Homily on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood Of Christ (Corpus Christi)

The Eucharist: Not Something But Someone

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood Of Christ (Corpus Christi)

St. Ambrose Catholic Community, Woodbury, MN

Sunday, June 11, 2023

The most challenging sermon ever preached by Jesus was not the Sermon on the Mount; it was the sermon in the Capernaum synagogue delivered after the miraculous multiplication of loaves and fish. The Sermon the Mount, which enjoins us to love our enemy, to pray for those who persecute us, to embark on interior self cleansing, and to practice nonresistance to evil, no doubt is intellectually astonishing. But the sermon that Jesus gave at Capernaum concerning the sacrament of his Body and Body is not only philosophically problematic, it is word for word repulsive and offensive. Even after two thousand years and after several volumes of theological books and reflections have been devoted to this, Catholics and non-Catholics still find the words of the Lord difficult to accept. If we say that Jesus is a spiritual teacher of great importance, a lot of people will accept it. If we say that Jesus is the way and our access to the eternal Father, many people can tolerate the claim. But if we say that his flesh is real food and his blood is real drink, that the eating and drinking of these elements is a sine qua non to gaining everlasting life, lots of people will react the same way that many of Jesus’ first audience reacted: shaking their heads, rolling their eyes and walking away angrily and disappointedly. 

But why did the Jews react negatively to this sermon? Littered in the Hebrew Scripture, which is the Old Testament is the prohibition of eating of meat with blood. In Genesis, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, the eating of meat with blood is obviously forbidden. The blood of an animal was seen as its life. So, the consumption of animal products with its blood was prohibited for the Jews. So, when Jesus said, “… and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” he was inviting people to do something off-putting and religiously not allowed. As would be expected, upon hearing those words, the Jews angrily uttered, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” What did Jesus say when confronted with this objection? One would think he would propose a more symbolic or metaphorical reading of what he had said; but rather than take that path, he doubles down, ”Amen, amen, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” 

Sisters and brothers, how do we understand this shocking sermon? The Eucharistic Discourse of John 6 and the institution narrative of the Eucharist is the great ground for the Catholic Church’s insistence of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Transubstantiated Bread and Wine. It is not a later invention by the followers of Jesus; it has its root in the Gospel. Up and down the centuries, the Church continues to affirm the doctrine of the “Real Presence.” The Church maintains that, though Jesus is present to us in the proclamation of the Word, in the gathering of two or three in his name, in the person of the priest at the liturgy, in the poor and suffering— he, Jesus, is nevertheless supremely present in the Eucharist in a qualitative way. In the consecrated elements, bread and wine, Jesus is “really, truly, and substantially” present to us; that is to say, his very self— Body and Blood, Humanity and Divinity— is offered to us under the form of bread and wine. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, in the other sacraments, the power of Christ is present; but in the Eucharist, Christ himself is present. And this is why, for Catholics, the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. It is the fountain of our life as Christians. The Eucharist is not something; the Eucharist is someone, namely Christ Jesus himself. 

What prevents many Catholics from believing in the Real Presence? Survey conducted by Pew Research Center has it that almost 70% of Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. I have five reasons why many Christians, including Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. One, failure of catechesis. Some faith formation teachers lack adequate faith formation themselves. Two, lack of intellectual curiosity about the faith. Catholics who don’t understand the  doctrine of the “Real Presence” are not making any effort to read and understand it. Three, Secularism. The lack of the sense of the sacred has grown large in the hearts and minds of many people to the point that nothing transcendent, or spiritual or metaphysical matters  anymore. If they cannot see God anywhere, they cannot see him in the Eucharist. Secularism has become a dominant force in the lives of many, even churchgoing Catholics. Four, Scientism. What does it mean? It is the reduction of all knowledge to the scientific form of knowledge. It is the dogmatic worldview that holds science as the supreme source of all knowledge. No other knowledge but scientific knowledge. Proponents of this view say that as scientific discoveries continue to pour in, God’s existence will eventually be disproved. But the truth is that God is outside of space and time, outside of science’s purview and therefore can never be proved or disproved by science alone. Scientism is idolatry and it is growing really fast in our society today. It is now a competing “religion” in the country. Five, the indescribable humility of God. How can God be present in a piece of bread and a drop of wine? But if the almighty God can become a baby, he can as well become food for his children. 

If you are one of those who do not believe in the Real Presence, hear me now— you are rejecting the fundamental truth of the faith. You are rejecting the word of the Lord. You are not paying attention to the words of today’s Gospel. Check this out! If the Eucharist is merely a symbol, why do we give such reverence, such adoration, such worship and such honor to it? If the Eucharist is merely a symbol and a sign, that’s not enough for me. At Mass, I want to receive Jesus, not a sign or a symbol. I believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist because of the authority of the speaker. If I were to walk up to you and say, “You’re under arrest” you would smile or laugh and conclude that I was starting a joke. But if a uniformed and properly assigned police officer comes to your door and says those same words, you would, in fact, be under arrest. Furthermore, a word of commendation uttered by a renown professor can guarantee a student an amazing career; and a word of condemnation from a parent can emotionally disturb a child for a long time. The point here is that words can change reality. We are puny and imperfect creatures, yet, if our words can change reality, the words of Jesus, the very incarnation of God can change all reality. And in the Bible, Jesus’ words did alter reality. To a man who has been sick for thirty-eight year, Jesus says, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk” (John 5:8), and immediately the man became well, stood up and walked. To a leper Jesus says, “I will do it. Be made clean.” Right away, his leprosy was cleansed. When Jesus encountered a deaf man, he said to him, “Ephphatha” (that is, “Be opened!”), and immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed and he spoke freely. Standing beside the lifeless body of a little girl of twelve, Jesus held her by hand and said, “Talitha koum” which means, “Little girl, I say to you arise!” Immediately the child arose and became alive again. What about Lazarus of Bethany and the only son of the widow of Nain? Jesus raised them from death with a spoken word. On the night before he died, the same Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to his disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body” (Matthew 26:26). After that, he took the cup filled with wine and said, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant” (Matthew 26:27-28). Jesus also commands us, “Do this in memory of me” (Luke 22:20). 

Jesus’ words effected a change, not merely at the physical level but at the substantial. During consecration, the substance of the bread and wine changes and becomes the Body and Blood of the Lord. Believe this message not because I am saying it but because Jesus said it. If Jesus spoke symbolically, he would have said so. If what he said in today’s Gospel was to be understood in a metaphorical sense, he would clarify himself. If the Eucharist were a mere sign or symbol of his Body and Blood, he would have explained it. Why do we need the Eucharist? Life is a journey. And on this journey, we need nourishment. We need sustenance. We need refreshment. No other food can offer and guarantee us all these but the Body of Christ. Jesus knows the brunt of this journey. He lived it himself. So, he journeys with us and offers himself as our nourishment and support.