The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, resonate with our experience of living as members of the Body of Christ.
In the passage from the Book of Genesis the action of Melchizedek is seen as a prefiguration of Christ.
* [14:18] Melchizedek, king of Salem (Jerusalem, cf. Ps 76:3), appears with majestic suddenness to recognize Abraham’s great victory, which the five local kings were unable to achieve. He prepares a feast in his honor and declares him blessed or made powerful by God Most High, evidently the highest God in the Canaanite pantheon. Abraham acknowledges the blessing by giving a tenth of the recaptured spoils as a tithe to Melchizedek. The episode is one of several allusions to David, king at Jerusalem, who also exercised priestly functions (2 Sm 6:17). Heb 7 interprets Melchizedek as a prefiguration of Christ.1
Psalm 110 is a royal Psalm in which a court singer recites three oracles in which God assures the king that his enemies are conquered.
* [Psalm 110] A royal Psalm in which a court singer recites three oracles in which God assures the king that his enemies are conquered (Ps 110:1–2), makes the king “son” in traditional adoption language (Ps 110:3), gives priestly status to the king and promises to be with him in future military ventures (Ps 110:4–7).2
The reading from 1 Corinthians shares the tradition of the Institution of the Eucharist.
* [11:23–25] This is the earliest written account of the institution of the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament. The narrative emphasizes Jesus’ action of self-giving (expressed in the words over the bread and the cup) and his double command to repeat his own action.3
The Gospel from Luke tells of the Feeding of the Five Thousand by Jesus.
* [9:16] Then taking…: the actions of Jesus recall the institution of the Eucharist in Lk 22:19; see also note on Mt 14:19.4
Larry Gillick, S.J. comments that the Gospel for this wonderful celebration is about inconvenience. The Apostles enjoy the popularity Jesus has with the crowds by His healings and teachings. It is getting late and the crowds are a bother. The disciples hardly have enough to feed themselves so they wish to have Jesus get rid of them. “Give them some food yourselves.” They are inconvenienced by their experience of poverty. They couldn’t figure out how Jesus could ask this of them.
What is precious as well is the poverty of mind and spirit which opens us up to grateful receptivity, as did the crowd. I am not convinced that if we understood the Transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus, it would increase devotion nor the number of receivers. Knowing does not satisfy. What is hard to accept is not Christ’s Presence in the form or substance of bread and wine, but the inconvenient reality of forming me as well as you into His Body and Blood.5
As a small group of pilgrims in June 2015, we celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi in a liturgy at and between two of the great Basilica of Rome (San Giovanni in Laterano and Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore) in which Pope Francis was the Presider. The experience of the “Body of Christ” as people from all over the world gathered in worship and procession, joyfully honouring His Presence, is a body memory that makes real in memory and experience the Promise of Full Life in Christ.
Don Schwager quotes “Christ has yet to feed them with stronger food,” by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.
"The order of the mystery is preserved everywhere. The first healing is bestowed on wounds through the remission of sins. Then the nourishment of the heavenly table abounds, although this multitude is not yet refreshed with stronger foods, nor do hearts hungry for more solid faith feed on the body and blood of Christ (Hebrews 5:12-14). He says, 'I gave you milk to drink, not meat. For you then were not strong, nor are you yet' (1 Corinthians 3:2). The five loaves are like milk, but the more solid meat is the body of Christ, and the stronger drink is the blood of the Lord (Luke 22:19-20). Not immediately at first do we feast on all foods, nor do we drink all drinks. 'First drink this,' he says. Thus there is a first, then a second thing that you drink. There is also a first thing that you eat, then a second, and then a third. At first there are five loaves, then there are seven (Matthew 15:34). The third loaf is the true body of Christ. So, then, let us never abandon such a Lord. He agrees to bestow on us nourishment according to the strength of each, lest either too strong a food oppress the weak or too meager a nourishment not satisfy the strong." (excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 6.71-72)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 9:11-17 comments that Jesus knew he would need to feed this crowd of people miraculously—and he was happy to do it. It was his way of giving them another sign of his love for them.
This is part of the wonder of the Body and Blood of Christ. Jesus wants to spend time with us. He wants to spend time with you. He loves you for who you are, not just for what he can do for you. He just enjoys your company, and he wants to share his love with you.7
Robert Saler draws the Body of Christ to consider Ecumenism as Ecological Lure.
The burden of a challenge toward “environmental ecumenism” would perhaps move us past the old saw that “doctrine divides but service unites” towards a more theologically robust sensibility of incarnation: that to enter into deeper modes of understanding the church Christologically allows us to engage what Sittler calls humanity’s “strong ache” in a world in which nature’s plasticity to human desires has, ironically, constituted nature itself as a new kind of threat—particularly to the poorest and most vulnerable humans on the planet. If ecumenical unity is a future reality to which the present is nonetheless continually “lured,” then Sittler’s speech invites us to think about how this present lure can be comprehended most fully by continually relating our ecclesiology to our Christology, and vice versa.8
Friar Jude Winkler ties the priesthood Melchizedek to Jesus and bread and wine. The description in Acts of Institution of the Eucharist is softer in Greek as a cup of the Covenant but in Aramaic takes us to the foot of the Cross. Friar Jude finds the miracle of the Gospel today as foreshadowing of the Eucharist satisfying the deepest hunger of our hearts.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares that true holiness and wholeness come when we allow God’s love and grace to unfold in the present moment and we respond to what is before us. Holiness is simply being connected to our Source. From such a place, our compassionate response to suffering and need is drawn naturally—without being contrived or forced—from who we are in love, not from egoic motivations or fears. That is why so many parents become such good and holy people, because that’s exactly what caring for children does for us.
It seems we must face unavoidable demands that require our response, even if we feel inadequate to meet the need right in front of us. We need these God-given reminders that we’re not always the central reference point. Giving of our physical, mental, and emotional resources in such a way isn’t usually ego-affirming, but it is a path toward holiness. It’s not what you do that makes you holy. It’s what you allow to be done to you that makes you holy.9
The celebration of Corpus Christi is calling us to experiencing Love in the Body of Christ that extends to all Creation through service to those placed in our lives.
References
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(n.d.). Genesis, chapter 14 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 23, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/14
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2
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(n.d.). Psalms, chapter 110 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 23, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/110
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3
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(n.d.). 1 Corinthians, chapter 11 - United States Conference of Catholic .... Retrieved June 23, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians11:2
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4
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(n.d.). Luke, chapter 9 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved June 23, 2019, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/9
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5
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(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - OnlineMinistries - Creighton University. Retrieved June 23, 2019, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
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6
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(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 23, 2019, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
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7
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(n.d.). Meditations - The Word Among Us. Retrieved June 23, 2019, from https://wau.org/meditations/2019/06/23/
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8
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(n.d.). Lutherans Restoring Creation. Retrieved June 23, 2019, from https://lutheransrestoringcreation.org/
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9
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(2019, June 23). A School of Love — Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 23, 2019, from https://cac.org/a-school-of-love-2019-06-23/
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