Body and Blood of Christ

The Body of Christ
June 18, 2006

"This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you" (Exodus 24:3-8). "Take it; this is my body... This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many." (Mark 14)

We are all familiar with the story of the Exodus, how in Egypt the angel of death passed over the houses of the Israelites which had been marked with the blood of the Passover Lamb. Yahweh thus forged another link in the chain of the sacred covenant of liberation with the people. Jesus, himself an observant Jew, was quite aware that his words reflected Moses' words. In a recent address after his visit to the site of the Holocaust Pope Benedict said, "Auschwitz must not be forgotten, and the other 'factories of death' in which the Nazi regime tried to eliminate God in order to take his place!"... We must not cede to the temptation of racial hatred, which is at the origins of the worst forms of anti-Semitism." How, in our day, a Christian could possibly be anti-semitic is a total mystery.

The gospel quotes Jesus at the Last Supper on the eve of Passover, giving the sacred bread and wine to his disciples, referring to it as his own body and blood. It is also a foreshadowing of Christ's bloodshed on the Cross, another chapter in this story of liberation The Holy Spirit makes this covenant present and available to all creation whenever this sacred meal is celebrated.

Here is one of the central mysteries of our faith about which we have uttered endless anathemas and shed rivers of innocent blood over the centuries in the name of God and truth. We have begun to realize how perverse this has been and to recognize that the Eucharist should bring us together rather than separate us. We take these words of Christ seriously. The Eucharist has an absolutely central and sacred place in our tradition of faith and worship. It is what makes us Catholics. It is true that we Christians disagree about the precise literal meaning of Jesus' words. Nevertheless, it is interesting to see which passages of the Bible we decide to take literally, and what we mean by "literal".

Some of the most significant spiritual events in my life have been participating in the Eucharistic with Christians of other denominations which take this mystery seriously. I recall with particular warmth preaching for and participating in Eucharistic services with Lutheran congregations on Reformation Sunday over the years. I also recall our own congregation participating with other local churches in a joint Eucharistic service on Palm Sunday some years ago. These religious experiences have brought me beyond the idea that we Catholics own the Eucharist. The body and blood of Christ creates unity when we allow it to do so. The blood of Christ, and of every martyr to God's faithfulness, is a pledge of our ultimate liberation from bondage.