Sunday, June 7, 2015 STM,
Toronto
"I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving: and will call upon
the name of the Lord." Psalm 116
The Sacrifice of the Passover is recalled by Moses in the
First Reading from Exodus on this Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of
Christ. Moses recalls the old covenant
celebrated at Mount Sinai following the first Passover which was held at the time
of the exodus of the Hebrews from bondage in Egypt.
Sprinkling the blood of the covenant on the Israelites
symbolized God's desire in the Covenant to make the Israelites, the Hebrews,
his family i.e. those connected through "blood" – that powerful
symbol of life at the heart of Judaism.
Jesus, in the Gospel today, quotes Moses' words. Jesus elevates and transforms this Covenant
symbol into a reality. Jesus’ own sacrifice
of himself is made to establish the New Covenant made in the Blood of Christ.
Because of his sacrifice we are truly, in
reality, enabled to become one, to be unified, in and through the body and blood of
Jesus Christ. The Catholic Faith teaches
that we become, individually and collectively, members and partners in the Body
of Christ, which is not simply a symbol or commemoration but an eternal
reality, a bond in faith and in reality.
Blessed J.H. Newman said Christians are called to “unite together as
one, and to shelter our personal profession under the authority of the general
body.”
The covenant made with Moses and Israel at Sinai was a
foreshadowing or a ‘type’ if you will, of this new and eternal covenant i.e. the representation or foreshadowing symbol in one nation of what
would be established for all nations and peoples in Christ - - a New Covenant
with all humankind. (Hebrews 10:1).
The Sequence Hymn for Corpus Christi puts it poetically: “Sing
today the mystery showing. E’en the same of old provided . . . This new
Passover of blessing hath fulfilled the elder rite.”
The Passover that Jesus celebrates with the twelve Apostles
actualizes and establishes what was symbolized by Moses' sacrifice at the altar
amid the twelve pillars. What Jesus does today and every day in the Mass is to build
his Church, the New Israel. Again from
the Sequence: “E’en the same of old
provided, where the Twelve divinely guided, at the Holy Table met.”
The Holy Eucharist, then, is the new and universal worship
of God inviting everyone to accept the sacrifice of Christ.
In offering himself to God through the Holy Spirit, Jesus
delivered Israel from their breaking of the first Covenant, which reflects the
failure of humanity to keep the eternal Law unaided by the grace of God.
The Epistle to the Hebrews tells us that by his blood Jesus
purifies us from sin allowing us to enter into Holy Communion with the eternal, just and merciful God and so in unity with all others who repent and turn to Christ,
joined as we are in the Body of Christ.
The days of sacrifice, sacrifice both of humans and of animals
has been replaced, as Rene Girard has powerfully noted, has been replaced through the self-offering
of Jesus. Jesus Christ, the blameless
Lamb of God, has brought humanity to consciousness about the pattern and
practice of transferring blame to others for our own sins and failures. Jesus
has become the final scapegoat of humanity and in doing so has transformed humanity by his Resurrection from the power of sin and death.
Jesus is the final scapegoat because no longer can we unconsciously
and collectively place our sin and guilt on the shoulders of another. The one perfect and complete sacrifice has
been offered and is re-presented daily in the Mass – the true and living
sacrifice for sin and for our salvation by the innocent victim – the Lamb of
God.
Through Holy Communion with Christ and his sacrifice, our own
flesh and blood, our own lives, are consecrated and offered as part of the
living sacrifice. This sacrifice of
praise and thanksgiving we sing of in today's Psalm: “ What reward shall I give unto
the Lord for all the benefits that he hath done unto me.” Then, with this awareness and our participation
in Christ’s life, we are empowered to go out from the Eucharistic feast to live
the new life of Christ daily in service to God and humanity.
What we do in the Mass, then, is a pledge. In light of our embodiment in Christ we are required to be present weekly (Sunday obligation) to be renewed in the
sacrificial pledge so that together we may live our promise within the Covenant
that is ever present to us in and through the Blood of the Lamb of God, Christ the
Lord.
We leave the altar, in thanksgiving, for his complete
sacrifice for us. We have shared in his body and share in the cup of salvation which
we then bring to others in the chalice of our lives as we " . . . offer
to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the name of the
Lord." Ps. 116
Exodus 24:3-8; Psalm
116:12-13, 15-18; Hebrews 9:11-15; Mark 14:12-16, 22-26
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