BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (# 30)
Corpus Christi, Year B – June 22, 2003
BIBLE READINGS
Ex 24:3-8 // Heb 9:11-15 // Mk 14:12-16, 22-26
I was a student in theology when I came upon an intriguing issue: the inculturation of the Eucharistic species. The visiting Scripture professor challenged us to look into the possibility of using bread and fish instead of bread and wine in the Mass. His thesis that fish could be used as a Eucharistic species is based on his study of the Gospel accounts of the multiplication of loaves and Jesus’ Easter appearances, which have a Eucharistic implication. I was tantalized by the idea of using fish as a Eucharistic species.
It was not until I studied under Fr. Salvatore Marsili, a few years later, that I had better insight into this issue. Note that the Jewish rite of Passover involved two distinct moments – the lamb-unleavened bread, symbol of liberation, and the blood of the covenant-cup of wine, symbol of the constitution of Israel as God’s chosen people. Viewed in this light, it would be a betrayal of the meaning of the Eucharist, the Christian Passover, to substitute bread and fish for bread and wine. At the Last Supper, Christ uses the breaking and sharing of the bread and the drinking of the cup of wine as the sacramental sign of our liberation from the power of sin. We become God’s covenant people through the sacrifice of his body on the altar of the cross and the pouring out of his blood on the tree of life on Mount Calvary.
Indeed, the people that are nourished by Christ’s gift of bread for new life are the people of the covenant. All the readings today dwell on God’s covenant relationship with his people.
From the book of Exodus, we hear about the ratification of the covenant between God and Israel (cf. First Reading). A covenant is a solemn promise made binding by an oath, which may be expressed by a verbal formula and/or symbolic action. It binds together two parties in a firm relationship. The pouring of blood seals the covenant between God and Israel. The blood splashed on the altar indicates God’s graciousness in accepting them as his own people and the blood sprinkled on the people manifests Israel’s utmost commitment to follow God’s will.
In the Gospel, Mark speaks of “the blood of the covenant” in which God’s Son, the only Savior of the world, pours out his life-blood for us on the cross and opens the way for a radical relationship between us and the Father. By receiving the bread of new life and the cup of the covenant in the Eucharist, the sacrament of Christ’s self-gift for us, we declare our willingness to live this covenant.
In the body and blood of Christ, “the mediator of the new covenant” (cf. Second Reading), the Church, “the people of the new and everlasting covenant”, commits itself to the service of the poor, the witness of charity, the defense and promotion of every person’s life, the struggle for justice, the constant search for peace, and the integration of creation. The martyrs of the past and present, led by Christ, challenge us to live this covenant relationship with God to the full. As Jesuit theologian Jon Sobrino puts it, “the blood of martyrs – their unconditional love – gives us the courage and the strength we shall need if we are to keep our courage along the hard pathway of life and faith.”
What is the implication of my being a part of the “people of the Covenant”?
When I participate in the Eucharist, do I truly declare my willingness to live the new Covenant stipulated by Christ in his own blood?
Am I willing to follow the courage and the strength of those who have trodden the hard pathway of life and faith?
(Cf. Opening Prayer, Mass of Corpus Christi)
Leader: Let us pray for the willingness to make present in our world
the love of Christ shown to us in the Eucharist.
(Silent Prayer)
Lord Jesus Christ,
we worship you living among us
in the sacrament of your body and blood.
May we offer to our Father in heaven
a solemn pledge of undivided love.
May we offer to our brothers and sisters
a life poured out in loving service of that kingdom
where you live with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.
Assembly: Amen.
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“This is my body … This is my blood of the covenant.” (Mk 14:23-24)
A. ACTION PLAN: Study Pope John Paul II’s encyclical letter, “Ecclesia de Eucharistia” issued on April 17, 2003.
B. ACTION PLAN: Share the bread of God’s Word with those who hunger for it.