The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Woody Allen famously remarked, “80% of success is just showing up.” I hope you’ll forgive me for endorsing his profound theological truth. I don’t know if he practices his Hebrew faith but the roots of this doctrine are obviously in the Hebrew word hineni – meaning “Here I am.”

• When God calls Abraham to sacrifice “your only son, whom you love” Abraham says hineni even before he knows what will be demanded of him. He says it twice more before the story is finished: to Isaac who wonders where is the sacrificial beast; and to God when the Lord relents of his demand.
• Moses cried hineni when the Lord called from the burning bush.
• Isaiah shouted hineni in the temple when the Lord demanded, “Whom shall I send?”
• The boy Samuel ran to Eli several times in the night, mistaking God’s voice for the old man’s, and said hineni.

Repeated often in the Old and New Testaments, Hineni is an attitude and a decision. “Yes, I will be here. Yes, I will practice presence. Yes, I will be attentive, eager, alert, open and ready for you whenever you call. It is fundamental to our relationship with God. Without it God remains alien, overbearing and dangerous.

When we Catholics speak of Jesus’ “real presence” in the Eucharist, we are recalling his hineni. God has sent him to be with us and he is here. This presence is as dynamic and powerful and real as flesh and blood. We believe that he is Really Present even if the priest and everyone in the congregation are undeserving, inattentive and downright immoral. Such is the covenant he has made with us.

But we also believe the Holy Spirit gathers us to the Real Presence of Jesus as we bring our own real presence. We practice attention daily by our prayers, both devotional and liturgical. Attending Mass we show up in time, shedding our winter wear before the ceremony begins. We sing our hymns and respond to the prayers. We listen to the readings, which have become familiar because we have studied them in the context of the entire Bible. We listen to the Eucharistic Prayers as the presider gathers all of our attention to God; we observe the silences of the Mass as a congregation. The Mass is more than a respite from the harassments of telephone, television and computer. It’s a consecration of our full attention.

Leaving the Mass on Sunday, we are ready to appear at work and school on Monday. We are sober, alert, prepared and competent to handle the challenges. We have been sent and, like Jesus, we are happy to be here.

And we expect others to be there for us. Anyone care to ride with an inattentive driver or fly with a distracted pilot? Would you prefer a hung-over surgeon? Would you mind if your pharmacist samples some of your medication? How do you feel about your home town team not showing up for the game? We’re not good for much if we’re not really present.

God the Father sent Jesus to live as one of our own children and he was happy to do it. He wanted nothing to come between himself and us despite the infinite distance between his divinity and our humanity. He chose poverty lest the fences, locks, boundaries and guards of the wealthy might separate him from others. He chose exile and homelessness lest a house become his castle. He chose nakedness on the cross so that all the earth might see him. He knew that the beauty of his presence would overwhelm all distractions.

“And when I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all to myself.”

Attending the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and in our World, we learn to show up as parents, spouses, children, neighbors, employees and citizens. Being there, it’s not hard to figure out what to do next -- and master that final 20%.