Corpus Christi Sunday (A); June 11, 2023

Dt 8:2-3,14-16.  Ps 147.  1 Cor 10:16-17.  Jn 6:51-58

Deacon Jim McFadden

            On this Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the idea of memory comes up frequently.  At the get-go we hear in our 1^st reading from Deuteronomy, “Remember how the Lord your God has lead you” (Dt 8:2).  Shortly afterwards, Moses reminds the people, “Do not forget the Lord you God” (v. 14).  This is a good thing because Scripture has been given to us so that we may overcome our forgetfulness of God.  When we remember who God is, who we are in relationship to God and our neighbor, then everything falls into right order.  But, when we forget, then we inevitably live out of a false narrative, which draws us away from the source of Life. 

            This is a problem: our memory of the Lord can become interrupted; we can become easily distracted.  Living in a digital age, which stimulates frantic activity, many people and events seem to pass by in a whirl as we thumb our way from one screen shot to another.  Being disconnected from our roots, we quickly turn the page, flipping to the newest app. looking for novelty, the next new thing as promoted by the most popular influencer. Living in this isolated, virtual world we leave our memories behind and live only for the moment in which we pursue the goods of the world.  As we do we risk staying at the surface level of existence, constantly on the move, never going deeper into the Mystery, anxiously trying to navigate  through life without having an over-arching narrative that reminds us who we are and where we are going.  In this way, our life becomes fragmented, and dulled within.  We look like we’re alive, but detached from the fount of Life, we’re slowing dying.

            Our Lord Jesus knows how weak our memory is, which is why he left us a memorial.  He did not just leave us Scriptures because we can easily forget what we have heard.  He just didn’t leave us signs, for we can forget what we have seen or heard.  What did he leave us?  Food, for it is not easy to forget something we’ve actually tasted.  He left us Bread in which he is truly present, alive and true, with all the texture and flavor of his love.  When we receive Christ we can say: “He is the Lord; he remembers me!”  That is why Jesus told us: “Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Cor 11:24).  This is not just an act of remembrance, but is a fact: The Lord’s Passover is made present once again for us.  In Mass the death and resurrection of Jesus is set before us.  Do this in remembrance of me: come together a community, as the mystical Body of Christ, and celebrate!  Do so as a family scattered throughout the world in order to remember Jesus.  As members of the Risen Christ, we simply cannot do without the Eucharist, for it is God’s memorial.  And it heals our wounded memory.

            Life is hard and we are all sinners, which we acknowledge as Mass begins with the Confiteor.  We  often carry with us a negative memory, which often seeps into our hearts, which often bubbles up to the surface things that we done wrong or wounds that have been inflicted upon us.  The upshot is that we often feel we’re not good, that we are useless because we always make mistakes, that we ourselves may be a mistake. 

            Jesus tells us that is not so!  He want to be close to us; indeed, the prophet Zephaniah reminds us that “The Lord, your God, is in your midst; …He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love” (Zep 3:17). That’s why every time we receive him, he reminds us that we are precious to him, that we are his guests in which he personally invites us to his banquet, friends with whom he wants to share a meal.  He does all of this not only because he is generous, but he is truly in love with us.  Stay with that brothers and sisters:  Jesus sees and loves the beauty and goodness that we are.  The Lord knows that we are not defined by the worst things that we have done; they are like diseases or infections.  And, so he comes to heal our brokenness through the Eucharist, which contain “antibodies” to heal our negative memories.

            With Jesus, we can become immune to sadness.  Indeed, a sad Christian is an oxymoron!  Yes, we will carry with us our personal history with all of its ups and downs; we will remember our failures, troubles, problems at home, at work, in our relationships—as Christians we don’t suffer from amnesia! But their weight will not crush us because Jesus is present even more deeply, encouraging us with his love.  This is the strength of the Eucharist:  having received the Bread of Life, we bring the Bread of Life to the world.  When we leave Mass, we don’t bring to the world our sadness, bitterness, or resentment.  No!  We bring the joy of the Lord, which can transform lives.

            Brothers and sisters, let us continue our celebration of the Holy Mass when we leave the church.  Perhaps we entered the church feeling discouraged, fragmented, buffeted by circumstances.  But the Eucharist gives us the patient memory that all is well amidst all our troubles.  We know, we remember the Spirit of Jesus is always with us; even on the roughest, most problematic uncertain road, we know that we are not alone as we follow his Way.  The Lord will never forget us and whenever we turn to him, he is there, restoring us with his love.  Thank you Jesus!  We will always remember you!  Amen.