Homily for the Corpus et Sanguis Christi
Sunday - Cycle C
Based on Lk 9:11b-17
(Gospel), Gn 14:18-20 (First Reading)
and 1 Co 11:23-26 (Second Reading)
From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the
Desert”
FEED
THEM YOURSELVES
“Give
them something to eat yourselves” (Lk 9:13)
The Gospel narrative for this
Sunday is taken from Lk 9:11b-17. It talks about the incident of the Miracle of the loaves. Parallel
passages to this incident are:
1.
Mt 14:13-21 - First miracle of the loaves - When Jesus received this news he withdrew
by boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But the people
heard of this and, leaving the towns, went after him on footc (v.
13). So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them and
he healed their sick (v. 14). When evening came, the disciples went to him and
said, ‘This is a lonely place, and the time has slipped by; so end the people
away, and they can go to the villages to buy themselves some food’ (v. 15).
Jesus replied, ‘There is no need for them to go: give them something to eat
yourselves’ (v. 16). But they answered, ‘All we have with us is five loaves and
two fish’ (v. 17). ‘Bring them here to me’ he said (v. 18). He gave orders that
the people were to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the
two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing. And breaking the
loaves he handed them to his disciples who gave them to the crowd.d
(v. 19). They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected scraps
remaining, twelve baskets full (v. 20). Those who ate numbered about five
thousand men, to say nothing of women and children (v. 21). Footnote c says “On shore the crowd hurried to the place the
boat was making for” and Footnote d says “This miraculous bread, though not the Holy Eucharist, clearly
prefigures and leads up to it. This is the view of the Fathers and indeed of
the evangelists before them; cf. v. 19 with 26:26, and cf. Jn 6:1-15, 51-58.”
2.
Mk 6:30-44
- So they went off in a boat to
a lonely place where they could be by themselves (v. 32). But people saw them
going, and many could guess where; and from every town they all hurried to the
place on foot and reached it before them (v. 33). So as he stepped ashore he
saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep
without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length (v. 34). By
now it was getting very late, and his disciples came up to him and said, ‘This
is a lonely place and it is getting very late (v. 35), so send them away, and
they can go to the farms and villages round about, to but themselves something
to eat’ (v. 36). He replied, ‘Give them something to eat yourselves’. They
answered, ‘Are we to go and spend two hundred denarii on bread for them to eat?
(v. 37)’ How many loaves have you? He asked ‘Go and see’. And when they had
found out they said, ‘Five, and two fish’ (v. 38). Then he ordered them to get
all the people together in groups on the green grass (v. 39),and they sat down
on the ground in squares of hundred and fifties (v. 40). Then he took the five
loaves and two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing; then he
broke the loaves and handed them to his disciples to distribute among the
people. He also shared out the two fish among them all (v. 41). They all ate as
much as they wanted (v. 42). They collected twelve basketfuls of scraps of
bread and pieces of fish (v. 43). Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five
thousand men (v. 44).
3.
Jn 6:1-13 - Sometime after this, Jesus went off to the other side of the Sea of
Galilee - or of Tiberias – (v. 1) and a large crowd followed him, impressed by
the signs he gave by curing the sick (v. 2). Jesus climbed the hillside, and
sat down there with his disciples(v. 3). It was shortly before the Jewish feast
of Passovera (v. 4) Looking up, Jesus saw the crowd approaching and
said to Philip, “Where can we buy some bread for these people to eat? (v.
5)” He only said this to test Philip; he
himself knew exactly what he was going to do (v. 6). Philip answered, ‘Two
hundred denarii would only buy enough to give them a small piece each’. (v. 7).
One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said (v. 8),‘There is a
small boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; but what is that between so
many?’ (v. 9).Jesus said to them, ‘Make the people sit down’. There was plenty
of grass there, and as many as five thousand men sat down (v. 10).Then Jesus
took the loaves, gave thanks, and gave them out to all who were sitting ready;
he then did the same with the fish, giving out as much as was wanted (v.
11).When they had eaten enough he said to his disciples, ‘Pick up the pieces
left over, so that nothing gets wasted’ (v. 12).So they picked them up, and
filled twelve hampers with scraps left over from the meal of barley loaves (v.
13). Footnote a says “The
bread Jesus gives is to be the new Passover.”
Verses 11b,
12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 of Lk 9 say: He made them welcome and talked to them
about the kingdom of God; and he cured those who were in need of healing. It
was late afternoon when the Twelve came to him and said, ‘Send the people away,
and they can go to the villages and farms round about to find lodging and food;
for we are in a lonely place here.’ He replied, ‘Give them something to eat
yourselves’. But they said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish,
unless we are to go out ourselves and buy food for all these people.’ For there
were about five thousand men, But he said to his disciples, ‘Get them to sit
down in parties of about fifty.’ They did so and made them all sit down. Then
he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven, and said
the blessing over them; then he broke them and handed them to his disciples to
distribute among the crowd. They all ate as much as they wanted, and when the
scraps remaining were collected they filled twelve baskets.
The First Reading is from Gn 14:18-20.
Verse 18 says: Melchizedek,
king of Salemg brought bread and wine, he was a priest of God Most
High.
Footnote g – Ps
76:2, the whole subsequent Jewish tradition, and many of the fathers identify
Salem with Jerusalem. Its priest-king Melchizedek (the name of Canaanite, cf.
Adonizedek, king of Jerusalem, Jos 10:1) worships in the Most High God,
El-Elyon, a compound name, each of its two parts being the title of a god in
the Phoenician pantheon. Elyon is used in the Bible (especially Psalms ) as a divine title. In this passage, v. 22,
El-Elyon is identified with the true God of Abraham. Melchizedek makes a brief
and mysterious appearance in the narrative; he is king of that Jerusalem where
Yahweh will dwell, and a priest of the Most High even before the levitical
priesthood was established; more-over, he receives tithes from the Father of
the chosen people. Ps 110:4 represents him as a figure of the Messiah who is
both king and priest; application to Christ priesthood is worked out in Heb
7:Patristic tradition has developed and enriched this allegorical
interpretation: in the bread and wine offered to Abraham it sees an image of
the Eucharist and even a foreshadowing of the Eucharist sacrifice-an
interpretation that has been received into the Canon of the Mass. Several of
the Fathers even held the opinion that Melchizedek was a manifestation of the
Son of God in person.
Parallel texts are:
1. Ps
110 - The Messiah: king and priesta Yahweh’s oracle to you, my Lord, ‘Sit at my
right handb and I will make your enemies a footstoolcfor
you (v. 1).’ Yahweh will force all your enemies under the sway of your scepter
in Zion (v.2). Royal dignity was yours from the day you were born, on the
mountain,d royal from the womb, from the dawn of your earliest days
(v. 3).e Yahweh has sworn an oath which he will never retract, ‘You
are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and forever (v. 4).’ Footnote a -
The prerogatives of the Messiah, worldwide sovereignty and perpetual
priesthood, cf. 2 S 7:1+; Zc 6:12-13, are no more conferred by earthly
investiture than were those of the mysterious Melchizedek (Gn 14:18+. V. 1 is
accepted in the NT epistles and elsewhere as a prophecy of the ascension of
Christ to the right hand of the Father; Footnote b- The risen Christ is seated at the
right hand of the Father, Rm 8:34, Heb 10:12, 1 P 3:22; Footnote c -
Cf. Jos 10:24; Dn 7:14.; Footnote
d– Aion; the plural is ‘of majesty’, cf. 87:1 (Hebr.); Footnote e– Verse corr.; Hebr. “Your people is
generosity on the day of your strength, in sacred splendours, from (or: from
the time of) the womb of the dawn (meaning uncertain), to you the dew of your
youth’. Greek ‘With you is the royal dignity…from the womb before the dawn I
begot you’) (cf. Hebr. MSS, and 2:7). Many Hebr. MSS, Symmachus and Jerome have
‘on the holy mountains’. We correct ‘your strength’ (Hebr.) to ‘you were born’
(lit ‘your birth’).
2.
Heb 5-7 –
Chapter 5: Every high priest has been taken out of mankind and is appointed to act
for men in their relations with God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins;
and so (v. 1) he can sympathize with those who are ignorant or uncertain
because he too lives in the limitations of his weakness (v. 2).That is why he
has to make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people (v. 3).No one
takes this honor on himself, but each one is called by God, just as Aaron was
(v. 4).Nor did Christ give himself the glory of becoming high priest, but he
had it from the one who said to him: You are my son, today I have become your
father (v. 5), and in another text: ‘You are a priest of the order of
Melchizedek (v. 6).’During his life on earth,a he offered up prayers
and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears, to one who had the power to save him
out of death,b and he submitted so humbly that c that his
prayer was heard (v. 7). Although, he
was Son, he learnt to obey through suffering (v. 8); but having been made
perfect,d he became for all who obey him the source of eternal
salvation (v. 9) and was acclaimed by God with the title of high priest of the
order of Melchizedek (v. 10). On this
subject we have many things to say, and they are difficult to explain because
you have grown so slow at understanding (v. 11). Really, when you should by
this time have become masters, you need someone to teach you all over again the
elementary principles of interpreting God’s oracles; you have gone back to
needing milk, not solid food (v. 12). Truly, anyone who is still living on milk
cannot digest the doctrine of righteousnesse because he is still a
baby (v. 13). Solid food is for mature men with minds trained by practice to
distinguish between good and bad (v. 14). Footnote a - Lit. ‘in the
days of his flesh’ (on the word ‘flesh’ cf. Rm. 7:5+). The emphasis of this
section is on humanity; a priest must be human
since he represents human beings and he must share their sufferings
since he must feel compassion for them, CF. 2:17-18 ; 4:15 Jesus suffered in this way all through his life on
earth, and especially in his agony and death; b - Not saved from
dying. Since that was the purpose of his life, Jn 12:27f, but rescued from
death after dying, Ac 2:24f. God transformed his death by raising him to glory
after it, Jn 12:27f; 13:31f; 17:5; Ph 2:9-11; Heb. 2:9; c - Lit.
‘because of his eulabela’ (i.e,
religious awe). It was because the prayers of Christ in Gethsemane was a prayer
of total submission to the will of his Father, Mt. 26:39,42, that it was heard
and answered; d - Having totally succeeded in his task of being
priest and victim; e–‘The doctrine of righteousness’ like ‘God’s
oracles’ can mean either the OT., cf. 2 Tm 3:16, or the whole body of doctrine.
Here it seems to mean all that Christ taught about the righteousness of God as
applied to mankind, Rm 3:21-26 and especially about his own priesthood of
mediation, prefigured by Melchizedek, the ‘king of righteousness’ 7:2.
Chapter 6: Let us leave behind us thena all the elementary teaching
about Christ and concentrate on its completion, without going over the
fundamental doctrines again: the turning away from dead actionsb and
towards faith in God (v. 1); the teaching about baptismsc and the
laying on of hands; the teaching about the
resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment (v. 2). This, God willing,
is what we propose to do (v. 3). As for those who have once been brought into
the light, and tasted the gift from heaven, and received a share of the holy
Spirit (v. 4), and appreciated the good message of God and the powers of the
world to come (v. 5),and yet in spite of this have fallen awayd, -
it is impossible for them to be renewed a second time. They cannot be repentant
if they have willfully crucified the Son
of God and openly mocked him (v. 6). A field that has been well watered by
frequent rain, and gives the crops that are wanted by their owners who grew
them , is given God’s blessing (v. 7); but one that grows brambles and thistles
is abandoned, and practically cursed. It will end by being burned (v. 8).But
you, my dear people – in spite of what we have just said, you are in a better state and on the way to salvation (v.
9) God would not be so unjust as to forget all you have done, the love that you
have for his name or the services you have done and are still doing, for the
saintse (v. 10).Our one desire is that every one of you should go on
showing the same earnestness to the end, to the perfect fulfillment of our
hopes (v. 11), never growing careless, but imitating those who have the faith
and the perseverance to inherit the promises (v. 12).When God made the promise
to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, “he swore by his own
self, since it was impossible for him to swear by anyone greater: (v. 13) I
will shower blessings on you and give you many descendants (v. 14). Because of
that, Abraham persevered and saw the promise fulfilled (v. 15).Men, of course,
swearan oath by someone greater than themselves, and between men, confirmation
by an oath puts an end to all dispute (v. 16). In the same way, when God wanted
to make heirs of his promise thoroughly realize
that his purpose was unalterable, he conveyed this by an oath; so that
there will be two unalterable thingsf, in which it was impossible
for God to be lying, and so that we, now we have found safety, should we have
strong encouragement to take a firm grip on the hope that is held out to us (v.
18).He we have an anchor for the soulg,
as sure as it is firm, and reaching right through beyond the veil (v. 19)where
Jesus has entered on before us, and on our behalf, to become a high priest of
the order of Melchizedek, and forever (v. 20). Footnote a – In spite of the difficulties
his readers will have, the author is going to try and stimulate them by
formulating the difficult doctrine already mentioned in 5:11.; b -
Anything done without faith and the divine life is called a ‘dead’ action
because it is done in the context of sin, Rm 1:18-3:20, which leads to death,
Rm 5:12,21; 6:23;7:5;1 Co 15:56; Ep 2:1; Col 2:13; cf Jm 1:15; Jn 5:24; 1 Jn
3:14.; c – Not only Christian baptism, cf. Ac. 1:5+, Rm. 6:4, but
all the washings, lustrations and purificatory rites then practiced, including
the ‘baptism of John’ Ac 18:25, 19:1-5.; d – The irreparable
apostasy of rejecting Christ and not believing in the power of his sacrifice to save; e – The same
phrase is used, Rm 15:25.31; 2 Co 8:4;9:1,12, about a collection for the church
in Jerusalem. The ‘saints’ are all Christians, but especially members of the
mother church at Jerusalem and in particular the apostles, cf. Ac 9:13+ ;f
– I.e. the promise and the oath of God who ‘does not lie’, Tt 1:2; g
– Anchor: symbol of stability in the classical world, adopted in Christian
iconography of 2nd c, as a symbol of hope.
Chapter
7 Melchizedeka You
remember that Melchizedek, king of Salem a priest of God Most High, went to
meet Abraham who was on his way back after defeating the kings and blessed him
(v. 1); and also that it was to him that Abraham gave a tenth of all he had. By
interpretation of his name, he is, first, ‘king of righteousness’ and also king
of Salem, that is, ‘king of peace’ (v, 2); he has no father, mother or
ancestry, and his life has no beginning or ending; he is like the Son of God.
He remains a priest forever (v. 3).Now think how great this man must have been,
if the patriarch Abraham paid him a tenth of the treasure he had captured.b
(v. 4). We know that any of the descendants of Levi who are admitted to the
priesthood are obliged by the Law to
take tithes from the people, and this istaking
from their own brothers although they too are descended from Abraham (v.
5).But this man, who was not of the same descent, took his tenth from Abraham,
and he gave his blessing to the holder of
the promises (v. 6). Now it is indisputable that a blessing is given by
a superior to an inferior (v. 7). Further, in the one case it is ordinary
mortal men who receive the receive
tithes, and in the other, someone who is declared to be alive (v. 8). It could be said that Levi himself,
who receives tithes, actually paid them, in the person of Abraham (v. 9),
because he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek came to meet
him (v. 10). Now if perfection had been reached through the levitical
priesthood because the Law given to the nation rests on it, why was it still
necessary for a new priesthood to arise, one of the same order as Melchizedek
not counted as being of the same order as Aaron? (v. 11) But any change in the
priesthood must mean a change in the Law as well (v. 12).So our Lord, of whom
these things were said, belonged to a different tribe, the members of which
have never done any service at the altar (v. 13); everyone knows that he came from Judah, a tribe which Moses
did not even mention when dealing with priests. (v. 14) Thisd
becomes even more clearly evident when there appears a second Melchizedek, who
is a priest (v. 15), not by virtue of a law about physical descente,
but by the power of an indestructible life (v. 16).For it is was about him that
the prophecy was made: “You are a priest of the order of Melchizedek, and
forever (v. 17).The earlier commandment is thus abolished, because it was
neither effective nor useful (v. 18), since the Law could not make anyone
perfect; but now this commandment is replaced by someone better – the hope that
brings us nearer to God. What is more this is not done without the taking an
oath. The others indeed were made priests without any oath (v. 20); but he with
an oath sworn by the one who declared to him: The Lord has sworn an oath which
he will not retract: you are a priest, and for everf v. 21). And it follows that it is a
greater covenant for which Jesus has
become our guarantee (v. 22).Then there
used to be a great number of those other priests, because death put an end to
each one of them (v. 23); but this one, because he remains forever, can never
lose his priesthood (v. 24). It follows, then, that his power to save is
utterly certain, since he is living for ever to intercede for all who come to
God through him V. 25). To suit us, the ideal high priest would have to be
holy, innocent, and uncontaminated, beyond the influence of sinners, and raised
up above the heavens (v. 26); one who
would not need to offer sacrifice every day, as the other high priests do for
their own sins and then for those of the people, because he has done this once
and for allg by offering himself (v. 27) The Law appoints high
priests who are men subject to weakness: but the promise on oath, which came
after the Law,h appointed the Son who is made perfect for ever (v.
28). Footnote a – Melchizedek, the priest-king:
an OT type of Christ. Gen 14 is oddly silent about any ancestors or descendants
of Melchizedek and this suggested the idea that he represented the eternal
priesthood, vv. 1-3, cf vv. 15-17 and Ps 110:4+. He was superior to Abraham in
so far as Abraham offered him, Gn 14-20, a title of everything that had been
captured, so a fortiori, the argument
goes, he was superior to all the descendants of Abraham, including the Levites,
v. 4f.; b –The tithe paid to levitical priests, Dt 14:22+, was both
the stipend for their ministry at the altar and acknowledgement that as priest
they were members of a higher class than whose who paid. Levi (in the person of
Abraham) could only have paid his tithe if Melchizedek were a priest of an even
higher class than himself.; c –The argument here is based on Ps 110:4. This
text prophesies than the King-Messiah will not be descended from Levi, but will
be an eternal priest in the same sense as Melchizedek. This implies that when
Christ comes, his sort of priesthood, and this in turn will necessitate a new
law since the old one was only concerned with the levitical priesthood, vv. 12,
16f, 21.; d – What has been said in v. 12.; e –Lit. ‘a
law of a carnal commandment’, namely the law that restricted the priesthood of
Levi to his physical descendants, cf. Nb 1:47f; 3:5f; Dt 10:8f; 18:1f; 33:8f.; f
– Add ‘of the order of Melchizedek’.; g– The one and only sacrifice
of Christ is the center of salvation history, Ac 1:7+. It closes a long epoch
of preparations, 1:1f, cf. Rm 10:4; it occurs ‘at the appointed time’, Ga.
4:4+, Rm 3:26+, and it begins the eschatological epoch. Though the Last Day, 1
Co 1:8+; Rm 2:6+, will follow, 2 Co 6:2+, only at some unspecified, 1 Th 5:1+,
time in the future; salvation for the human race has been in essence certain
from the moment when, in the person of Christ, it died to sin and rose to live
again. Heb makes a special point of how the whole of this hope flow from the
absolute, unique, unrepeatable sacrifice of Christ, 7:27; 9:12,26,28; 10:10;
cf. Rm 6:10; 1 P 3:18. Being unrepeatable, 10:12-14, this sacrifice is
different from all others in the O.T.
that had to be repeated again and again because they were unable to actually to
save anyone.
h –Cf. the promise made before the Law was given, Ga. 3:17.
The Second Reading for this Sunday is from 1 Co 11:23-26.
Verse 23and 24 say: For
this is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on
the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and thanked
God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you;i
do this as a memorial of me. Footnote i says “Var.
‘This is my body, broken for you.’”
Parallel texts are:
1. 1
Co 10:16-17 - The blessing-cuph that we bless is a communion with the
blood of Christ and the bread that we break is a communion in the body of
Christ (v. 16). The fact that there is only one loaf means that, there are so
many of us, we form a single body because we all have a share in this one loaf
(v. 17). Footnote h says
“ I.e. the cup of wine for which we thank
God, like Christ at the Last Supper.”
2. Mt
26:26-29 - Institution of the Eucharist - Now as they were eating,f
Jesus took some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave
it to the disciples. He said, ‘Take it and eat; this is my body’ (v. 26). Then he took a cup, and when he had returned
thanks he gave it to them. He said, ‘Drink all of you from this (v. 27). For this is my blood, the blood of the gcovenant,
which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.h (v.
28). From now on, I tell you, I shall not drink wine until the day I drink the
new wine with you in the kingdom of my Father.’ After psalms had been sung they
left for the Mount of Olives. Footnote f says “They have come to the Passover supper
itself. The rubrics for this solemn blessing of bread and wine are laid down
exactly; on to this ceremony Jesus grafts the sacramental rites of the new
religious order of things which he institutes”; Footnote g “says Add
(Vulg.) ‘new’, cf. Lk 22:20; 1 Co 11:25”; Footnote h says “As
at Sinai, the blood of victims sealed the covenant
of Yahweh with his people, Ex. 24:4-8+, so on the cross the blood of Jesus, the
perfect victim, is about to seal the ‘new’ covenant,
cf. Lk. 22:20, between God and man - the
covenant foretold by the prophets, Jr 31:31+.
Jesus takes on himself the task of universal redemption that Isaiah assigns to
the ‘servant of Yahweh’, Is. 42:6; 49:6; 53:12, cf. 41:8+. Cf. Heb 8:8; 9:15;
12:24.”
3. Mk
14:22-25 - As they were eating, he took bread, and when he had said the
blessing he broke it and gave it to them, ‘Take it’ he said ‘this is my body’
(v. 22). Then he took a cup, and when he
had returned thanks he gave it to them, and all drank from it (v. 23). And he
said to them, ‘This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is poured out
for many,’ (v. 24). "I tell you solemnly, I shall not drink any more wine
until that day when I drink the new wine in the kingdom of God (v. 25). Lk 22:18’
4. Lk
22:14-20 - When the hour came he took
his place at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them,d
‘I have longed to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; because, I tell
you, I shall not eat it again until it is fulfillede in the kingdom
of God’. And taking the cup,f he gave thanks and said, ‘Take this
and share it among you, because from now on, I tell you, I shall not drink wine
until the kingdom of God comes’. The he took some bread and when he had given
thanks, broke it and gave it to them saying, ‘This is my body which will be
given for you; do this as a memorial of me.’ He did the same with the cup after
supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood which will be
poured out for you.’ He then left to make his way as usual to the Mount of
Olives, with the disciples following. Footnote dsays “In Lk. Christ’s discourses at the supper
play a more important part than in Mt and Mk, preparing us for those in Jn
13:31-17:26”; Footnote esays “The first stage of fulfillment is the Eucharist itself, the center of
spiritual in the kingdom founded by Jesus: the final stage will be at the end
of time when the Passover is to be fulfilled perfectly and in a fashion no
longer veiled. ; Footnote f
says “Lk distinguishes the Passover and the cup of vv.
15-18 from the bread and the cup from vv. 19-20 in order to draw a parallel
between the ancient rite of the Jewish Passover and the new rite of the
Christian Eucharist. Some ancient authorities, failing to understand this
theological device, and disturbed to find two cups mentioned, quite mistakenly
omitted v. 20, or even v. 20 with the second part of v. 19 (i.e. ‘which will be
given…of me’).
5. Ex
12:14 - This day is to be a day of remembrance for you, and you must celebrate it as a feast in Yahweh’s
honor. For all generations you are to declare it a day of festival forever.
6. Dt
16:3 - You must not eat leavened bread with this; for seven days you must eat
it with unleavened bread, the bread of emergency; for it was in great haste
that you came out of the land of Egypt; so
you will remember, all the days of your life, the day you came out of the land
of Egypt.
Verses 25 and 26 say: In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, ‘This is the
cup of the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’ Until the Lord
comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are
proclaiming his death…
Parallel texts are:
1. Ex
24:8 - Then Moses took the bloodc
and cast it towards the people. ‘This’ he said ‘is the blood of the Covenant
that Yahweh has made with you, containing all the rules.’ Footnote c
says “Moses is the mediator between God
and the people; he unites them symbolically by sprinkling the blood of a single
victim first on the altar, which represents Yahweh, and then on the people. In
this way the pact is ratified by blood,
cfLv 1:5+, just as the New Covenant is
ratified by the blood of Christ.”
2. Jr
31:31 - See, the days are coming - it is Yahweh who speaks-when I will make a
new covenant with the House of Israel (and the House of Judah).
3. Heb
8:6-13 -We have seen that he has been
given a ministry of a higher order, and to the same degree it is a better
covenant of which he is the mediator,b founded on better promises
(v. 6) If that first covenant had been without
a fault, there would have been no need for a second one to replace
sought it (v. 7). And in fact God does
find fault with them; he says: “See the days are coming - it is the Lord who
speaks - when I will establish a new covenant with the House of Israel and the
House of Judah (v. 8), but not a covenant like the one I made with their
ancestors on the day I took them out by the hand to bring them out from the
land of Egypt. They abandoned that covenant of mine, and so I on my side
deserted them. It is the Lord who speaks (v. 9). No, this is the covenant I
will make with the House of Israel when those days arrive - it is the Lord who
speaks. I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts.
Then I will be their God, and they shall be my people(v. 10) There will be no
further need for neighbor to try to teach neighbor, or brother to say to
brother, ‘Learn to know the Lord’. No,
they will all know me, the least no less than the greatest (v. 11), since I
will forgive their iniquities and never call their sins to mind (v. 12. By
speaking of a new covenant, he
implies that the first one is already old. Now anything old only gets more
antiquated until in the end it disappears. Footnote b says “Technically, Christ is the one and only true mediator: he is the true
man and true God. Col. 2:9, and so the one and only intermediary, Rm 5:15-19, 1
Tm 2:5; cf. 1 Co 3:22-23, 11:3, between God and the human race. He unites them and reconciles them,2
Co. 5:14-20. Through him come grace Jn 1:16-17; Ep 1:7; and complete
revelation, Heb. 1:1-2. In heaven he continues to intercede for those who are
faithful to him, 7:25+.”
As ever, the doctrine of transubstantiation of the
Roman Catholic Church is a controversial topic, which, because of its literal
interpretation of the real body and blood of Jesus Christ to be exactly the
same as the bread and wine after the priest has consecrated them in the Mass,
borders upon idolatry and superstition, according to other Christian believers.
We had made an extensive expose regarding this topic
in our last “Corpus Christi” Homily for Cycle B. In that homily, we laid down
the view of some Christian churches on the teaching about the Eucharist, which
is the minority view.
Needless to repeat, we here affirm our teaching
that since the Sacrament of the Eucharist is still called a sacrament,
therefore, the sacramental matter of bread and wine used in consecration of the
Eucharist are merely symbols, signs, or “sacraments” of the real body and blood
of Jesus Christ which was sacrificed on the cross for the redemption of
mankind. At least, that is how holy scripture teaches even if it is a minority
view.
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