20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Cycle B
August 19, 2018
Saint Mary Parish, Pylesville 4:00 pm
Saint Matthew Parish, Baltimore 11:15am
Second-Graders
In every parish, when we prepare the second-graders for First Communion, we are careful in the way we teach them.
What I mean is that today Jesus speaks of our “eating his fleshand drinking his blood.” These words can at first be startling and confusing to children.
So, we are clear with the children that the bread still looks and tastes like a thin wafer of bread. And the wine still looks and tastes like real wine.
The People in the Gospel
Well, many of the people who listen to Jesus’ words in today’s gospel are startled and confused.
The people almost naturally ask, “How can this be? How can [Jesus say that] ‘Whoever eats my fleshand drinks my bloodhas eternal life?”
Well, if we dig into the passage and put it in context, we can see what Jesus really means. I see three beautiful lessons here.
Lesson 1: The Person of Jesus Is Present
The first is that Jesus, as a person, is present here.
When he says these words about the bread and wine being his body and blood, this is what it all comes down to. This is what this sacrament is about.
We believe that these ordinary things – bread and wine – we believe that these are symbols but not just symbols. They actually make Jesus present to us.
This is what we mean when we talk about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Jesus, the person, is present here.
Lesson 2: Jesus Gives Us God’s Life
The second lesson is that through Jesus, we have God’s life.
Jesus says: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.”And again, “The Father sent me and I have life because of the Father.”
I would bet that these words are also a reason why some of the people in today’s gospel just pack up and leave. It is too much for them to believe that Jesus comes directly from the Father and has God’s own life.
But, this is exactly what Jesus is saying. And he is also saying that through this food, the bread and wine, his body and blood, we now have God’s life within us.
That is why we call this Communion, Holy Communion, a communion of life with the Holy One. This is one of the most wonderful, profound and comforting parts of our faith.
Lesson 3: Jesus Gives Both Body and Blood
And the third lesson is that Jesus gives us both his body and his blood.
In truth, it would have been enough for Jesus to give us just his body. But he also gives us his blood separately.
And the reason is that Jesus gives us himself as having poured out his blood for us on the cross. And in giving himself in this way, he is defining how the divine life is to affect us.
Like him, we are now to give of ourselves for one another. We are to pour out our energy and life not just for ourselves, but also for others.
This weekend, I have to think about this in relation to the Grand Jury report in Pennsylvania that was issued this week. Right now, our institutional Church and especially our bishops need to pour out our empathy for all those who have been victims of abuse over the years.
We need to pour out our love directly to these persons. We – the institution and especially our bishops – need to listen to them and do whatever we can to assist in their healing.
And we also need to pour out our love for them indirectly. We do this by confessing our sins and mistakes in dealing with abuse.
Along with that, we need to assure that the system and culture of the Church will deal openly with things and be accountable to God’s people. And we must commit ourselves to always protect the vulnerable.
As I say all of this, I feel sad, appalled and angry – they are at least my top emotions. I also feel committed to do my part as one person or one priest to improve the Church’s system and culture.
Now, to go back to the Eucharist, this pouring out of love is what the Eucharist empowers us to do. If we and now especially our leaders do this, then we or they are practicing what we preach and really being Eucharistic people.
