MY FLESH FOR THE LIFE OF THE WORLD
June 11, 2023: A Reflection for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Yr A
John 6:51-58
…and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. (Jn 6:51c)
The body of Christ. Four simple words, but so all-inclusive. Jesus, before you returned to the Father after you completed the mission for which you were sent by him, you made sure that we had food for our journey. You created all creatures of our planet to hunger. We all know what it is like to be hungry on a bodily level. And to some extent, to hunger on the level of the spirit. Today’s feast of the Body of Christ is about your love and care for us so that when you were no longer a sojourner in human flesh, you would be with us as food for our journey. You gave yourself as living bread.
The old catechism used to say that you are present in the consecrated host, body and blood, soul and divinity. It’s You! You under the appearance of bread.
The body of Christ. In this gift, Jesus, were you trying to expand our spirit to see deeper than the surface of visible reality? The bread which is placed in our hand at communion looks like just that: a host. Yet we know by faith that it is you, body and blood, soul and divinity. The Body of Christ.
In the Eucharist, are you giving us deeper sight? Is not every person who walks this planet part of the Body of Christ? You stand at the center of every living thing: humans, animals, plants, everything. We are never far from you, though sometimes it may feel that way. You quench the hunger that resides in every human heart. How? Through your love made visible in one another. When we reach out to one another in an act of kindness or compassion, humble service or any of the myriad ways that each day brings, we touch you. We love you in that person. We serve you. We enjoy you in the laughter and love we share with one another. In the comfort we try to bring one another.
The Body of Christ is everywhere. As we celebrate your great love in the Eucharist today, Jesus, help us to assuage the hunger of our world as we meet it in each other, and all our sisters and brothers. With you, may we give our flesh for the life of the world.