The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” Because of this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. [ John 6:52-60, 66]
Have you ever wondered about this mind-boggling idea of eating the flesh of Jesus? Have you ever doubted that God is truly present in that little piece of communion host we receive on our hands? Ever wondered why so many of us keep going for Adoration and stare at what seems to be just some metal encasing a circular wafer? Is Jesus really there?
Well, you are not alone! :)
As we read in the Gospels, many people (who consider themselves disciples of Jesus) have been unable to accept this teaching of Jesus even while He was walking the Earth. More than 2000 years later, many disciples and non-believers alike still question and doubt the reality / possibility of God being present in the form of something that human hands (and now machines) can make. Believing in the Real Presence of the Eucharist really requires us to recognise God's power over creation, and for us to take our own leaps of faith.
Let me share with you my own story :D When I was 18, God found me, a wayward sheep who relied on my own intelligence and could not see beyond the human failings of others. After experiencing His call to restore our relationship and to come back to Him, I started attending a variety of Protestant church services, trying to discover where God was. To my disappointment, I could not find Him in the Anglican church, nor in the mega churches, nor with the Mormons. Although I experienced a great deal of Christian love from my schoolmates who were so alive in their faith and who encouraged me to pray and reassured me that God loves me, I could not find the same God who called me, in their churches. I kept feeling a sense of emptiness after the services / cell groups were over. I had this nagging feeling that something was missing from their churches.
One afternoon as I walked into Nativity Church to pray and ask God where He was, it struck me that He had been here, right at my doorstep, all along! He had been here all along, that was the reply from God. I felt so silly! I had gone all around Singapore trying to find God when actually He was in my neighbourhood! And then it dawned on me that what was missing from the other churches, was the Real Presence of God. I can't explain exactly how I knew that, but it must have been the Holy Spirit. The one thing that we have, which other churches don't have, is this privilege of having God's Presence in the Blessed Sacrament!
It is not an easy leap of faith, and I have had my own periods of doubt too. By God's Grace, He has helped me to see beyond the material, to grow in my knowledge of the sacraments, and to be convicted of His Presence in the Eucharist, which is only made possible through the actions of the priest when he consecrates the hosts and wine. The words spoken by the priest, through the Holy Spirit, effect the transformation of the ordinary food and drink, into the Body and Blood of Christ, just as Jesus commanded centuries ago.
As we reflect on the 'miracle' of the Body & Blood of Christ whose feast we celebrated last Sunday, let us also remember that when we receive Holy Communion, we receive Jesus with all His Divine power, not only to sanctify ourselves, but really to be sent out to sanctify the world! As we eat of the Body of Christ, we becomethe earthly Body of Christ, and we are meant to be Christ to others. As Jesus said, "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them."
I leave you with a quote from St Augustine of Hippo:
If you, therefore, are Christ's body and members, it is your own mystery that is placed on the Lord's table! It is your own mystery that you are receiving! You are saying "Amen" to what you are: your response is a personal signature, affirming your faith. When you hear "The body of Christ", you reply "Amen." Be a member of Christ's body, then, so that your "Amen" may ring true! [Sermon 272; read the whole sermon online here] |
In times when we find it difficult to have faith in the Eucharist, may we all pray the words of the man who begged Jesus to help him: "Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!" [Mark 9:24]
Watch Fr Robert Barron's videos on the origins of the Feast of Corpus Christi, (An Eucharistic miracle + St Thomas Aquinas; 6 mins) and the Creative Power of the Word made Flesh (11 mins)
http://www.wordonfire.org/WoF-
http://www.wordonfire.org/WoF-
