Father Rick Bolte's Homily

C: SOLEMNITY OF BODY & BLOOD OF CHRIST

It is important for us to reflect on what a great gift the Eucharist, the body and Blood of Christ, is for us.  None of us can say we are worthy of this gift.  Who could ever be worthy of our God giving his life to us.  He has placed his life in our sinful and limited hands.  One of the hardest realities for us to dare to believe is that our God could love us sinners so much as to join his life to ours.  Yet when we eat his body and drink his blood we accept his offer to be united with us as we are.  It’s not that we make ourselves worthy.  We say just before receiving Communion, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word, and I shall be healed.”  It is not about our goodness but about the love and mercy of God.  The Eucharist reveals to us that God’s love is greater than any sin we could ever commit.

In today’s gospel reading Jesus uses what the Apostles have.  He doesn’t order everyone a hamburger, fries and a coke from heaven but takes the loaves of bread and fish and multiplies them.  In the same way God works through us.  We experience God primarily through each other.  In receiving the Eucharist and becoming one with Christ, we are then sent into the world.  God uses us to make his presence a reality in our world.  God believes in us even when we don’t believe in ourselves.  God believes in us so much that there is no plan B.  We are the Body of Christ for the world.

We are the Body of Christ when we convey the same message we receive in the Eucharist.  Namely that we are chosen by God as we are and his love and mercy are far greater than any limit or sin in our lives.  Our world needs to hear this message.  So much of our world’s problems are rooted in people trying to prove that they are good enough by what they own, how well they’re known, and by the power and influence they wield.  They seek but don’t know how to find the peace and joy that comes from knowing that they are loved by God as they are and the rest is empty promises.  We are the Body of Christ that can deliver that message we’ve celebrated in the Eucharist.

Part of the wisdom of the Second Vatican Council comes from its identifying the building blocks of the Church.  It did not name the clergy of any rank, any rules or ceremonies, or any Vatican office or authority.  It named the family as the building block of the Church.  The unity we are to experience as Church, members of God’s family, is not based upon all of us being of the same opinion or even agreeing on the practical solutions to the world’s problems.  Rather it is the unity we find in families.

As everyone who is married knows, a lasting relationship is not based upon success in finding Mr. or Mrs. Right.  There is no compatibility test that determines marital success.  Living happily ever after is a fairytale.  In fact there is truth in saying that opposites attract.  A successful marriage is about two people choosing to love even when it isn’t easy.  Marriage is about sacrifice.  Determining to only do one’s “fair share” is a recipe for divorce.  In marriage the couple must decide to love the other as they are with their flaws and sinfulness.  It’s the love that can see past the weaknesses to love the person that enables marriages to be covenant relationships.

Marriages are the perfect place for children to learn they are loved.  They need to know that they are loved not just when they are good and successful but simply because they are children of the marriage.  This is the building block of Church.  We are united when we celebrate that we are loved by our God so much that we know his love and mercy are greater that any fault we have.  When the love we nurture in our families is shared with others in the parish and indeed with the people of the world, we are the Body of Christ revealing itself.  In the Eucharist we celebrate this love of God.  In families we learn to live the reality of this love.  When we share that love of god with the larger world, we are fulfilling God’s plan for us to be his presence in the world.  God believes in you – there is no plan B.