You Are What You Eat (2)

Photo by Jordane Mathieu on Unsplash

A few months ago I assisted as deacon at my father-in-law’s funeral.

We have a Jewish contingent because years ago my sister-in-law

Married into a Jewish family and converted.

I gave a brilliant, moving, homily.

But it was my reading of one intercession that grabbed my Jewish niece:

For our brother Anthony who ate the body of Christ, the bread of life.

That he may be raised up on the last day; we pray to the Lord.

After Mass she asked my daughter:
Eewww, why would they say that?  That was so gross!

And, from her perspective, I can see how it was.

But we Catholics are so familiar with those words today

That we don't appreciate how shocking they were to the Jewish crowd

When Jesus first said them.

Most of us have heard and understood those words since childhood.

At every Mass we encounter at least six direct references

That add repetition, context, and explanation to the concept of

Bread and wine becoming the body and blood of Christ.

At the presentation of the gifts the priest says

   Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands, it will become for us the bread of life. 

   Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, for through your goodness we have received the wine we offer you: fruit of the vine and work of human hands, it will become our spiritual drink.  

In the Eucharistic Prayer we hear these or similar words:

    Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray,

by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall, 

So that they may become for us the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

And then—

   Take this, all of you, and eat of it:

for this is my body which will be given up for you.

   Take this, all of you, 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.

Still further in the Eucharistic Prayer we hear these or similar words:

   Humbly we pray that, partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ,

We may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit. 

Later, the priest again lifts up the consecrated host for us and says—

   Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb. 

And finally, as each person receives Communion, the minister says:

   The body of Christ

   The blood of Christ

And we say, Amen.

We’ve been well conditioned, well prepared for those shocking words.

When Jesus spoke to the Jews they were not prepared.

He was telling the crowd that he was the bread of life,

Sent down from heaven as food and life for the world.

Why didn’t he just stop at that?

It was a nice analogy, a nice figurative image.

The crowd was with him.

Why did he suddenly turn to speaking so directly, so harshly,

So shockingly?

Why the raw, gruesome talk about eating flesh and drinking blood—

Knowing full well that it would deeply disturb the crowd?

Maybe it was the only way he could convey the full , literal, truth.

The full meaning of what he was saying.

Hey, you're not going to consume some food and drink

And get some figurative, symbolic representation of me.

You're going to get the real me--literally.

You're going to actually take me in, whole, physically, into your being.

And as we all know, you are what you eat.

Softer words may not have conveyed that full meaning.

They'd be too easily interpreted as just a figure of speech.

We may have never grasped the fact

That he would be truly, physically present in that food.

But where were Jesus’s spin doctors?

Where was his PR guy?

They could have stepped right up and said:

Of course he means just what he said.

But don’t worry, he's got a very acceptable, palatable plan.

His true physical presence will continuously, miraculously, come to us

As one form of his glorified body—in the familiar form of bread and wine.

But he didn't have a spin doctor, or a PR guy.

And he didn't want one.

He could have explained it himself, but he chose not to at that time.

Perhaps as a test of faith for his listeners.

Eventually, of course, he did explain it at the Last Supper.

Maybe one reason he didn't explain earlier, was to give us

A prominent lasting example of the need to speak truth directly.

Even when there might be dangerous consequences.

To address uncomfortable truths directly, fully, openly and clearly.

He was telling of good news, a glorious truth, an unimaginable gift—

Yet, for the sake of clarity and certainty in conveying his meaning,

He took the risk of using words that would deeply disturb the crowd.

Maybe this is a message for our Church leaders today.

Speak the truth directly, fully, openly and clearly.

Don't go to the spin doctor, or the PR guy, or even the lawyer.

When Jesus made his raw shocking statement

Many disciples gave up on him and left in disappointment and disgust.

In recent days we’ve heard a barrage of 
Raw, shocking statements about our Church.

Just as we did a decade ago.

We had hoped it was all over back then, but we see it wasn’t.

There’s disappointment and disgust and outrage.

Some people talk of giving up on the Church and leaving.

We’ve always known that evil and sickness can infect our Church.

Now we’ve seen just how widespread it’s reach can be.

And the magnitude multiplies when it's hidden for nearly a century 
And exposed all at once.

Our members, including our earth-bound leaders, are only human.

Our leaders can err in their judgement.

The ranks of our priests and other ministers who deal with children

In our Church can be infiltrated or infected.

Just like the ranks of doctors, coaches and teachers outside our Church.

But our Church needs to reach for the highest standards.

When his disturbing words caused many disciples to abandon him.

Jesus asked the Apostles if they too wanted to leave him.

Peter spoke for them saying,

Where would we go?

We have come to believe and are convinced

That you are the Holy One of God.

Likewise, facing the very disturbing words regarding our Church today,

Those with faith have nowhere else to go.

They have to stay and help to fix it.

As for me, I have to follow the example of Peter.

I’m standing with the Church that Jesus himself founded and heads.

I’m looking to Jesus and his Holy Spirit to guide it.

To bring good out of bad, as only they can.

I’m hoping that in some small way I can help.

I’m encouraged at the progress that has been made.
By the way leaders are speaking now.
And I’m most thankful that we have the true presence,

The physical, living, glorified body and blood of Christ

To sustain us, transform us, 
And enable us to attain the highest standards.

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jn 6:51-58   Read this Scripture @usccb.org