Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ
Cycle C
May 29,
2016 4:00 and 6:00 pm
Saint Margaret Parish, Bel
Air
Readings: Genesis
14.18-20
I
Corinthians 1.23-26
Luke
9.11-17
Transforming: Outside In
There
is a little anecdote about a three-year-old boy named David.
David
received a Superman cape for his third birthday. And he was just ecstatic.
David
quickly tied on the cape and ran as fast as he could around the backyard,
expecting to take off and fly like Superman.
But then, a few minutes later, he came back into the house.
David
was dragging the cape behind, with a disgusted look on his face. He blurted out to his mom and dad, “This thing doesn’t work.”
Transforming: Inside Out
David
learned an important lesson at a very young age.
He learned
that you cannot fly or become Superman just by putting on a cape. There’s a lot more involved.
And
that’s the point of today’s celebration of the Body and Blood of Christ. The Eucharist is intended to transform us
into God-like persons but not by wearing a Superman cape.
In
other words, this sacrament doesn’t work from the outside in, as little David
thought about the cape. Instead, it
works from the inside out.
And
besides that, the Eucharist does this inside out transforming very differently from
the world of nature. Let’s just look at
our experience.
Transformation: Nature versus Eucharist
For
example, plants absorb nutrients from the soil and transform them into plant
cells. The nutrients become an integral
part of the plant.
We
human beings eat vegetables and meats and transform all of this into our own
body cells. All of this nutrition
becomes an integral part of our body.
This is
how the world of nature works. But the
sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ works in the reverse.
When we
eat this spiritual food, we do not transform this into our own own body. Instead, this food transforms us into the
Body of Christ.
So,
unlike the Superman cape, this food transforms us from within, from inside
out. And unlike physical food, this
spiritual food transforms us little by little into Christ-like persons.
Allowing This to Happen
Now
that is what the Eucharist is intended to do, but we also have to do our part
to allow this to happen. I recommend two
things.
First,
when we walk up to receive Communion, let’s try very intentionally to focus on
what we are about to receive. When we
say “Amen,” let’s make sure that we
really mean: “Yes, I believe this is the
Body and Blood of Christ; I want to receive the Lord.”
And
even more! “Yes, I believe this is the sacramental Body of Christ, and I want this
to transform me into the living Body of Christ.”
And
second, let’s be very intentional about the Communion hymn. Let’s make sure that we see this as a prayer
– that’s what it is, a prayer.
Maybe
we don’t sing well or don’t like to sing.
But I recommend that we try, or at least read the words of the Communion
hymn, and realize what a beautiful prayer it is and make it our prayer.
Conclusion
So, these
two practices – 1) our awareness of what we mean by the word “Amen,” and 2) our praying and singing
the hymn – these practices allow the Eucharist to transform us from inside
out. And they allow this food to make us
more like Christ, more like God.
This is
what the sacramental Body of Christ does.
And this is how we become the living Body of Christ on this earth.
