On the Feast of Corpus Christi
The readings for today are very useful. Especially:
Deuteronomy 8:13-16
Do not forget the LORD your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of slavery,
who led you through the great and terrible wilderness,
an arid waste-land with poisonous snakes and scorpions.
He made water flow for you from flint rock,
and fed you in the wilderness with manna
that your ancestors did not know,
to humble you and to test you,
and in the end to do you good.
I Corinthians 10: 16-17
The cup of blessing that we bless,
is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ?
The bread that we break,
is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?
Because there is one bread,
we who are many are one body,
for we all partake of the one bread.
There are moments when St. Paul steps aside and the Good News is transmitted.
Last week Paul assured us that only those moved by the Spirit could proclaim the Kerygma: Jesus is Lord. And today he reminds us, that fed on the life-giving body and blood of the one Lord, we are made into the one body of that Lord.
The Body of Christ, which we celebrate today, can be known in at least three ways. Firstly, Jesus has a body, that was conceived by the Holy Spirit and borne by the Virgin Mary. This body was circumcised, was presented in the temple, was found there by his worried parents, was baptized by John, was crucified, died, burried, raised up, ascended, and will come again! Secondly, the Body of Christ is the community of those baptized into his death and resurrection, those who have been grafted onto the vine who is Jesus. Lastly, there is the Body of Christ, made available to us in the Sacrament we contemplate today. However it is known, it is the one Body of Christ.
The Lord of heaven has given into our hands the Body and Blood of his only Son, that we may be nourished by it, and thereby enabled to proclaim his good news, to welcome others into the fellowship of Jesus' table. Nourished also to live beyond this life the life of the sisters and brothers of His Son in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Last week Paul assured us that only those moved by the Spirit could proclaim the Kerygma: Jesus is Lord. And today he reminds us, that fed on the life-giving body and blood of the one Lord, we are made into the one body of that Lord.
The Body of Christ, which we celebrate today, can be known in at least three ways. Firstly, Jesus has a body, that was conceived by the Holy Spirit and borne by the Virgin Mary. This body was circumcised, was presented in the temple, was found there by his worried parents, was baptized by John, was crucified, died, burried, raised up, ascended, and will come again! Secondly, the Body of Christ is the community of those baptized into his death and resurrection, those who have been grafted onto the vine who is Jesus. Lastly, there is the Body of Christ, made available to us in the Sacrament we contemplate today. However it is known, it is the one Body of Christ.
The Lord of heaven has given into our hands the Body and Blood of his only Son, that we may be nourished by it, and thereby enabled to proclaim his good news, to welcome others into the fellowship of Jesus' table. Nourished also to live beyond this life the life of the sisters and brothers of His Son in the Kingdom of Heaven.
<< Home