesus was not talking about physical life as we understand it here on earth. In today’s first reading, Moses relayed the LORD’s message that one does not live by bread alone. Jesus would repeat that lesson when He was tempted by the devil in Matthew 4:4. When we consider this lesson in today’s Gospel, we have to keep in mind that the manna which the LORD fed to the Israelites was for physical nourishment as well as spiritual nourishment. The Eucharist is spiritual food designed to nourish our faith as we continue our journey to our eternal life in heaven.
Jesus was talking about the Eucharist itself but because the Last Supper had not taken place yet, the people had no idea what Jesus was talking about. Furthermore, what Jesus said made absolutely no sense to them.
What Jesus said was a complete mystery. Even though we know what the Eucharist is, the Eucharist remains a mystery. There are many things about God which are mysteries and we will never fully understand any of them in this life. All we can do is; use our faith to believe in them and accept them and that is what the Jews were not doing.
In my commentary for today’s first reading, I said that we need to be fed by the Word of God over and over again. So far in this gospel, Jesus told the Jews that they had to eat His flesh twice. There are three more times to follow and each time contains a mystery which we must accept in faith.
The third time Jesus said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” Here Jesus is telling us that He will fulfill the New Covenant which is His promise to us of the Kingdom of Heaven, on the last day. We must accept this mystery because Jesus is also telling us that only those of us who have received Him will be raised with Him.
Jesus tells us that His flesh is the true bread and that His blood is the true drink. Think about it. This is a warning not to listen to false prophets. Jesus is telling us that no matter what anyone else may say, the way to heaven is through Him and no one else.
Then Jesus told the Jews to eat His flesh for the fourth time by saying, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” How can this be? We cannot answer that question for it is the mystery that surrounds the Mystical Body of Christ. Again, we just have to accept it in faith.
The last time, Jesus said, “Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.” The mystery here is that our physical life on earth is a result of the Father’s creation. Our eternal life in heaven will be granted to us by the Son if we choose to receive Him.
Let’s meditate once again for a moment on the institution of the Eucharist which is the Fifth Luminous Mystery of the Rosary. At the Last Supper, Jesus took unleavened bread, said the blessing, and then said, “Take this…and eat of it, for this is my Body, which will be given up for you.” Then He took the chalice, said the blessing and said, “Take this…and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me.”
These are the words that the priest will use when changing bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. If you refer to the gospels of Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24 and Luke 22:19-20; you will find that none of the wording is exactly the same as what the priest says. However, the wording used by the priest at Mass does encompass the wording of all three gospels.
It is important to point out that Jesus said that His was the Blood of the new and eternal covenant. Remember that the Old Covenant was the Father sharing His law with the Israelites through Moses preparing the way for the coming of Christ. The New Covenant is the perfection of the Old Covenant as told to us by Christ in His Sermon on the Mount where He gave us the Beatitudes and proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven. Refer to the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 1965 to 1974.
Catholics take the Eucharist seriously believing that the celebration of the Eucharist at Mass is a reliving of the Last Supper. Unleavened bread and wine, are used for the Body and Blood and a chalice is used just as these things were used at the Last Supper. The words are repeated that Christ used. Only the priest as a descendant of the Apostles, who were the first priest, has the authority to consecrate the bread and wine into the Body and Blood by virtue of his priesthood. For these reasons, Catholics consider the Eucharist to be the living Body and Blood of Christ and this is what we celebrate today.
