May 11, 2020
Paulist Fr. Rich Andre preached this homily for the 5th Sunday of Easter Sunday on May 10, 2020 at St. Austin Parish in Austin, TX. The homily is based on the day’s readings: Acts 6:1-7; Psalm 33; 1 Peter 2:4-9; and John 14:1-12.
This was the first weekend since March 15 that the Diocese of Austin permitted Catholics to assemble for public Masses, but they were still required to adhere to social distancing restrictions. (There is currently no obligation to attend Mass, and Catholics are encouraged to stay home if they are over 65 or at risk; if they live, work, or care for someone at risk; or if they feel unsafe coming to Mass.)
This week and next week, we will hear from Jesus’ discourse at the Last Supper in the Gospel of John. It’s an opportunity to speculate: since Jesus was fully human and fully divine, what did he know about the Father’s plans, and when did he know it?
At the Last Supper, it’s clear that Jesus knows that he has come into his “hour.” He knows that he will soon glorify the Father. But when Jesus says that the Son of Man will rise again on the third day, does he understand the totality of what that means for him and his relationships with the people he loved?
As Texas loosens its restrictions on business and church gatherings, we face uncertainty, too. Is it safe for us to be gathered here for Mass? When can we gather with our loved ones again? How will our relationships be changed by this time of forced separation, a time that some people predict is coming to an end, and others predict may last for another 12-18 months?
Even in times of uncertainty, we celebrate that God continues to show us mercy.
Lord Jesus, you died and rose again to unite us with the Father. Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you are present in our gathering in this church and over the internet. Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you will continue to send the Holy Spirit to unite us to one another. Lord, have mercy.
Whatever happened at the Last Supper, the earliest Christians celebrated their faith by gathering for a meal that was somehow based on it. Why? The Catholic Mass is based on those earliest gatherings, and until two months ago, we were obliged to attend every Sunday. Why is this still the primary way that we celebrate our faith?
When we speak of the Last Supper, we usually talk about what Jesus does. In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus institutes the Eucharist. In the Gospel of John, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. But for the past seven Sundays, hundreds of St. Austin parishioners have been spiritually fed by gathering for online Masses even though they couldn’t receive the Eucharist. Likewise, they said that they found our Holy Thursday Mass – a Mass without the traditional foot washing this year – to be a beautiful experience. Don’t get me wrong: no one is saying that Mass without the Eucharist or Holy Thursday without the foot washing is ideal. Something important, even essential, is clearly missing. But there’s still something significant happening in our online gatherings. So, maybe the Last Supper is about more than Jesus’ actions.
Sometimes, when we speak of the Last Supper, we talk about what Jesus says. But as John’s use of dramatic irony points out to us, the disciples misunderstand what Jesus is trying to teach them. When Jesus tells them that they must have their feet washed to have a share with him, Peter presumes that having his hands and head washed, too, will lead to having a greater share. When Jesus says that he is preparing a dwelling place for them, Thomas asks where it is and how to get there. When Jesus declares that they have seen the Father, Philip asks him to show them the Father. So, the Last Supper is clearly about more than Jesus’ words.
The Last Supper is about more than what Jesus said. And it’s about more than what Jesus did, where he went, or what he showed them. For me, the Last Supper is ultimately about relationships. Jesus revealed to the disciples – and to all of us – that we have an intimate relationship with God. Our washing of one another’s feet is not about getting clean. It’s about bringing us into a more intimate relationship with one another. Jesus’ preparing of a dwelling place for us is not about Jesus securing a good spot for each of us in heaven. It’s about Jesus bringing us into a more intimate relationship with the Father.
If you’re here in person for Mass this weekend, you have the ability to receive the Eucharist, which we in the Church rightly call “the source and the summit” of our lives. But even with the Eucharist, this Mass will feel strangely empty, because our relationships with one another are stifled by the mask-wearing, the limited singing, the distance-keeping, and the prompt departing. Those who are watching from home cannot receive the Eucharist, but they have the greater ability to greet one another and share words of peace in the comments. Some are hosting online “watch parties” or watching together via videoconferencing, so that they can pray together, sing together, share the peace, and discuss the homily afterwards!
All sacraments are multi-dimensional, but Eucharist probably has the most dimensions of any of the sacraments. It’s not just about physically receiving Jesus into our bodies, as special and as irreplaceable as that is. The very word “Eucharist” means thanksgiving to God. Eucharist is a strengthening of our bonds with one another as Christ’s body. Eucharist is a pledge to serve one another, especially to protect our most vulnerable brothers and sisters. Medical personnel, first responders, grocery workers, utility workers, food pantry volunteers, and many others are living the Eucharist – putting their bodies and blood at risk for the sake of others1. In other words, Eucharist is all about relationships, too. We are all longing for a deeper, more intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, but that relationship is connected to our relationships with other people. And through the Son, we receive the Spirit and come to see the Father.
We now live in this bizarre moment when the coronavirus forces us to choose between different dimensions of the Eucharist. We can choose to receive Jesus physically in this beautiful church space, but without the bonds of our Eucharistic community, or we can choose to watch online at home and connect with other members of the community, but we will not receive Jesus physically. Perhaps now, we can finally understand what our Catholic brothers and sisters experience in other parts of the world where they must go months and even years between opportunities to receive the Eucharist.
No matter the choice we make about how to participate in Mass during this time, we will encounter both frustrating restrictions and surprising blessings. In this coming week, I encourage all of us to reflect on what the Eucharist means to us. Until two months ago, what aspects of the Blessed Sacrament had we taken for granted? In the past two months, what new dimensions have we appreciated? I highly encourage us to share our reflections with one another, since, as we’ve noted, Eucharist is all about relationships.
Whether or not we can physically receive the Eucharist in the upcoming weeks or months – we are a Eucharistic people who believe in a Eucharistic Lord. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in Jesus Christ will do the works that he did, and will do greater ones than those.
Notes:
- Paraphrased from Joanne M. Cahoon, DMin. ↩