My friends, we must realize from all the consecutive weekends now, with the theme of the “body and blood” of Christ, that those who put this cycle of readings together, really wanted us to explore and ponder the depth of meaning that there is here!  So again, this theme is before us…  As we have discussed these past several weekends, Jesus surely meant for us to ponder more than that the gift of the Eucharist is all about his human flesh and human blood—right? The piece that we need to remember though, is that of the hierarchical belief that the Mass is a redo of the Crucifixion, and the term, “altar,” speaks to that. 

   In reality, with the updates of the Second Vatican Council, we have come to see that the Mass is really about Jesus’ invitation to each of us to be one with him—to model our lives more and more after his—after our God who loved us so much as to send Jesus to show us how to live—as someone else has said, “our one precious life,” well.  With that notion, we no longer call this, (motion toward the table) “an altar of sacrifice,” but “a table of welcome.”

   And as always, let’s see what the Scriptures have to say.  Let’s also, cut to the chase, and look at Jesus’ words in the gospel of John.  He says, “This is the bread come down from heaven, it is not the kind of bread your ancestors ate, for they died—whoever eats this kind of bread will live forever.” 

   Now to me, I am not sure how a thinking person couldn’t see in Jesus’ words something more than a discussion of his physical flesh and blood, and a command of sorts, to adore him there on the “altar,” while guiltily “beating our breasts” for having caused the Crucifixion to happen in the first place. 

   I did a bit of exegesis to see what those more learned than me had to say on this issue: If one looks basically at more conservative Catholic writers, the emphasis is clearly on the Eucharist being Jesus’ real human flesh and real human blood, with no connection to the “eucharist” found in our sisters and brothers in our world.  Purely Christian writers speak of Jesus’ words in John, “I am the bread of life,” saying this is a metaphor that Jesus uses to describe his spiritual nourishment, and the role he plays in providing true hope, joy, and satisfaction in life.  And to me, with regard to Jesus’ words in John’s gospel today that the bread he gives is not the kind of bread that your ancestors ate, says that he means so much more than, elements on an altar!

   The other readings seem to support and challenge believers too, to get beyond this surface idea and understand that the gift of the Eucharist is intended to help us become our best—to in effect not waste our precious lives on “adoration” of physical elements, but on “imitation” of a life poured out in an over-the-top way—that of Jesus, to show us the best ways to live out our own precious lives, going beyond what we do “at our tables of prayer,” becoming “bread” ourselves that will feed not only, physical bodies when needed, but more so, the emotional and spiritual needs of ourselves and others. 

   The 1^st reading from Proverbs, considered Wisdom literature, is all about, “abandoning foolishness, that you may live and walk the path of understanding.”  My take on this is, “don’t remain at the table, but become what you eat, and then share it with others.” All the instructions that some male priests give before communion is shared at Mass about, “who is welcome to receive,” is in my mind, a slap in the face to the memory of Jesus of Nazareth who took the meal outside in order that those who weren’t welcome in the synagogue of his time, could be included. When we make anyone “unwelcome” at the table, what we are giving out ceases to be “the Eucharist!”

   Jesus, in his earthly ministry wanted those attracted to him to get beyond the physical food he provided, to take on the “whole” of what he was giving them—his mind, heart, and soul, a combination that would effectively move them out, into their world, to serve, not only themselves, but all others in need. 

   Jesus was asking these folks of old, and is asking us too, to see “his body, his flesh, his blood” in all that we meet in our world, doing our best—to help others become all that they were meant to be too.  And as always friends, I give you this disclaimer—giving to others includes yourselves—it’s a balance.  Additionally, sharing life’s gifts with others doesn’t mean giving them everything they ask for, but helping in “the journey” for them to realize, a just life.

   Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians shared today, must have been experiencing some of the same small-mindedness that frustrated Jesus as we hear him saying, “Don’t act like fools, but like wise and thoughtful people—do not continue in ignorance.”  I would add, get below the surface of things—don’t get lost in ideas that may sound good, and give comfort initially, but basically get us nowhere. 

   As I quoted in last Sunday’s homily from a bishop in the developing world, “we can’t bow in adoration to the Eucharist [on the table] and work to put down Jesus’ “body and blood” suffering in our world.”  We simply can’t! 

   So, my friends, let us regularly receive the “body and blood, soul and divinity of our brother Jesus, the Christ, and then become that same body, blood, soul and divinity—sharing it with our world, in the forms of understanding, acceptance, mercy and justice—giving of, and for others.  Stated perhaps more simply, “let us touch our world with as much “body and blood” of Jesus, which means all that he taught, and gave us, as we are able.  Amen? Amen!

My friends, for several weeks now, we have been talking about, “the bread of life,” and we continue that theme today because that is what the Scriptures are giving us in today’s readings.  Additionally, each reading from the Old Testament through to the New Testament speaks of the “bread” that feeds us in so many ways; physically, emotionally, and spiritually, letting us know that “this bread” is intended to expand beyond the physical need for food. 

   The first reading from Kings shows us the prophet, Elijah, who is near despair, letting us know that being a prophet is simply hard work.  This prophet says, “I have had enough” and asks God, “to take his life.”  Throughout the course of our lives, in times of trouble—in sickness, frustration with others who seemingly should know better, and act better—family members and friends, through loss of people, and worldly goods, we may have felt as Elijah did, and in our faith, or seeming, lack of it, we have turned to our God. 

   This first reading today from Kings, also lets us know, as it no doubt did Elijah, that our God is consistent and constant.  Our God loved Elijah and does us as well, in an over-the-top way.  God sends an angel with food for Elijah’s body, and a command, “to rest,” which will not only help him physically, but emotionally, and spiritually, to continue his God-given ministry, in the face of seemingly, no progress. 

   We see too, that our God is loving enough to check back, a second time, through the same angel, to make sure that Elijah has all that he needs.  Thus, we can be sure my friends, that God will care for us in like manner.  The psalmist confirms God’s constancy—“O taste and see that God is good [!]”

   Even though our God is always willing to help, we humans have the tendency to see, “the glass half-empty rather than half-full,” and need to be given that extra support.  Enter, our brother Jesus.  In this One who looked and acted like us, we see our God’s most compassionate love for us.  Jesus, in taking on our humanity, was then able to empathize with our human weakness, thus allowing God to love us even more. 

   It is out of this great love for humanity that our God through Jesus gave us the beautiful story of The Prodigal—the loving parent forgiving a lost-for-a-time child, and running to meet this one upon their return, and take them home.  My friends, this should confirm within us that our God will be there for us too, never leaving us alone. 

   So, knowing that we are so loved, should give us the strength, like Elijah, to continue our God’s mission on earth.  And if we are wondering what this “mission” should look like, Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians today, makes it abundantly clear: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, all harsh words, slander and malice of every kind—in their place, be kind to one another, compassionate and mutually forgiving—imitate God as beloved children.”  No doubt, Paul, even though he never knew the physical Jesus in life, studied his works, and deeds, and proceeded to act accordingly, encouraging his followers to do the same. 

   I believe we all instinctively know and believe the old adage: “You can catch more—with honey, than with vinegar.” Not wanting to get political, I would simply lift up “the new tone” within our country in the last few weeks, hearing the words, “kindness, hope, joy, and so on. 

   Looking one last time at today’s gospel, I believe it is important to lift up Jesus’ words, wherein he proclaims that he is, “living bread [!]”  I would suggest that the word, “living” speaks about “action,” not “passive adoration” as was suggested and promoted by the recent Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. 

   Jesus was always about, in my read of Scripture, listening to, reaching out, touching, healing, forgiving, and so on—to those in his world—he was truly, “alive” in his human encounters, taking each where they were.

   As the past Eucharistic Congress continues to be evaluated, especially since this wasn’t a “one-off” event—another is being planned for next year, I wanted to quote a few, notable folks’ assessments of the event. 

   Jesuit Father Thomas Reese, whose columns appear regularly for Religious News Services,’  “Signs of the Times,” and in The National Catholic Reporter (NCR), had this to say in a piece entitled, “Eucharistic Revival misses how synodality makes for better Eucharist:”

          A central part of the parish and diocesan phase of the synodal process   is “conversation in the Spirit,” in which … groups of 10 listen to each other about issues facing the church.  The process builds communion and encourages participation in the mission of Jesus. It is easy to see how this process could translate into participation in the Eucharist, the sacrament of Communion that empowers the Christian community to participate in the mission of Jesus of spreading the Good News of [God’s] love, and our responsibility to love all our brothers and sisters.  But the Eucharistic Revival has a completely different focus.  It is more about Benediction, where the consecrated bread is worshipped, then about Eucharist, where the community is fed.  Reese completes his assessment by saying that synodality is about communion, participation, and mission; so too, is the Eucharist.  Too bad the Eucharistic Revival is not. 

   Also, in the most recent NCR, Bishop Lizardo Estrado Herrara, of Cuzco, Peru was even more pointed in assessing the Eucharistic Congress: “You can’t kneel with reverence before the Eucharist while also rejecting the poor, including immigrants, working toward measures that lead to their deaths or lack of dignity.” 

   Again, my read of Scripture, specifically Jesus’ action in his world, would uplift what these two men of the church are saying, and probably cause Jesus to shake his head in disbelief over the efforts of those within the Eucharistic Revival. 

   Our God, my friends, is a universal God—here for each and every one of us—bringing life to the fullest, if we can simply be, “the bread” needed at any given time. Our world doesn’t need our “adoration,” but our “action,” truly “imitating” our brother, Jesus, who said, “I am the bread, [coming] from heaven.” Because we are part of this great family, aren’t we too part of the “same loaf” —doesn’t our reception of the bread and wine, at the table, here, make us then, the “body and blood of Christ in our world, with the expectation that we will share this with others?”  I would say we are, and it does! And even though we may be tired of it all at times, and maybe have no answers to present-day problems, we have to keep in the game! We may need a nap, some bread and water, like Elijah, and the knowledge that as Jesus said, “I will be with you all days,” and, holding onto that, we can and must, keep moving into our world, with love.  Amen?  Amen!

   My friends, this week we continue to ponder just what “the Body and Blood of Christ” means to us, and as we said last week, viewing “the big picture,” it truly is about taking what we have received through our brother Jesus, at his last supper—his presence, into our bodies—physical food, along with his words and actions through Scripture—his showing us the way, and allowing ourselves then, to become that “bread,” his body really, for the world.  And we really do need a “big picture” idea to understand this gift that Jesus left us: His real presence, physical, and spiritual in our lives.

   I promised last week not to “rag on” our local bishop, Robert Barron, and his small notion of the Eucharist, therefore I won’t, but instead speak of another individual who was prominent two weeks ago at the Eucharistic Congress, in Indianapolis, Jonathan Roume, who plays  Jesus in the popular series, The Chosen.

   I was upset to see him sporting a tee shirt with the words: “If it is only a symbol, the hell with it!”  What was being uplifted on this shirt is the notion that the Body and Blood of the Eucharist is real human flesh and real human blood—in short, “the Real Presence.” Evidently, if one doesn’t accept that this is real human flesh, and real human blood, then the real presence of Jesus isn’t there either, and the bishops of this country, including our own, are very worried about this. 

   For whatever reason, the bishops of this country feel that uplifting this idea of “real presence,” as in real flesh and real blood, is more important than the fact that we who follow Jesus, the Christ become, his body and blood , physically, spiritually, and emotionally in our world when we try to “imitate,” rather than “adore” him, as the Eucharistic Congress’ attendees seemed to have been instructed to do—adore, rather than imitate. And again, this isn’t to say that these folks don’t in any way “imitate” Jesus in their lives, but clearly this wasn’t where the emphasis was placed. 

   So, the question must be asked and faced: If you are going to spend millions of dollars—28 to be exact, trying to get “faithful heads” to truly believe that what we have on our tables of liturgy is real human flesh and blood—is that all there is?  Wouldn’t it be better to stress that our brother Jesus is truly present when we say the words, and we don’t necessarily have to understand how that exactly is, instead of being boxed in, believing in a simplistic, magical view of “human flesh and blood” without any real connection to the “flesh and blood” of humanity needing attention in our world? I think it would be better, because I believe that is what our brother Jesus intended.

   But, as always, let’s turn to the Scriptures.  The gospel today from John zeros in on what I was saying above.  Jesus is trying to move his followers beyond the mere physicality of the bread, food for the physical body that is spoken of in the Old Testament reading from Exodus where the people are complaining to God because they have nothing to eat.  And being the merciful One that our God is, the people were fed with manna and quail. 

   Our brother Jesus commenting on this fact, that they were like their forebears—that those who followed him weren’t hungering for the “real bread” he longed to give them—his words, his way of living and giving that would ultimately fill their hearts, minds, and souls, but for food to merely quench their physical hunger. 

   I believe what Jesus found in the people, asking for “physical” bread, instead of “bread” that, [in his words] “gives life to the world”  –big picture, through his words and deeds, saddened him, as he wanted them to see more. 

   To me, that is why the over-the-top expense of the recent Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis saddens me so. Additionally, I believe it may have saddened our brother Jesus too, because it didn’t stress the “bread of life” that “gives life” to the world at all.  They that attended, and they that produced this event pretty much stayed on the surface, “adoring rather than imitating” our brother Jesus—something, by the way, he never wanted. 

   And, moving on to what Paul has to say today to the Ephesians, I believe we see someone who “gets” what Jesus was trying to convey in his lifetime: Paul says, to be a follower of Jesus means you must change your ways—look more like Jesus, and less like the world—in other words, if we are not about “justice” and “truth,” something is missing. 

   It would seem that if something truly “life-giving,” beyond the immediate adoration complete with all the “bells and whistles”  had happened at the Eucharistic Congress, it would have been more widely shared, like an announcement sending this 50.000 folks forth to find justice (the bread of life, the body and blood of Christ in the homeless poor, the imprisoned, especially falsely so, which has so much to do with race, the downtrodden due to gender and sexual differences and preferences beyond the norm, in those called to serve, but denied, and more.  We never hear any leadership on these issues—only rules and regs about who is included, but mostly who is excluded.

   Across town, at the same time, Roman Catholic Women Priests sponsoring a Eucharist of Equals advocated and prayed for all of the above. 

   It is understandable in the purely human sense that the Bishops of this country would choose to do the “easier” action, staying stuck on the surface, but it isn’t what Jesus, by his life called them to do.  They need to lead instead of serving themselves and their positions of power, finding a place at the table for all of God’s beautiful people.

   And for us my friends, the call is the same.  I heard someone recently say, “What good thing did you do today?”  Have we been about showing mercy, understanding, being just in our dealings with others, or better yet, have we done the “loving thing” when we had the opportunity? –and as you know, the “loving thing” isn’t always the easiest to do.  Following Jesus will every day call us to be “our best.”

   Today’s readings are about more than meets the eye for each of us—that is truly the meaning of being “bread for our world, seeing Jesus’ “body and blood” in the faces and lives of all that we meet, and in that light, whether we can get our heads around “real human flesh, and real human blood, doesn’t seem to be the most important thing, but,  responding by doing what is most needed, the loving thing, for the true, more real, body and blood of this world.   Amen? Amen!