Homily for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi
St. Joseph’s Neier
Rev. Kevin Schmittgens
June 1-2, 2013
Central Idea: The Eucharist reminds us that Christ went beyond the words, to touch us
physically and really with his Presence in the Eucharist.
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that 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.”
One of my favorite authors, Ron Rolheiser tells this great story about a little Jewish boy
named Mordechai who refused to go to school. Each time his mother took him,
Mordechai protested and cried. Even after the mother left him there, he would run away
back home. This scenario played itself out for several days. His parents tried to talk with
him, reason with him, threaten him, even tried to bribe him. All of this was to no avail.
Finally, in desperation, the parents took him to their rabbi. The rabbi simply said, “If the
boy won’t listen to words, bring him to me.” They brought him into the rabbi’s study.
The rabbi did not say a word. He simply picked up the boy and held him to his heart for
a long time. Then, still without saying a word, he set him down. Mordechai not only
began willingly to go to school, he became a great scholar and a rabbi himself.
What words could not accomplish, a silent embrace did.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, what I still prefer to
call Corpus Christi. One person explains this feast this way: Jesus used words all of his
life, preaching, teaching, arguing, sharing stories. But finally, on the night before he was
to hand over everything and be nailed to a cross, he realized that his words had become
inadequate, they were not enough. Instead, he gives us the Eucharist, his physical
embrace, a ritual in which he holds us to his heart.
What is interesting about what we do here, week after week, for some of us day in and
day out, is that it is quite possible the only command of Jesus we have really truly
followed with any gusto. “do this in remembrance of me” And in this remembrance, in
this physical embrace, in this real presence of Jesus, we find the courage to overcome our
fears, we find strength to face life, we find the wherewithal to make it through this crazy
world.
That is why what we do week in and week out is so vital.
Three quick reflections on the physical nature of what we do.
I like the fact that Catholicism is so earthy and physical. Non-Catholics often time
remark that Mass is like Catholic aerobics. I don’t take offense at that at all. As a kinetic
learner, I find that the kneeling and standing and sitting and bowing and genuflecting and
hand shaking and eating and sipping are outward symbols of what should be going on in
our hearts. (Defensive posture vs. vulnerable posture) We are not disembodied spirits in
the material world, we are real flesh and blood individuals and so God encounters us with
real physical things.
God becoming flesh and blood should still shock us. Our faith does not take us out of the
physical realm. Instead, God enters the physical, becomes one with it, blesses it, redeems
it and reminds us that there is no reason to escape. The word Incarnation, the Word
becoming flesh should really flabbergast us. The word literally means “to make meat.”
Carne. It truly is the scandal of Christianity, that God should come down and make His
Presence in our midst, not only in the form of bread and wine, but in the Scriptures we
pray, in the fact that we have gathered here as his People and even, in the most
astonishing thing of all, in the person of the priest presider, as big of a knucklehead he
can be at times. We should all be taken aback by this amazing, stunning truth of our
faith.
Finally, this physical presence is a true challenge to all of us. So many people try to
separate the two realms of spiritual and physical. There is good reason for this. It keeps
our religion safe and domesticated; god at arms length. Furthermore, it keeps our
physical side irresponsible and immature. And yet, the physical nature of the Eucharist
reminds us that God wants all of us, not just the "Sunday morning us", but us in whatever
we do, work, play, at rest, in our bodies. It is a call for us to be responsible with our
bodies as well as with our hearts, because the physical aspects of our lives have been
touched, strengthened and redeemed through the gift of the Eucharist.
What we do here is nothing more or less than God’s physical embrace. In this hour, he
hold us to his heart as really and as powerfully as any parent has ever done. It gives us
the courage to go out into the world. That is why it is so potent, or at least it should be.
That is why it is so vital and necessary. That is why we celebrate today, Corpus Christi.
This is my body given for you.
Indeed, it is.