06/06/2010 - THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST - C
1Reading Gen 14,18-20 Psalm 109 2Reading 1 Cor 11,23-26 Gospel Lk 9,11-17
Melchisedek, a king of a pagan people, meets Abraham: before him and for him, he
exercises an amazing priesthood. His priesthood is amazing because he is pagan,
but also because the first priest of the Jewish people will be a descendant of Abraham,
who was to offer sacrifices five centuries after this episode. God, the true God,
is represented, adored and served not only by the Jews: he manifested himself to
the heart of man.
The blessing of Melchisedek to Abraham introduce today's Readings, very meaningful
to us. We see that Jesus prepares the disciples and all the people to receive from
him, through the apostles, the bread of life. We listen to st. Paul who tells us
how Jesus gave bread and wine as a memorial of his sacrifice, a sign we take to
become united with him. To all this we were prepared through the simple action of
a pagan king, but a worshiper of the true God. This one offers bread and wine. With
these offerings in his hands, he blessed Abraham. In this way, the first among the
patriarchs, and all his descendents, was a figure of the one who was to bring to
fullness and make meaningful, the offering of the sacrifice of the bread and wine.
Bread and wine are the fruit of the earth and of God's blessing that made meaningful
the work of man. Bread and wine are the sustainable elements that man needs to live
and rejoice, to work joyfully, to be fulfilled. Bread and wine are in the hands
of Jesus to become the prayer by which he offer himself and consecrates himself
to God. Bread and wine are now in the hands of the priests who repeats what Jesus
said and did, not as actors in a play, but as participants and as those who are
bringing forward the sacrificial offering of the Lord.
When the priests say: "This is my body", they know that they themselves
are being offered to God, they know that the bread is their life. That's why we
are never to get tired to pray for the priests, so that they always keep present
their sacrifice. But when all the faithful acclaim the "Amen", after the
Eucharistic prayer, they too are saying and confirming the words of the priest,
they too are members of the Body of Christ. And when they approach to receive the
bread of life, again they pronounce "Amen" to the words "the body
of Christ": by this they are saying that they want to unite with him to be
an offering to the Father, and declare that they want to remain united to the whole
body, not with standing the difficulties of the different feelings and emotions,
and the sins of the single faithful.
Today's feast day is a great feast because it's not a cheap one. To live the Eucharistic
means to offer oneself as a living sacrifice, to live is to give our lives. This
is what we already do and is what we want to continue to do with more commitment,
mercy and faithfulness.
As we go in procession carrying the sacrament of the Body of Christ, we want to
say to both believers and non believers, that we are carriers of a simple and needed
mystery, a mystery we don't want to keep hidden, because it is the source of life
and communion with all. Our faith and our love for Jesus, and of his love for us
is made visible in all the social and community life: it is our duty to affirm it
and it is our joy to pass it on to all.
The sacrifice offered to God by a king, Melchisedek, encourages us not to keep hidden
the mystery given to us for the forgiveness of the sins of the world. Sins make
men suffer, believers and non-believers alike, and men have nothing more than this
great gift that we celebrate today, with which they confront themselves. No public
or social authority has other means to give back to men the true harmony and good,
both from within and from without. Let us adore therefore, without fear of being
seen, the mystery of the Body and Blood of the Lord: it is a mystery that is to
be known and brought closer to all the people.