17th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year B - Food
There's something about food that's simply universal. It's something that all of us need to survive, yet it's about so much more than survival. When we gather to eat, there has always been something special about a family meal. It's a celebration. Think of all the various important moments we have that surround meals. A couple goes on a date and begins with dinner. Two friends meet up for lunch. A family sits down at the dinner-table to spend time together. Friends gather around a bonfire to roast hot dogs and marshmallows. When we have a party, we always think of having a dinner. At a Wedding, a Funeral, a Baptism, we always have a luncheon or a reception with food. At holiday time, for every family, the holiday meal is always a special moment for the family to gather together.
Nearly every society has a special holiday that focuses specifically on food. In America, we call that holiday thanksgiving…. the whole history of the day is centered around the meal. In our heritage, the story is about some beleagured pilgrims who made friends with the natives. That first winter, the native Americans shared their food with the pilgrims, and helped them get through that first winter. They worked together, they made friends, and they ate together. As much as some historians say that may not be what really happened, still, in our thanksgiving traditions, that is what we celebrate. Different peoples coming together to celebrate over the gift of the harvest, to celebrate food.
Here, at mass every Sunday, we celebrate very much the same thing. Beginning today, and for the next few weeks, we'll be hearing from the Gospel of John what scholars call, "the bread of life discourse," Basically, it's a series of teachings from Jesus as recorded by St. John about the Eucharist, the sacred meal we gather together to celebrate right here as a community. He begins today telling us about he miracle of feeding the five thousand, the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. It's hard to underestimate the importance of this miracle. Of all of the miracles that Jesus performed in his life time, of all the things we hear about. Only this miracle is present in all four of the Gospels. That certainly shows the importance this miracle had for the Church and for the evangelists.
It's difficult for us to even imagine the scene. Last week we heard how the disciples returned from their mission of preaching the good news and were greeted by huge crowds. Even when they tried to sneak away by boat, the crowd beat them to the other side. So, Jesus, seeing the large crowd gathered to listen to him, began to teach them. Then the reading mentions that the feast of passover was near. While it might be easy to write that off, we remember that it would be on another passover, Holy Thursday, that Jesus would institute the Eucharist at the last supper, just before his crucifixion. The evangelist is trying to tell us that there is some connection here between this miracle today and the institution of the mass at holy Thursday. Aside from the fact that bread is being offered, and Jesus will continue next week to talk about how he is the bread of life, if we look very closely at what Jesus does, it should seem very familiar to us. It's not quite as easy to see in the English, but when Jesus takes the loaves, gives thanks, breaks them and distributes them to the people. These are the same four actions the priest takes at every mass. Those same four actions are the same ones that would be seen at the last supper, and when Jesus reveals himself in the breaking of the bread on the road to Emmaus. At Mass, first the priest receives the gifts, he takes them, and offers them up, as we respond Blessed be God forever…Then, he "gives thanks." The word in greek word for giving thanks is a pretty familiar one to us. "Eucharistia." It literally means "giving thanks" So Jesus "Eucharisted" the bread that he fed the five thousand. That's not to say he changed it into his body and blood, but it is to say that the two events are definitely related, and today's reading foreshadows the last supper. At Mass, the priest prays the eucharistic prayer, giving thanks to the father for the gift of his son. After Jesus gave thanks, he broke the bread. At the lamb of God, the priest breaks the host as a symbol of this moment. Then, Jesus gave it to the people. In the same way, the priest offers communion to the people of God.
In many ways, we can see the natural humanity linked to our sacrifice of the eucharist, which is both a sacrifice, and a sacred meal. At thanksgiving at our own homes, don't we do much the same thing? Although many of us may or may not have the traditional family dinner, but we all know the scene. Mom takes the turkey and places it on the table. The family says grace, giving thanks. Then Dad takes the big carving knife to slice the turkey, to break it into pieces, and finally those pieces are given to the family members. Take, Bless, Break, Give….the four actions of the liturgy…
Sometimes when we receive the Eucharist, it appears so separate, so holy, that it becomes entirely different than anything else in our lives. While it certainly deserves the ultimate respect for being the source and summit of the sacraments, Jesus taking flesh does little good unless by taking flesh he becomes connected to us. Sometimes it's healthy for us to remember, that God took flesh, in a real way, he got his hands dirty with our world, and became a part of it. Then, he took the things of this world, in this case food, and chose to make himself present in a sacred meal.
When we realize that the Eucharist is meant to be a sacred meal, we see that it sanctifies every other meal we participate in. Even if only by association, every time we break bread together, every time we eat a meal, it is connected to thanksgiving, it is connected somehow, mystically, to the Eucharist.
Nearly every society has a special holiday that focuses specifically on food. In America, we call that holiday thanksgiving…. the whole history of the day is centered around the meal. In our heritage, the story is about some beleagured pilgrims who made friends with the natives. That first winter, the native Americans shared their food with the pilgrims, and helped them get through that first winter. They worked together, they made friends, and they ate together. As much as some historians say that may not be what really happened, still, in our thanksgiving traditions, that is what we celebrate. Different peoples coming together to celebrate over the gift of the harvest, to celebrate food.
Here, at mass every Sunday, we celebrate very much the same thing. Beginning today, and for the next few weeks, we'll be hearing from the Gospel of John what scholars call, "the bread of life discourse," Basically, it's a series of teachings from Jesus as recorded by St. John about the Eucharist, the sacred meal we gather together to celebrate right here as a community. He begins today telling us about he miracle of feeding the five thousand, the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. It's hard to underestimate the importance of this miracle. Of all of the miracles that Jesus performed in his life time, of all the things we hear about. Only this miracle is present in all four of the Gospels. That certainly shows the importance this miracle had for the Church and for the evangelists.
It's difficult for us to even imagine the scene. Last week we heard how the disciples returned from their mission of preaching the good news and were greeted by huge crowds. Even when they tried to sneak away by boat, the crowd beat them to the other side. So, Jesus, seeing the large crowd gathered to listen to him, began to teach them. Then the reading mentions that the feast of passover was near. While it might be easy to write that off, we remember that it would be on another passover, Holy Thursday, that Jesus would institute the Eucharist at the last supper, just before his crucifixion. The evangelist is trying to tell us that there is some connection here between this miracle today and the institution of the mass at holy Thursday. Aside from the fact that bread is being offered, and Jesus will continue next week to talk about how he is the bread of life, if we look very closely at what Jesus does, it should seem very familiar to us. It's not quite as easy to see in the English, but when Jesus takes the loaves, gives thanks, breaks them and distributes them to the people. These are the same four actions the priest takes at every mass. Those same four actions are the same ones that would be seen at the last supper, and when Jesus reveals himself in the breaking of the bread on the road to Emmaus. At Mass, first the priest receives the gifts, he takes them, and offers them up, as we respond Blessed be God forever…Then, he "gives thanks." The word in greek word for giving thanks is a pretty familiar one to us. "Eucharistia." It literally means "giving thanks" So Jesus "Eucharisted" the bread that he fed the five thousand. That's not to say he changed it into his body and blood, but it is to say that the two events are definitely related, and today's reading foreshadows the last supper. At Mass, the priest prays the eucharistic prayer, giving thanks to the father for the gift of his son. After Jesus gave thanks, he broke the bread. At the lamb of God, the priest breaks the host as a symbol of this moment. Then, Jesus gave it to the people. In the same way, the priest offers communion to the people of God.
In many ways, we can see the natural humanity linked to our sacrifice of the eucharist, which is both a sacrifice, and a sacred meal. At thanksgiving at our own homes, don't we do much the same thing? Although many of us may or may not have the traditional family dinner, but we all know the scene. Mom takes the turkey and places it on the table. The family says grace, giving thanks. Then Dad takes the big carving knife to slice the turkey, to break it into pieces, and finally those pieces are given to the family members. Take, Bless, Break, Give….the four actions of the liturgy…
Sometimes when we receive the Eucharist, it appears so separate, so holy, that it becomes entirely different than anything else in our lives. While it certainly deserves the ultimate respect for being the source and summit of the sacraments, Jesus taking flesh does little good unless by taking flesh he becomes connected to us. Sometimes it's healthy for us to remember, that God took flesh, in a real way, he got his hands dirty with our world, and became a part of it. Then, he took the things of this world, in this case food, and chose to make himself present in a sacred meal.
When we realize that the Eucharist is meant to be a sacred meal, we see that it sanctifies every other meal we participate in. Even if only by association, every time we break bread together, every time we eat a meal, it is connected to thanksgiving, it is connected somehow, mystically, to the Eucharist.
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