A homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, June 6, 2021
Ex 24:3-8, Heb 9:11-15, Mk 14:12-16, 22-26
Today’s solemn feast — and yes, “solemn” is right there in its name — is as joyous an occasion as it is a serious one.
Today we venerate the gift to humanity of the Holy Eucharist, body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus the Christ, who commanded all of God’s children to “do this in remembrance of me.”
In his holy name and through his divine power, the substance of bread and wine transforms into the real presence of Emmanuel.
So today’s solemnity, then, indeed is powerful, heavy, heady. Mysterious.
But we also celebrate, because Our Lord and Savior is with us physically, tangibly, and we are reminded of all of his gifts that nourish us and sustain us spiritually.
Today’s solemnity is often called by its Latin name, Corpus Christi, and the “corpus” part stirs up memories of Christ’s lifeless, scarred corpse being brought down from the cross on which he was brutally executed for our sins. His corpse was laid in a borrowed tomb but it was transformed into a perfected body upon his resurrection on the third day.
We have Jesus’s atonement for all the sins of humanity and the defeat of death as the first gifts to be thankful for. And, in truth, the Son of God could have stopped there, and all of humanity forever would have been more than elevated.
But Jesus didn’t stop there. He didn’t start there, either.
You see, whenever I hear “body and blood,” I almost always add “sweat and tears” to the phrase. I’ll bet a lot of us do.
So:
Is it possible that Corpus Christi is about not only the body and blood of Christ but also the blood, sweat and tears of God-With-Us? The fully human, fully divine contractor from Nazareth did pour out all of them for us.
You can’t live a full life in this world without blood, sweat and tears.
Fortunately, Jesus gave us a guidebook on how to live a full life on the way home to the place prepared for us. That’s another of his many gifts.
Our Gospels are full of stories about how Jesus bled, sweated and cried.
Upon hearing of the death of his friend Lazarus, Jesus wept. Two words that reverberate through the millennia.
Jesus shed a tear for the women of Jerusalem who cried for him en route to Calvary.
Jesus cried with joy whenever a soul was saved, when someone would go and sin no more.
Jesus worked faithfully as an apprentice to Joseph, doing sweaty backbreaking work until it was time for him to start his ministry as an itinerant preacher.
Jesus and his followers walked from town to town under the scorching Israeli sun to spread the Good News. When they stopped, their hosts helped them to wash off the grime and perspiration of the trip.
On the Friday we call Good, Jesus poured out every drop of his blood because of his dedication to his mission on Earth. In service to all of humanity.
Yes, we have a guidebook for imitating Christ, full of blood, sweat and tears.
Our Messiah proclaims that:
We must love God and love our neighbor with a deep emotional commitment. There will be times for tears of sadness and times for tears of joy.
We must love God and love our neighbor with a deep physical commitment. Through action for justice, we must stamp out the greed and phobias and isms that widen the divides between people and push many — far, far too many — to the precipice. We must break a sweat working for God’s peace.
As Christ to every other person on Earth, we must commit our own body and blood to the betterment of humanity the way Christ committed his.
Totally.
Joyfully.
With no limits or hesitation.
And with extreme gratitude for the most holy body and blood of Christ.
