COMMUNION: 

MAKING  THE CONNECTIONS

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is, “Communion: Making the Connections.”

Today we’re celebrating, “The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ: Corpus Christi.”

Today we’re making -  not our first communion - but perhaps our 3000^th - more or less communion.

Communion: receiving the body of Christ into our body: Amen.

Communion - connection - making the connection with God - coming down the aisle - in this church - and in the churches of our lives - and at some point - for some of us in a nursing home - or a sick bed -  to receive the Lord Jesus into our hands - into our mouth - into our bodies - into our being - into our lives. Amen.

And we’re receiving communion not just with Jesus and me - but Jesus and his whole body - with the whole Church - the whole body of Christ - here and now - here in this church and all churches - here and hereafter.

The title of my homily is, “Communion: Making the Connections.”

THE THEOLOGY OF THE BODY

Saint Paul discovered somewhere along the line,  the theology - as well as the mystery - as well as glimpses of what Jesus was all about - when he gave us this great sacrament - called “communion” - the Mass - the Meal - the Supper - the Eucharist - the Bread.

Many say this happened to Paul on the Road to Damascus - when Christ told him he was hurting - killing him - killing him the Christ - when he Paul was trying to kill the members of the Body of Christ.

Are we hurting? Are we hurting each other?

Communion - connection - sharing life - and bread with each other…. do we get this?

Isn’t this what’s killing us - and our world - when we stop going to communion with each other.

All of us have members of our family - as well as friends - who have dropped away from the Body of Christ. They have stopped going to Mass. They have given up on weekly - Sunday - Sabbath - eating the sacred bread - communion with Christ - and we feel their absence - and if we feel their absence - that’s a good sign. We got what communion is about.

And many people have told me - especially parents - that this hits them when they come to Sunday Mass.

And in my 51 years as a priest, I have heard X number of people come back to Church - because this is what they missed: communion - the sacred bread, the sacred Body of Christ - being and praying and eating with others in Christ.

Being at Mass - with the mass of humanity - even when the music and the sermon and the words aren’t mixing well.

They miss the connection. They have got in touch with their disconnect from Christ - especially to be in communion with him and each other.

The title of my homily is, “Communion: Making the Connections.”

MOMENTS OF DISCONNECT

We all know about moments of disconnect.

The phone goes out. The signal shuts down. We go through a dead zone - and communication stops. “Are you there?”  “Are you still there?” “Can you hear me?”

We know what it’s like to be cut off - excommunicated from others.

We’ve seen on the evening news, news about people caught in an airport - and they miss their flight because of long TSA lines - and they are disconnected from the people in other airports - in other places - home - till they get on another flight - and get back or to where they are headed.

We’ve all experienced family members who get divorced or disappear or drop out - from the family. Tough disconnects.

We’ve all known moments when another just stops listening to us. They take  looks at their watch - or the clock on their cell phone - and they leave us - actually or virtually.  They disconnect ….

We’ve all lost loved ones - who have died - and we feel their presence - and their lack of presence - as we move around their former spaces and places.  Communion with them in our homes - beds, kitchen chairs, sofas and lazy boy chairs - is missing.

We know about disconnect.

MOMENTS OF CONNECTION

We also know about connection.

We see zillions of people on their cell phones - connecting, connecting, connecting.  “Are you still there?”

We’ve sat at enough meals - at enough tables - breakfast, lunch, supper - at home - in restaurants - cafeterias - picnics - with family, friends, others.

We know about communion.

We know what it is to eat - and to be at a great meal with each other - with spouse, family, at weddings, wakes, anniversaries, Thanksgiving Dinners or simply at simple meals. Give us this day our daily bread.

We know the difference between finishing a dinner as  fast as possible and the beauty of sitting around long after a meal is over - and talking, and talking and listening and laughing and telling the old stories - over and over again.

We know about moments of connect and disconnect.

TODAY’S READINGS

Today’s readings for the feast of the Body of Christ - obviously connect us with this theme.

The first reading from Genesis mentions Melchizedek - the King of Salem - bringing out bread and wine for a celebration.

The second reading from St. Paul’s First Reading to the Corinthians brings us right into the Last Supper - one last breaking of bread - on that Passover Night - our Holy Thursday - when Jesus knew he was about to leave his friends - his disciples - and go out into the night.  He needed to pray and he cried when his disciples couldn’t even stay awake and connect for an hour with him.

The gospel story for today from Luke brings us right into one of those several  moments in the gospels when Jesus fed the hungry - the starving - the 5000 - and that was just the men - with just 5 loaves and 2 fish.

CONNECTION

Each time we come to Mass - we begin by pondering how well is the connection - the communion between us and God our Father? Lord have mercy. We wonder how well is the connection with us and the Christ? Christ have mercy. We wonder about the Holy Spirit surrounding us - like the air we breathe and how well is our communion with our brothers and sisters. Lord have mercy.

At the offertory, we remember Jesus’ message,  if we come here to the meal to make our offering and we remember any disconnect with our brother or sister- first go and reconnect - and then come and make our offering.

I love Michelangelo’s painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel - when God  reaches out his finger towards Adam the first human - and Adam reaches out his finger to connect with God.

I love those scenes in the gospels when people reach out - their hand - their finger - just to touch the tassel of Jesus cloak to be healed.

I know the call to say to Jesus - touch me or let me touch you - I’m blind, I’m deaf, I’m out of sync with you or so and so.

I love the moments in the supermarket or the mall or a store when a little baby  reaches out his God or Michaelangelo finger and points at me.

It’s the call to connection - human beings to human beings.

It’s the call to communion.

We need to sit down at this table - weekly - and wonder about our connections with God and each other as well as ourselves.

We get the Great Commandment: to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind, soul and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

We get that. We know that. We need a weekly reminder of that.

We laugh - at least I do - about building this big wall - between each other - and we try to make the other pay for it.

We all know the words in Edwin Markham’s poem, Outwitted,

He drew a circle that shut me out -

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle that took him in.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily is, “Communion: Making the Connections.”

This week I challenge you to connect eye ball to eye ball - to be in communion with every person you see - or talk to - to text or e-mail.

This week receive communion  with every one your on line with - car to next  car.  I love that moment at a red light - to Michelangelo that other driver - with a mini-high sign - index finger to index finger - that finger - communion.

So too in elevators, escalators, entering and leaving rooms, doctor’s offices, work places.

This week receive communion with all our brothers and sisters all around our world.

Body of Christ. Amen.