Corpus Christi
June 2011
From the time that Jesus of Nazareth visited John the Baptist at the Jordan river and received or realized or discovered the mission that God His Father had given to, or required of, or revealed to, him, the greatest characteristic of his life became his total dedication to the welfare of the poor, the suffering, the marginalised, the despised, the outcast, the sick and the sorrowing people of Galilee.
All the above persons were regarded as sinners and as such were excluded from the Jewish temple and synagogue worship. Their very condition in life (poverty, sickness, all physical or mental handicap etc.) was proof that they were sinners and rejected by God.
No normal Jew would be caught dead in their company and especially not eating with them.
Not only was Jesus of Nazareth dedicated to their total welfare but welcomed them to his table.
‘Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”’
‘For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
‘All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.”
‘And as he sat at dinner in Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples—for there were many who followed him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
So sharing a meal with all comers; a meal at which all were welcome and acceptable; became the defining trait or mark or symbol of Jesus of Nazareth, of his ministry and of his message; the good news of the presence of the Kingdom of God here on earth among us. Of Immanuel.
So this sharing of a meal with all comers was the obvious way he chose to say goodbye to his friends and followers before he died - the Last Supper. This was the symbol he left us of his continued presence among us and of the reality of the Kingdom of God here on earth; a Kingdom where all were equally welcomed. A kingdom of service to the welfare of each other.
This is the Mass.
This is what the Mass; the Eucharist is all about. This is why the Eucharist is central to our Christian faith.
We must not turn it into the cosy object of our cultic devotions; as an object to be surrounded with incense and lighted candles, contained in precious bowls and boxes; subjected to bows and genuflections.
The Eucharist; the Mass is the call to service to our fellow human beings.
As Jesus reminded his followers at the Last Supper; ‘For who is greater: the one seated at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one seated at table? But I am among you as one who serves.’