Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ

 Lectionary: 167

He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger,

and then fed you with manna,
a food unknown to you and your fathers,
in order to show you that not by bread alone does one live,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD. 

Do not forget the LORD, your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery...

Opening his two volume study of the Prophet Isaiah, Walter Brueggemann describes the ancient Holy City: 

Jerusalem is regarded as the center of Yahweh's peculiar attentiveness, as the seat of the world's best hopes for well being, and as the site of the most profound disobedience and recalcitrance. Jerusalem is taken in this tradition as the epitome of Yahweh's creation, which owes its life to Yahweh, and which seeks with great resourcefulness to have a life other than the one which Yahweh would give. [Isaiah, Vol. 1: Chapters 1-39 (Westminster Bible Companion)]

The American biblical scholar might have been describing the United States with its failed promises and frustrated patriotism. Some people suppose their political opponents hate this country, but they're wrong. They hate God. 

When Catholics celebrate The Body and Blood of Christ, we celebrate Eucharist, or Holy Communion, who is the only God who can save us. There is no other God who can restore Jerusalem, the United States, or the Earth He created. 

Unlike Jerusalem and the Church, the United States never supposed it enjoyed a covenant with God. The Name does not appear in the Constitution, and there is only a vague salute to "nature's God" in the Declaration of Independence. The American Experiment, like recalcitrant Jerusalem, is intentionally godless. 

The Founders did assume, however, that a more perfect union could be created if the nation's citizens espoused the enlightened values of European society -- liberty, equality, and fraternity -- which were essentially Christian. Such a nation could not hope to survive without the social contracts of law, fellowship, and neighborliness. A few years later, Alexis de Tocqueville would marvel at  America's allegiance to its habits of the heart: family, church, and local community. Although we lacked a king or queen, the nation was thriving on these core values. 

Recently, as I watching a softball game, I marveled at the cooperation which the game celebrates. If the pitcher does not hurl the ball within the batter's personal strike zone, she need not swing at it. If she does hit it, the ball must fall within a certain area, and not go foul. 99% of any game is cooperation; and if opponents don't cooperate -- that is, play by the rules -- there is no game. 

But Americans are enchanted with competition and often overlook the basic cooperation which makes it happen. A few years ago, some fantasized about "no rule football," as if such a creature could exist. I suppose someone brought an AR-15 to the gridiron, and then they decided maybe there should be rules. That same society of competitors has gone on to recreate fishing, cooking, and survival as competitive games. But isn't survival about cooperation?  

The Church celebrates a Unity who is Trinity, and a Eucharist which is Communion. The value and dignity of every individual is found in communion with God. We esteem in one another the image of God, and we prize the gifts, courage, and energy God gives each person. Without communion, the church becomes insipid and its souls are lost.  

But we find ourselves immersed in a society that harbors deep resentments against God. The very notion of God is abhorrent to some because they know, if there is a God, they must worship. They must be grateful to the One who creates all life. They must honor the One who calls them into being but has no need for them. 

And so the Church invites family, friends, and neighbors to let their fears go and come join us in worship. We have found meaning, purpose, satisfaction, and assurance in the Body and Blood of Christ. The Most Blessed Sacrament -- that is, the Lord -- is the anchor of our life. We cannot begin a week without worship; we cannot begin a day without prayer; we can hardly breathe without gratitude, and the Greek word for that is Eucharist.