Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 116

The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven... "
Jesus answered and said to them,
"Stop murmuring among yourselves.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.

During the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, the Roman Catholic Church formally declared the infallible truth of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. The bread is no longer bread though it looks like bread; it is the body of Jesus, his very flesh. And the wine has been transformed into his Blood, although it still tastes, smells, and flows like wine. 

The bishops accepted Saint Thomas Aquinas's philosophical definition as an explanation of the inexplicable, and offered the word transubstantiation to anyone who needs it. They made this astonishing declaration after twelve centuries of discussion, but they knew the controversy would continue until Judgment Day. For the doctrine is the truth beyond anyone's opinion. And it stands in judgment over believers and skeptics alike. 

From the very beginning, from the day the Lord made his pronouncement there at Capernaum, some people accept the Lord and his flesh to eat, while others walk away. That disagreement about the Eucharist did not begin with the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century; nor was it universally accepted by everyone who assumed the name of Christian at any time in these two thousand years of church history. Gnostics of every stripe, Arians, and Manichees have always denied the hard, literal interpretation of Jesus's words. 

One time, in the VA hospital where I conducted conversations in the rehab program, I told the Veterans I had not drank alcohol since May of 1980. One fellow objected that I was obviously drinking wine each day during the Mass. I told him, "That is not wine, that is the Blood of Jesus Christ." And then, as the scriptures say of the Pharisees and Jesus, "No one dared to ask any more questions." 

For me, it is just that simple. I cannot and do not pretend to explain the miracle. It is both sign and symbol; it is neither sign nor symbol. It is the sacrament which remains as living proof of our Savior's abiding presence, his constant mercy and unchanging  love. He will not abandon his Church, despite our infidelity and innumerable sins, despite our scandalous behavior and shocking betrayal. The Lord remains with us forever. His infallible words call us to turn away from our sins even as they promise reward and threaten punishment. 

Because he is a man without an army or police force he does not prevent anyone from walking away. Most of his disciples did walk away on that sunny day in Capernaum. Even after he fed several thousand people with five loaves of bread, many would not listen to his talk about eating flesh and drinking blood. 

His bald decoration remains a cutting edge and challenge for us. For the simple statement, "Yes, I believe the Eucharist is the transubstantiated body and blood of Jesus Christ" means nothing if our behavior and manner signal something else. If our presence in the neighborhood, the workplace, shopping mall, or the polling booth does not remind people of Jesus and his holiness; if our  sacrilegious signals disappoint the world which not only expects us to be holy, but deserves to see us as God’s holy people, we betray the Lord and his mission. 

The prophet Jeremiah mocked those Jews who declared their faith in "The Temple of the Lord; the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord!" They thought that God would never let their shrine be destroyed, as it was a few years later. The prophet would also mock those Catholics who cry, "The Eucharist! The Eucharist! The Eucharist!" We cannot wrap religion around our shoulders like a national flag around an Olympic athlete  and think it proves anything. 

Rather, our manner must be like that of Jesus who said,

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The cardinal and Saint, John Henry Newman, was born and raised in the Episcopal Church but, after studying the Fathers of the Church, gradually came to believe that the Spirit of God remained most truly in Rome. A prolific writer, popular teacher, and famous preacher who never had an unpublished thought, all England watched his very slow, apparently reluctant conversion to Catholicism. He admitted, after he finally made his decision, that he had never had much interest in the Blessed Sacrament. He didn't deny it but it wasn't important. It was just another doctrine of the Roman Church which differed from Protestant opinion. 

However, after he made his profession of faith and was re-ordained as a Catholic priest, he  became fascinated with the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. In every town and city he visited, he found a church or chapel where he spent time with his Savior. The sanctuary lamp which burns night and day in every Catholic Church in the world assured him that our Faith is strong because God's presence is never weak, never half-way, never parsimonious. It is superabundant, excessive, and overflowing to those who recognise and welcome him. 

Recently Catholics in the United States are enjoying a rebirth of wonder in the Most Blessed Sacrament. The Eucharist assures us that he is still here with us, and that we are still his people, despite our controversies, quarrels, and infidelity. The Sacrament also tells us that we are here, we belong here, and we are here for a reason. We have been sent to these United States to invite everyone to eat his flesh and drink his blood, and Do this in memory of Jesus. 

The times change but the truth does not. The world is as troubled now as it ever was, and the Lord still says, "Do not be afraid. I am with you. You have nothing to fear."