How does the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist change
us?
As we see in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the celebration
of Eucharist was part of the earliest Church liturgies: Paul retells the story of institution: the
Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and after he had given
thanks, broke it and said, This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In
the same way also the cup… In this
act of institution, Jesus fulfills his role as priest-king in the line of Melchizedek, whose story we read in Genesis and revisit
in Psalm 110. And as priest-king, Jesus
acts as servant, connecting the people to God.
It is as servant and priest-king that Jesus presides over
a precursor of Eucharist, in Luke’s account of the loaves and fishes. Having taught the crowds and healed the sick,
Jesus also takes, blesses, and break bread, offering it to all present, making
what seemed insufficient enough for all, and then some. And so it is with our very selves: when we allow ourselves to be taken, blessed,
broken, and shared, we celebrate the
mercy of God in the Eucharist that can make us
enough – enough to be the revealed presence of Jesus Christ in the world.
Eucharist is the summit of our faith; Eucharist defines us
as a church as it defines our function in the world. Jesus makes it clear to the disciples before
his death that taking him into themselves will change them. Eucharist also changes us: thanks to his real presence in the bread and
wine, an essential transformation takes place at Eucharist, where all who
partake also enter into a newness of life, and are bound to one another in
Jesus, becoming the Body of Christ. May
we be open to that transformation taking place within our very selves, allowing
ourselves to be blessed and broken for all, as we share in Eucharist and
celebrate our essential identity as the Body of Christ.
This post is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.
Image source: Wordle
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