HOMILY CORPUS CHRISTI – B
The Eucharist – an Experience of God’s Mercy
(Ex 24:3-8; Heb 9:11-15; Mk 14:1-16, 22-26)
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Have you ever made a promise, only to break it? Have you ever resolved to change some behavior or attitude in your life, only to realize that you were powerless to do so?
If so, you are not alone. You are in good company. Here are words uttered by St. Augustine who shares that human condition with us: “Woe is me! Lord, have mercy on me! My evil sorrows and good joys are at war with one another. I know not where victory lies. Woe is me! Lord, have mercy! Woe is me! I make no effort to conceal my wounds. You are my physician, I your patient. You are merciful; I stand in need of mercy.”
That powerlessness we experience along with St. Augustine to change ourselves is the key to understanding the depth of God’s mercy shown through the Eucharist. May our celebration of this feast deepen our faith in the Body and Blood of Jesus, and our appreciation of this experience of God’s mercy.
It is significant that Pope Francis has made mercy the underlying theme of his papacy. That theme can be the prism that breaks open both the nature of God’s love for us, and the deeper meaning of the Eucharist.
In the first reading, we see the Israelites promise quite freely to keep the law they were given through Moses: “All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do” and they promised to be obedient to the Law. The gift of the Law made them the Chosen people, intended to be a light and model for all nations. However, that old law consisted of burnt sacrifices, and blood sprinkled on the altar and on the people – none of which could change hearts. They were to be characterized by fidelity to the covenant, but infidelity was the norm. History shows that they were always unfaithful and perverse in breaking the law, always wanting possessions, prestige and power, and always murmuring against Moses and against the God who had liberated them from slavery in Egypt. They certainly could have stated what St. Augustine expressed. Their infidelity sets the stage for a new reality that Jesus would bring about as the Messiah.
That is what we see happening in the Gospel that begins with the words, “On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was sacrificed.” That is not just a throwaway phrase, but also a key to the Gospel. The unleavened bread of the first Exodus now signals a new Exodus centred on Jesus as the bread of life, and as the Passover lamb that would be sacrificed the next day. The blood of the new covenant, the blood of Jesus, is that of the final and new covenant that alone truly pleases the Father. There is here the story of the two covenants: the first of law and human effort to obey and perform that is bound for failure; the second an intimate relationship with God based on God’s love as mercy, compassion and forgiveness that is not earned but freely given as grace through faith in the Body and Blood of Christ.
The author of Hebrews in the second reading delves more deeply into this mystery of mercy. The old law could only purify the flesh in an external way – it could not change hearts. The blood of Christ, however, obtains eternal redemption, purifies our minds and conscience, and moves us from reliance on dead works to a relationship of love and worship of the living God. Jesus’ death won redemption for our sins that under the old covenant could not be forgiven or allow us to experience new life. This new covenant is one of mercy, because there is no way we could ever earn it by merit alone. The old covenant was one of law and obedience; the new is one of mercy, forgiveness, compassion and love freely given as grace.
Those who can perhaps most easily grasp and identify with this feast as a gratuitous gift from God of what we cannot obtain on our own might be members of the movement of Alcoholics Anonymous. The bottom line for them is the experience of powerlessness. Healing begins only when they fail miserably, hit bottom, crash and burn, and realize they are utterly powerless to achieve sobriety, joyous and free, through any effort of the will. They perhaps more than any others have experienced and truly understand the truth of a new life that is completely gift, grace and feely given out of God’s mercy.
In a surprising way, the pandemic we have experienced for the past year has a profound connection with the Eucharist. This crisis has affected every human being on the planet, reminding us that in the end, we are all connected, we are all one. We read signs like, my mask protects you; your mask protects me, challenging us to care more for others. That is what the Eucharist does – connects us with one another as equals, no one more important than any other. The inability for so many to receive communion, a veritable Eucharistic fast, has hopefully deepened our appreciation of the power of the Eucharist to nourish and sustain us, and given us an even deeper hunger for the Bread of Life.
The Eucharist is a preview of our drinking of the new wine in the Kingdom of God with Jesus that he mentioned during the Last Supper with his disciples – “I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it with you new in my Father’s Kingdom” (Matthew 26:29). In anticipation of that day, we do the actions Jesus did: take, bless, break, give, eat, and we are forgiven, healed and renewed in the process.
May our celebration of this feast today deepen our faith in the Body and Blood of Jesus, and our appreciation of this experience of God’s mercy.
