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 3000th - 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.
