My friends, as promised, today and the next several Sundays will be, big picture, about the “body and blood of Christ,” and it is important, thinking about the “big picture,” that when we speak of “Christ,” we don’t mean Jesus’ last name, but a concept that Franciscans, Ilia Delio and Richard Rohr, as well as other expansive thinkers, of the ilk of Diamuid O’Murcho in Quantum Theology, speak of as inclusive of all peoples, times, and places—in other words, Christ is for all. 

   So, my friends, the chosen readings for today are so good in that they indeed tell us how to receive Jesus’ body and blood, and what to do with it once received.  I believe these readings do tell us how to get out of the small boxes that our Church hierarchy have been, sadly, famous for putting us into. 

   The 1^st reading from 2 Kings gives us the prophet Elisha telling “a giver of bread” –20 loaves, to, “give it to the people.”  As we humans tend to do, we see the “small picture,” as the giver of the loaves says, “How can I serve it to 100 people?” 

   Likewise, in today’s gospel from John, we see the same phenomenon—too little food, too many people.  The prophets Elisha, and Jesus simply say, “Give it to the people.”  And miraculously, in both cases, while not enough to start with, there are leftovers!  So, what can we make of this?  Clearly, something beyond physics is going on…

   Psalm 145 gives us an initial clue:  “You open your hand and [you will] satisfy.”  It has been said by others that the small offering given, in both readings, became great because of the example given by one person that encouraged others to give what they had too when they saw that there wasn’t enough to go around. Or, one can simply believe that the “blessings” of the prophets, Elisha and Jesus, miraculously multiplied the loaves, and in Jesus’ case, the fish, to make not only enough, but more than enough. 

   I personally like the idea that both Elisha and Jesus initially, “showed the way” and others responded in kind…  Jesus, in my read of Scriptures was always “showing the way” to be our best selves. 

   Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, our 2^nd reading, fleshes out beautifully I believe, just how we are to be “our best” in our earthly existence:  He says, “I plead with you then…to lead a life worthy of your calling…” basically, treat others charitably, with unselfishness, gentleness, patience—doing all you can to preserve unity. 

   It seems then, that there is always the chance that when we “give what, as Saint Francis of Assisi said, is ours to give,” there is the possibility that more will be added to our gift by others.  We should never underestimate our personal power in this regard, to start the ball rolling, so to speak.  At the very least, we have the responsibility to, “show up,” –the Spirit will probably take it from there. 

   So my friends, we can’t really speak about the “body and blood of Christ” in the Eucharist without mentioning the extravaganza, to the tune of $28 million held by the hierarchy of our Church, in Indianapolis last weekend.  To be fair to our Winona/Rochester diocesan bishop, Robert Barron, I felt I had better listen to what he had to say at the Eucharistic Congress. 

   Bishop Barron is definitely what some would call, “a charismatic individual,” which can be a good, or not so good thing, and people needing perhaps, a strong message, are very much attracted to him—they in fact, love him, and his words. 

   In his talk he spoke about what is wrong in our world, and to him, it is that “love is not being addressed, or applied.”  He told those gathered that they need to be, “Lumen gentium,” light of the world, only he doesn’t ever say what that means. He does say in so many words that we as individuals have no right to, “listen to ourselves,” or act on our own desires—that is God’s to do—to tell us who we are, and how we should act, and interestingly enough, “God’s message” is exactly what the hierarchical Church teaches.  What was, as a good friend of mine says, “crazy-making,” to me, was his dialog about “not listening to our egos” –only his persistence on doing things by the rules and regs (his way, in fact), without any thought about listening to our own beings, made him sound quite egotistical, and arrogant, something he, I am sure, is totally unaware of.  I am always a little skeptical of someone who is so sure that they have the absolute truth. I always thought that God gifted us with free wills—but not so, it would seem in listening to Bishop Barron. 

   So, the more that I listen to him, the more I know quite clearly, why he won’t come and speak with us…

   But going back to his notion that what is wrong with the world is that, “love is not being applied, “ I would ask him, if that is the case, why does he never speak about, nor  encourage his followers to address climate change (talk about Word/World on Fire), poverty and hunger in our world, ceaseless wars, nuclear proliferation, the death penalty, acceptance of those who have struggled to live within the narrow confinements of gender okayed by the Church hierarchy, God’s equal calls to women and men to serve at our liturgical tables—to full leadership in our Church.  In my mind, it’s because he doesn’t understand the profound nature, and expansiveness of love as depicted by our brother Jesus.

   In conclusion then, Bishop Barron’s Word on Fire, that he hopes to ignite within his following, and spread throughout the world, I would say will not have the massive effect that he hopes for because it clearly, in my mind, is not about “love” in the grandest sense of the word.  It has no direction beyond its narrow scope of what is acceptable –it is exclusive, arrogant and small-minded. 

   I say “small-minded” because in its attempt to have us all spend our creative minds and energies merely accepting that “the bread and the wine of communion is human flesh and human blood,” rather than what Jesus’ body and blood transformed in us is doing, or should be doing in our world, extending acceptance, kindness, open ears and hearts, hearing individual and unique things our God is doing in the world, seems to me to have missed the point! Truly, I would say that when, “the Word, is truly on Fire, people will keep finding more and more ways, not less, different nuances of what love means.  And let me be clear, I am not saying that followers of this movement are not doing “good” things in this world, as I know they are, but if we are about love, in the memory of Jesus of Nazareth, then, no one can be excluded, everyone is worthy, and certainly, not, “a waste of time,” as Bishop Barron said of us! Amen? Amen!