the Covenant of the Eucharist

(the following is a homily given at St. Mark's Church, Norman OK on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, June 7, 2015)

 

On this Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Our Lord, the Church celebrates the greatest gift given to her and indeed to the world: Christ Himself – body, blood, soul and divinity – in the Eucharist. 

This sacrament is a thing we all take for granted.  All of us – from pope to usher – because of our limitations in understanding it as human beings. 

This Most Blessed Sacrament has been the inspiration for liturgy, adoration, poetry, reformation, politics, wars, reconciliations… it has raised every saint in our Church to sainthood, and it has frustrated every attempt by the devil to bring the Church to rubble. 

While we struggle with our limitations in comprehending the Eucharist, our readings for today have given us a term to help the process.  That term is covenant.

 

Since the times of the Old Testament, a covenant has been defined as “A relationship sealed by an oath with mutual responsibilities and mutual benefits” (Fr. Harry Hagan, OSB, St. Meinrad Seminary). 

A covenant is not the same thing as a "contract" in that a covenant, before God, is a giving of one's self—i.e., a more total claim.

The notion of covenant includes fundamental attitudes of respect, equality, fidelity, justice between persons. This is opposed to the idea of contract where, by necessity, one party must be greater – have more claim on the other. 

 

In our first reading, we hear the story of the making of the Covenant at Mount Sinai, after the Israelites were freed from Egypt.  Moses assembles the elders and has peace offerings sacrificed to God on an altar surrounded by twelve pillars, representing the twelve tribes of Israel.  Moses has the blood saved from these sacrifices and splashes half on the altar itself.  He then uses the rest to sprinkle upon the people.  This seals the covenantal relationship between God and Israel.

This relationship begins the process of building up God’s people into a religious people.  One of the twelve tribes, the Levites, becomes the “priestly” tribe, where God chooses the religious leaders of Israel.  From them comes the office of “high priest,” who acted in a special way as mediator between God and Israel.  His purpose was to continue the blood sacrifices so that the covenant was remembered by both parties – God and the People of Israel. 

This did not keep the Israelites from breaking the covenant, though, again and again in their long history.  While God remained steadfast on his part, the people would turn to idols of gold or silver or wood, and neglect the God of their fathers.

 

From this brokenness came a need for reparation – for redemption.  In our second reading, Jesus is seen to be that redemption. 

He is the new high priest of the new covenant, which perfects the old covenant because he does not simply offer scape-offerings – an offering of temporary appeasement -- , but offers himself – Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity – in his fullness to repair the covenant relationship between God and Man.

Our Gospel tells us how Jesus offered himself: 

“he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, ‘this is the blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.’” (Mark 14:22-24)

Christ shows us – in his words and in his deeds – that he desired to bring fullness and healing to humanity, that it might unite itself – as it was meant to from the beginning – with the embrace of Almighty God.  As the Second Person of the Trinity, Christ freely chose to take up our human nature so that we could be raise up to the divine. 

In his love and mercy, God did not seek a contract with us, he sought a covenant.  He desired that we become his equal: that we are “divinized” so that we can share in his happiness and joy.  And he knew that we could not do this on our own.

In the Office of Readings for today, we read the words of the angelic Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas, who has this to say about God’s covenant with his people:

  “Since it was the will of God’s only begotten Son that men should share in his divinity, he assumed our nature in order that by becoming man he might make men gods… he dedicated the whole of his substance to our salvation... here Christ himself, the true God, is set before us as our food.” (Office of Readings, Corpus Christi)

By consuming Our Lord in the Eucharist, we become what we eat.  We are made heirs with Christ; Children of the Most High.  This is the power of this sacrament; this is what we receive when we keep the covenant of God and men close to us.

Remember that a covenant is defined as a “relationship, sealed by an oath with mutual responsibilities and mutual benefits.”

This relationship of God and Man was sealed by nothing less than the very Body and Blood of Christ Jesus – fully God and Fully Man. 

In his Person resides the essence of God and the essence of humanity, and in his sacrifice is the irrevocable bond of God and Man in relationship.

God, on his end, has given us everything to show us the extent of his love.  In return, he expects – he deserves the same from us.

How shall we respond to God’s covenant of love? 

Will we follow the example of our forefathers, who time and again broke their bonds of love with God in order to appease their own desires and appetites? 

Or will we follow the example of our Lord, who, “though he was in the form of God, did not deem equality with God... [but rather] took on the likeness of men” (see Phil. 2.6) – the form of a slave in comparison – in order to free us for excellence. 

As it was Christ’s free choice to seek a covenant of love with us, sealing it with his own precious body and blood, so it is our free choice to keep this covenant of love.  Pray God that we choose wisely.