Are you a living sacrifice?
We celebrate this weekend the Feast of the Body and Blood of
Christ with readings that focus on word and sacrifice: in Exodus, Moses reads from the book of the covenant and sacrifices young bulls; in Mark, Jesus establishes
the sacrifice of his body and blood as the marker of a new covenant. The author of Hebrews tells us that, as mediator of that covenant, Jesus entered once
for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his
own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
This is why we offer a
sacrifice of thanksgiving – none other than Eucharist – at every Mass, in
the presence of all the people (Psalm 116):
liturgy is our chance not only to give public witness to what God has
done in our lives, but also to enter wholly, body and soul, into that covenant
with the entirety of our life, and to dedicate ourselves to the love that is at
its core. The celebration of the Mass is
a celebration of the whole life of Jesus Christ; it is also a celebration of
our total commitment to God, marking the covenant we have through baptism with
Jesus. If Jesus came to show us a way to salvation, then Eucharist is our
celebration of that way, and a first
step in following it.
Sacrifice will always be part of our journey; we participate
daily in the death and rising of the Lord, giving up ourselves, our ego, so
that we might exist for other, as Jesus, in his life of self-giving sacrifice,
did for all humankind. Our lives as
Christians need also to be that living sacrifice, arms open to the needs of the
world, hearts open with an outpouring of love.
This post is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.
Image source: Wordle
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