St. Norbert's Church - Sunday Reflections

Melchisedek brought out bread and wine and blessed Abram. Already in this first reading from the Book of Genesis we see strong symbolism in bread and wine. Why is there a mention of bread and wine? This is not clear but we know that these elements become later the elements used by Jesus at the Last Supper to give Himself to us forever and always. Melchisedech comes out of nowhere and disappears back to nowhere. He is a very mysterious figure in the Hebrew Scriptures and is seen as an image of the Messiah who is to come. Melchisedech is both king and priest, which are the attributes of the Messiah. Abram is our Father in Faith. It is as though in this passage we can see foreshadowed the mystery of the Incarnation and Resurrection.

The second reading is from the First Letter to the Corinthians and shows us how Jesus used bread and wine to give Himself to us. This is the oldest known account of the institution of the Eucharist. These early followers of Jesus could no more clearly understand this mystery than we can today. We know that Jesus is Lord and gives Himself to us forever, but to understand that mystery would take all eternity and even more than that.

The Gospel today from Saint Luke tells us that Jesus and His Church give us food every day. We can think of material food but we know that God is more concerned with our whole being than He is with just our corporal needs. When people starve to death, as is all to common today, it is not a sign that God has abandoned them but that the hands of Jesus have not yet touched all people through those of us who already believe.

God in Jesus Christ is concerned about supersubstantial bread, the bread of life, the bread of faith, the bread broken each day as we struggle to be faithful. We expect God and His Church to give us supersubstantial bread. God is faithful. His Church is incarnated in humans and so is never completely faithful. What a mystery and a grace it is to be able to see the Divine Presence within the Church, even with all of its stains and sins.

This Solemnity of Corpus Christi is not just about Jesus giving Himself, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Holy Eucharist. It is also about that Eucharist transforming the Church, His body. It is about that Eucharist transforming us, because we are Church. May this wonderful solemnity touch our hearts, our minds, our souls, so that we can be transformed as the people of God into the living presence of our Divine Lord Jesus present in this world. May the Body and Blood of the Lord remove our sins and stains so that the loving and compassionate face of Christ may give light to all our world. Amen.