May Jesus Christ be praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.
Today we are continuing our journey through the sixth chapter of the gospel of John. In this chapter that is usually referred to as the Bread of Life Discourse we have been witnesses to the miracle of great abundance that began with a sacrifice, when a little boy shared his lunch with Jesus. We have meditated upon the Holy Eucharist as our food and as our strength for the journey to eternal life. Today our attention is drawn to the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
In our reading from the book of Proverbs we hear of the Woman of Wisdom who prepares a banquet. The food and drink are prepared and the invitation to the banquet is given. In the food and drink of this banquet are promised life and understanding. In the scriptures we often hear the theme of a banquet as the sign of the presence of God and of the victory of God over sin and death. The prophet Isaiah speaks of the banquet on the mountain of the Lord when all of the peoples of the earth will be gathered together and there every tear will be wiped away because death and the power of death are no more. The Lord Jesus performs his first miracle at the banquet of the Wedding at Cana. And in the book of Revelation we hear of the wedding feast of the Lamb of God where all the saints and angels cry out “Holy, Holy, Holy.”
In our reading from the gospel of John, we hear the Lord Jesus say, once again, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” When the people who had been following the Lord Jesus began to question him about this, the Lord Jesus spoke even more clearly. “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” There can be no misunderstanding. This is not a symbolic statement of the Lord Jesus. His flesh and his blood will become food and this food gives life and gives strength. Jesus Christ, really and truly present, becomes our food and leads us to eternal life.
In the celebration of the Mass we are granted participation in the banquet of heaven. When we enter into the Church, we respond to the invitation to the banquet where the food we receive gives life and gives understanding. We hear the promised proclamation that sin and death have been conquered by the blood of the holy cross of Jesus Christ. We come to the banquet where heaven and earth are united, and Jesus Christ, the High Priest of the temple not made by human hands, is the host, the servant, and the food of the banquet. He humbles himself so that we can receive him. With a humiliation greater than the manger at Bethlehem, greater than the scourging at the pillar, and even greater than the cross of a criminal, the Lord Jesus humbles himself to become our food and our drink. By his will and by his words, the Lord Jesus becomes really and truly present to us in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
Really and truly present to us, the Lord Jesus invites us to be really and truly present to him. He invites us to join with him each and every Sunday to share in his joy that Christ has been raised from the dead and lives forever to make intercession for us. He invites us to make a gift of our real presence to him so that we can receive the gift of his real presence.
As we celebrate this Eucharist today, let us ask for the grace to imitate the humility of the Lord Jesus that we might offer ourselves to him. Let us commit ourselves to be really and truly present to the Lord Jesus in every celebration of the Holy Mass. And let us ask for the grace to joyfully respond to the invitation of the Lord to banquet of heaven.
Preached at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
