An Embodied Presence

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ this Sunday invites our prolonged reflection upon the sacrament of the Eucharist. In Deuteronomy, Moses prepares the people to enter the promised land by reminding them of their rescue by God in the wilderness as they struggled to survive. It was the Lord who not only directed their journey but also by testing honed their motivation to keep the commandments. When they were afflicted with hunger, this God also fed them with bread, “manna,” from heaven, a food unknown even to their ancestors.  

Paul’s letter to the Corinthians also takes up the matter of food as a catechesis regarding the Eucharist. With rhetorical questions, he reminds the community of the mystery to which they say, “yes,” and in which they partake. The cup of wine that they drink and the bread that they share becomes their reception of the body and blood of Christ. This communal sharing not only unites them with Christ but also joins them with one another as the body of Christ.     

This theme of feeding continues in John’s Gospel, as Jesus delivers a theological discourse on the Eucharist. Fittingly, the account occurs at the end of a chapter that began with a story in which Jesus provides food for a hungry crowd of five thousand (Jn 6:1-13). Then in this Sunday’s Gospel passage, Jesus teaches that he himself is a life-sustaining bread, a bread from heaven. Unlike the manna that came down and sustained Israel in the wilderness, he is the bread that provides life eternal.  

Jesus’ whole ministry prepares his disciples and us for this mystery of the Eucharist. He never wanted anyone to be without food. Across the Gospels, Jesus teaches that feeding the hungry is a fundamental act of compassion and love. He even goes so far as to say that when you provide food for the hungry, it is like you are doing so for him (Mt 25:40). In addition, Jesus frequently attends to whole crowds who are hungry. Always, he is motivated by real empathic concern for those in need of food. In Mt 15:32-38, for example, we hear him say, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry.” He then feeds four thousand people with seven loaves and a few fish. In another instance, when Jesus is speaking to a crowd in a remote place, the disciples want to send the multitude away so they can buy food since it is getting late. Again, Jesus acts on behalf of the people’s need to be nourished and feeds them with five loaves and two fish (Mt 14:15-21). Other stories also describe Jesus frequently sharing in meals with those in need. In Cana, at the wedding feast, he rescues the dismayed steward, whose wine has run out, by providing more and even better wine (Jn 2:1-12). On the night before he died, he gathers the disciples who are filled with fear and anxiety and shares a meal, his Last Supper of bread and wine (Mt 26:17–29 and parallels). After his resurrection, he approaches his despondent disciples on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and enables them to catch fish, which he prepares for them to share as breakfast (Jn 21:9-14). In one instance, when he was eating at Matthew’s house, we hear that many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him (Mt 9:10-13).

Jesus never excluded anyone from table and never wanted anyone to be hungry. In addition, the food he provided was not only for the deserving but also for those who simply lacked such resources. Provision of food in his ministry was often an act of merciful attention to the needs of others. Pope Francis once called the Eucharist that Jesus left us the “Miracle of Mercy,” adding that it was never intended as a reward for perfection but rather as medicine for the weak, the broken, the sinners. Indeed, Jesus’ whole life was an embodiment of love for everyone. Thus, just before handing over his life for us in the crucifixion, he emulates that selfless act in his final gesture of love: “Take and eat; this is my body… this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many…” (Mt 26:26-28).

The Eucharist is about presence, about oneness, about solidarity with Jesus and his mission. Thus, the gift of Eucharist not only binds us with Jesus; it is also God’s response to humanity’s deepest hunger for true enduring nourishment in this life, a nourishment that heals all that pains us, breaks us, binds us, or that makes us feel unworthy. Further, Eucharist is also God’s response addressing the fundamental anxiety of human existence. Jesus asserts that anyone who eats his body and drinks his blood will have life forever. This Eucharistic oneness with Jesus here and now is not symbolic but is given to his disciples and to us in visible tangible form, in bread and wine. Thus, partaking of Eucharist makes possible an experience of the embodied presence of God with us and in us. Further, this communion with Jesus has the potential to initiate a movement, a movement within each individual, a transformative shift from our frail fragmented selves to a wholeness enabling Jesus’ self-giving love to continue in our lives.