Homily for June 3, 2018.
“Take;
this is my body…. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for
many.” Mark 14:22-24.
Have you
noticed that there is a certain pattern of events that follow when two persons
are deeply in love with each other? They become committed to each other’s
happiness, they give gifts to each other, they spend time more often with each
other and they make certain promises or enter into certain agreements (covenants)
that creates a permanent bond with one another.
I once saw
a Nigerian movie some time ago. A young man and woman were so much in love with
each other and they decided to do something that would bind them together
forever. They went to a bush all by themselves and pierced their fingers with
some sharp object and they licked each other’s blood. When later in life, they couldn’t
keep the promises they made to each other, they started suffering the
consequences of this blood covenant. To drink a person’s blood is to become
part of that person in a way that cannot merely be explained by words.
Still,
from the movies, we have seen that the process of being initiated into a cult
or secret society basically involves drinking blood (or acts involving the exchange
of bodily fluids). I am using examples from the movies because we know they are
clear reflections of real life happenings. Many cult members who later became
converted to Christianity tell us stories of how they became loyal to obeying
commands from such cults and how it was almost impossible to quit because of
the covenants they entered into. They also tell us how they kept renewing such
covenants to increase their power.
The life
of any living organism is in its blood. Indeed, Doctors and Medical personnel
clearly testify that to give blood is to give life. Many patients die in
operation theatres not because the doctors were not good enough but because of
the lack of blood. The highest form of charity you can do is to donate blood
freely to a dying patient. Nevertheless, it is a different thing altogether to
give or exchange your blood with the intention of establishing a covenant bond.
Such an act is not something to joke about.
Dear
friends, today we are celebrating the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood
of Jesus Christ which in Latin is known as “Corpus Christi.” Today’s Feast
serves three purposes: REMINDER, RENEWAL and RE-AWAKENING.
The first
purpose of today’s feast is to serve as a reminder to us to pause for a while
to reflect on the true meaning of the Holy Communion. Many of us have either
forgotten all that we learnt during our catechism days or have become too used
to jumping to the Altar to say “Amen” that we no longer remember that we are
actually eating real flesh and drinking real blood. In case, we have forgotten or
we never knew before, today’s feast drums into heads again that Holy Communion
is by every standard a BLOOD COVENANT. This is the message of our readings
today.
Moses
built an Altar, he took the blood of all the oxen offered by the people, half
of the blood he poured in basins, half he threw on the Altar (Sprinkling it on
God). Then he took the book of the covenant, the book containing God’s
instructions, read it to the people and they all clicked the “Agree” button. They
said, “all that the Lord has spoken, we will do and we will be obedient.” To seal
this agreement, Moses took the blood in the basin and sprinkled it on them just
as the priest sprinkles us Holy Water during mass.
The book
of Hebrews tells us that by dying for us on the Cross of Calvary, Jesus did the
same thing Moses did, except that he did not use the blood of ordinary goat or
sheep or oxen but His very own blood. Moses’ sacrifice was anticipatory,
prophetic, symbolic if you like, but that of Jesus was the REAL DEAL.
Dear
friends, does it occur to you that each time you receive Holy Communion, you
are also clicking the “agree” button - to fulfil your part of the covenant
agreement by living a manner that is pleasing to God? Does it occur to you that
failure to keep our part of the covenant has its consequences? As St. Paul
says, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an
unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let
a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without
discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.” 1 Corinthians
11:27-29.
Why do we
take Holy Communion without reflecting before we come forward? We do not even
prepare our minds or examine our conscience not to talk of even going for
confession. We do not observe the required one hour fast. We come late for
mass, we are distracted during mass, playing with our phones, chatting with
those on the same pew, looking lustfully at those not properly dressed,
admiring those expensively dressed, thinking of what we are going to do or
places we would visit after mass, and so on and so on. Then when it is time for
Communion, we just carelessly join the queue like there is no tomorrow.
Dear
friends, Holy Communion is not a biscuit, it is not bread, it is not a snack;
it is the true body and blood of Jesus Christ. As we can see in today’s Gospel
reading, Jesus did not say “this is like my body” he didn’t say “this reminds
you of my body” neither did he say “this is an image or a symbol of my body”.
No. Jesus said: “This is My Body! This is My Blood.” Holy Communion is REAL.
Secondly,
today’s feast serves as an opportunity for us to renew our faith in God’s true
presence the Holy Eucharist, to renew our reverence for Jesus in the Blessed
Sacrament and to renew our devotion to God by worshipping Him publicly; telling
the whole world we are not ashamed to be God’s covenant children. If not for
the rains this period in this part of the world (Nigeria), today would have
been the day for a procession with the Blessed Sacrament through the streets to
let the world know of our faith in Jesus’ true presence in the Holy Eucharist.
Finally,
today’s feast re-awakens us spiritually to our true identity. If we eat and
drink the body and blood of Christ, we should know that are no longer ordinary human
beings. We should therefore no longer look to the world to define us. We should
no longer engage in competitions with the people of the world over material
things. Just as a covenant makes us entitled to certain benefits, Holy
Communion makes us recipients of the promised eternal inheritance. In John 6:54,
Jesus says: “he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I
will raise him up at the last day.”
Let us
pray: Lord Jesus, increase my love and devotion to your true presence in the
Holy Eucharist. Amen.
*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you. (Solemnity of the Corpus Christi. Year
B. Bible Study: Exodus 24:3-8, Psalm 116:12-18, Hebrew 9:11-15, Mark
14:12-26).*
Fr. Abu.
(for audio
and video click https://goo.gl/svLi3g)
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