The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to ponder the mystery of the fullness of life in the Body and Blood of Christ.
In the reading from the Book of Genesis, Abram receives a blessing from Melchizedek.
* [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. God Most High: in Heb. El Elyon, one of several “El names” for God in Genesis, others being El Olam (21:33), El the God of Israel (33:20), El Roi (16:13), El Bethel (35:7), and El Shaddai (the usual P designation for God in Genesis). All the sources except the Yahwist use El as the proper name for God used by the ancestors. The god El was well-known across the ancient Near East and in comparable religious literature. The ancestors recognized this God as their own when they encountered him in their journeys and in the shrines they found in Canaan. (Genesis, CHAPTER 14, n.d.)
Psalm 110 is assurance of victory for God’s Priest-King.
* [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). (Psalms, PSALM 110, n.d.)
The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians describes the Institution of the Lord’s Supper.
* [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. (1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 11, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus feeds the Five Thousand.
* [9:7–56] This section in which Luke gathers together incidents that focus on the identity of Jesus is introduced by a question that Herod is made to ask in this gospel: “Who then is this about whom I hear such things?”(Lk 9:9) In subsequent episodes, Luke reveals to the reader various answers to Herod’s question: Jesus is one in whom God’s power is present and who provides for the needs of God’s people (Lk 9:10–17); Peter declares Jesus to be “the Messiah of God” (Lk 9:18–21); Jesus says he is the suffering Son of Man (Lk 9:22, 43–45); Jesus is the Master to be followed, even to death (Lk 9:23–27); Jesus is God’s son, his Chosen One (Lk 9:28–36). (Luke, CHAPTER 9, n.d.)
Steve Scholer asks that when we participate in the ritual of the Church and celebrate the Eucharist of the Lord, do we, as Rabbi Vanessa Ochs has suggested, find ways for emotion to be contained and channeled … bring structure to the complicated dramatic social changes … affirm our identity within the community … connect to groups … sense a deeper world of meaning beyond the mundane habits of the everyday … connect to our ancestors and to those who will come after us … address our need for belonging and emotional reassurance?”
For most of us, the answer would be yes. But Jesus wanted the Celebration of the Eucharist to be more than a ritual. He wanted it to have lasting impact, to continually motivate us to lead more Christ-like lives in service to others; to inspire us to be more forgiving of the weaknesses and faults of others, and of our own faults and weaknesses. Through the Celebration of the Eucharist, Jesus wanted us to love and share our faith and beliefs with those around us, so they, too, could come to know the peace and understanding that fills our hearts and minds, and to live our values. (Creighton U. Daily Reflection, n.d.)
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) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 comments that we rejoice that Jesus is with us in the Blessed Sacrament: Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. He has not left us orphans; he is close to us in every tabernacle in the world. So we lift our hearts in praise and thanks. We rejoice that Jesus provides for all of our needs. He feeds our deepest hungers for peace, or healing, or closeness to God. When he multiplied the loaves and fish, he gave us just a glimpse into the fulfillment we can experience when he feeds us his own divine life in Holy Communion (Luke 9:16-17). As we receive him, we celebrate the unending life he offers us.
Today is a day to reflect on Jesus, minister of the new covenant in his blood. It’s a day to ponder the mystery of his presence with us under the appearance of bread and wine. But don’t forget about the flowers. Take some time to rejoice and praise Jesus! “Lord Jesus, I give you praise and thanks that you are with us in the Blessed Sacrament!” (Meditation on 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, n.d.)
James Hanvey SJ, Master of Campion Hall, University of Oxford, ponders the sacred mystery in which we participate through the simple gifts of bread and wine.
And it all began on that one night in an upper room in Jerusalem. The Eucharist may open up the whole eternity of heaven and the Trinitarian life of God, but it always remains planted in the earth of history, the person of Jesus Christ, and this particular moment in time: it is grounded in reality even as it transforms it. The three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, record it, and the earliest record of it is in Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. In the latter, we see how Christ’s Eucharistic gift was already central in the Church’s life. Although John’s Gospel does not follow the others in setting the Eucharist within the context of the Passover, it nevertheless contains the most profound teaching about its meaning as a real participation in Christ and his gift of life: ‘Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life’ (John 6:54). (Hanvey, 2018)
Friar Jude Winkler comments how the blessing of Abram by Melchizedek became a prefiguring of the person of Jesus for early Christians. In the anamnesis of the Eucharist, Jesus is made present in a manner that resonates with the sense of the Jewish celebration of the Passover. Friar Jude reminds us that our love of Jesus is the source of our nourishment and transformation.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson (1895–1971) viewed emotional sobriety as where the Twelve Steps should finally lead.
Much of the work of emotional maturity is learning to distinguish between emotions that offer a helpful message about ourselves or the moment, and emotions that are merely narcissistic reactions to the moment. I dare to say that, until we have found our spiritual center and ground, most of our emotional responses are usually too self-referential to be helpful or truthful. They read the moment as if the “I,” with its immediate needs and hurts, is the reference point for objective truth. It isn’t. The small, defensive “I” cannot hold that space. Reality/God/Creation holds that space. Persistent use of the small self as an objective reference point will only create deeper problems in the long run; it will not solve them. (Rohr, n.d.)
We have the Spirit as our guide to the Covenant we profess as we receive the Body and Blood of Christ as participants in passing out of time in the celebration of the Eucharist.
References
Creighton U. Daily Reflection. (n.d.). Online Ministries. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/061922.html
Genesis, CHAPTER 14. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/14?18
Hanvey, J. (2018, September 5). Reflections on the Eucharist. Thinking Faith. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/reflections-eucharist
Luke, CHAPTER 9. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9?11
Meditation on 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/06/19/413955/
1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 11. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/11?23
Psalms, PSALM 110. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/110?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Emotional Maturity. Daily Meditations Archive: 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/emotional-maturity-2022-06-19/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). All Ate and Were Satisfied. Daily Scripture net. Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=jun19a
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