Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus

Mk: 14:12-14 “the Lord Supper”

After the great celebration of Easter the church celebrates series of solemnities, the ascension of Jesus in to heaven, second Pentecost when the church was born, last week we celebrated the Holy Trinity, then today we are celebrating the solemnity of the Body and blood of Jesus also known as Corpus Christi. All of these celebrations speak something about our Christian faith.

The Church celebrates the feast of the Body of Christ for this particular feast reminds us of our Vocation as Christians. We call ourselves Christians which means believers and followers of Christ Jesus. And because we wish to follow Christ we share his mission and that mission is to bring unity, to bring communion. Jesus became man, died and rose again to bring God and man together who separated because of sin. When he rose again Jesus said “peace be with you, peace is what I give to you. And right before he ascended he commanded his apostles to forgive sins. The Pascal mystery, the gift of peace and the forgiveness of sins speak about one thing and this is unity among the believers. To bring communion is the mission of Jesus.

Now what is the connection of communion with today’s solemnity? Allow me to use this analogy. When you eat something it is digested by your body. The digested food flow in your body and it becomes one with you. This is what happens when ever we partake in the Eucharist. When we eat the body of Christ we become one with Christ. But let us not forget that we are partaking in the one body of Christ. This means that all of us who partake in this communion become one. At that very moment we become one body. Jesus, you and me are one. This reality reminds all Christians about our common mission to bring unity, communion in the church and in the whole world.

The first reading presented the “covenant” made in the Old Testament as something which made them people united in God. Now Jesus in our Gospel is the new covenant who offers himself for us to partake in his body and blood: An invitation to unite ourselves with him and God. In partaking in the body and blood of Christ we build the Church, we build the kingdom.

My dear brothers and sisters the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus reminds us of our identity as Christians as bearers of Christ who is the King of Peace. Let us ask ourselves, are we a sign of unity in our own family, among our relatives, our community and in our country and in the world. This is the challenge that our faith confronts us with. We are not just to be a sign of peace but giver of peace. Jesus said peace is what I give to you.