August 5, 2024
Paulist Fr. Rich Andre preached this homily on the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year B) on August 4, 2024, at Old St. Mary’s Catholic Parish in Chicago, IL. The homily is based on the day’s readings: Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15; Psalm 78; Ephesians 4:17, 20-24; and John 6:24-35.
Last week in the Gospel of John, Jesus fed over five thousand people with a few loaves and fish. He then crossed the sea to his home base in Capernaum, but the people were so excited about his recent miracle that they quickly followed him there.
Jesus responds to them with the famous of “Bread of Life” discourse, which we will hear over the next four weeks. But today, in the first part of the discourse, the people probably thought that Jesus was speaking in metaphors.
So today, we’re going to discuss a variety of valid ways to understand Eucharist. Hopefully, a few of them will give us new insights for our contemplation over the next several weeks.
As we prepare to receive the most Blessed Sacrament once again, let us ask for God’s mercy.
The following is a true story, but it sounds like a joke. In 2013, I attended a diocesan Eucharistic Congress that featured three keynote speakers on a single day.
First up was a scripture scholar who boldly proclaimed his thesis: “I’m going to talk about the Eucharist as three things: the Eucharist as a sacrifice, the Eucharist as a meal, and the Eucharist as the real presence of Jesus Christ.” He then went on to expand on his theme for more than 30 minutes.
After a break, the second speaker – a seminary rector – began his keynote quietly, saying: “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes. I listened to the professor’s address,” he explained sheepishly, “and I’m afraid that he stole my thunder. I will be talking about Eucharist as meal, sacrifice, and… real presence.”
Later in the day, a famous bishop flew in to give the final keynote. He came into the hall trailed by the Catholic equivalent of paparazzi. After posing for many pictures, he ascended the stage and told many jokes. Eventually, blissfully ignorant of all that had transpired in the morning, he settled into his address, declaring: “Mass is a sacrifice, a family meal, and the real presence of Jesus Christ.”
Now, I am not disagreeing with these speakers. Eucharist is a sacrifice, which I might preach about three weeks from now. Eucharist is a meal, as Fr. Dan preached last week. And Eucharist is the real presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which Dan may discuss more in two weeks.
But this weekend and next weekend, Fr. Bob and I are preaching about how Eucharist is not just a sacrifice, a meal, and the real presence of Jesus. As Professor Ron Rolheiser once wrote, “The Eucharist… is multivalent, carrying different layers of meaning, some of them in paradoxical tension with others.… Even in scripture… there are various complementary theologies of the Eucharist.”
When St. Augustine presided each year at the Easter Vigil in the 5th century, he presented the consecrated bread and wine to the newly initiated adults, proclaiming: “Believe what you see, see what you believe, and become what you are: the Body of Christ.” As Christians, it is our mission to become the Body of Christ. As Christians, it is also out mission to bring others into the Body of Christ, for us to become Eucharist for others.
When the pandemic separated many of us from Eucharist, we were forced to ask ourselves: how are we continuing to be Eucharist, when we cannot receive Eucharist? Now that we can receive the most Blessed Sacrament once again, the challenge remains: How have we become Eucharist for others? How are we the Body of Christ for the rest of the world? If this still sounds too vague, let me share two lessons I like to teach about the sacraments.
I wrote the first lesson in last week’s bulletin column, and you’ll hear me preach it over and over again for as long as I’m the pastor of Old St. Mary’s: “A sacrament is not a reward for a job well done; it is a grace for the journey ahead.” At first glance, sacraments often look like endings: we prepare for them in advance, and we often throw a party once we receive them. But in each case, sacraments are better understood as beginnings. A sacrament ushers us into a new phase of life in the Body of Christ, with God providing us new graces for this new phase.
And my second lesson regards how Eucharist is related to the other six sacraments. Think of those sacraments as belonging in three groups of two each. Baptism and Confirmation are sacraments of initiation. Through them, Christ provides doorways to bring us more fully into his Body. Reconciliation and the Anointing of the Sick are sacraments of healing. Through them, Christ restores whatever has been lost, bruised, or broken within his Body. Marriage and Holy Orders are sacraments of commitment. Through them, Christ provides understanding in some of our roles within the Body of Christ. And what about Eucharist, the Most Blessed Sacrament? It fits in all three groupings. Eucharist is a sacrament of initiation. Through it, Christ most intimately connects us into his Body. Eucharist is also a sacrament of healing. Every time we receive it, we receive Christ’s grace to repair what has ruptured in our relationship with God and with others. And Eucharist is the ongoing sacrament of commitment. Every time we come forward in the communion line and say “Amen,” Christ gives us grace to renew our commitment as disciples within his Body.
After the morning Masses this weekend, I’ll meet with families who have children who have not yet received First Holy Communion. As many of you know, we made changes a few years ago at Old St. Mary’s Catholic Parish, including at Old St. Mary’s School, in how we celebrate First Holy Communion at Mass. Now, we’re about to alter the preparation process, too. Unfortunately, our communications about these changes in the past few months and years have been unclear, and some families are understandably confused, or even upset.
In the meetings this weekend, we’ll sit with the idea of Eucharist as a sacrament of initiation, healing, and commitment. If we think of Eucharist solely as a sacrament of initiation, the changes we’re making may seem counterproductive. Our First Holy Communion initiates us more fully into the Body of Christ, but each of our subsequent 4000 Holy Communions transform us into committed Christian disciples who serve as God’s agents of healing.
Does Eucharist really make a difference to us? In the world, there is still poverty, selfishness, racism, and hatred. The world continues to tolerate all that we should be on fire to change, to change with the love of Christ burning within our very bodies. My dear friends: the only way for us to prove that Eucharist makes a difference… is to actually become what it is that we receive.