All three of our readings
today use the beautiful word called covenant.
Covenant in the bible means a relationship entered into. The reality is that our God entered into a
relationship with you and me. He said to
Abraham and to his descendants, and to Moses, and He says it to us again
today. “I want to be your God. I want you to be My people.” So God entered into a covenant, a
relationship with you and me. Down
through the ages.
Actually you can take a
little time warp, go back about 4000 years ago which really that first reading
is talking about. Moses tells the
people, gathers them together, they’re renewing the covenant which you and I
are doing this morning in this Eucharist.
He takes the blood of an animal and sprinkles it on the altar, on all
four sides of the altar to symbolize the North, South, East and West. “Everything belongs to You, God. All creation is Yours Great God. And we honor You and we worship You.” And if you notice carefully in that first
reading, what did he do with some of the other blood? He took it and he sprinkled on the
people. Now wouldn’t you feel great if I
went and got a bowl of blood and came out and sprinkled it on you? You’d probably go running out of here saying,
“The man is mad.” When Moses was doing
that it was a way of incorporating the people into the offering. They weren’t going to spill their own
blood. The animal on the altar took
their place but by sprinkling the blood of the animal on the people assembled
around it brought them into the offering.
As if they were saying, “Yes God, we give ourselves completely over to
you. We belong to you. You are our God and we are your people.” That’s how covenant was ritually performed
4000 years ago.
Fast forward 2000 years,
come to Jesus. That’s what the gospel is
talking about this morning. He knows the
disciples are steeped in how covenant is done ritually. So now He says, “Guys this is My body, this
is My blood which is shed and poured out for you for the sake of many. The covenant of My blood.” So they got the message right away because
Jesus said, “It isn’t an animal or a goat or a heifer whose blood is being
poured out, it’s My life, My blood that is being shed, being poured out once
and for all. If you want to come to this
relationship with the Father you do it through Me.”
Fast forward again, another
2000 years, here we are this morning.
Now it would have been great when you walked into church this morning,
if everyone of you would have come down and put your hand on the altar and
said, “Here I am today God, it’s me Father Pat.
It’s me Marty. It’s me Tony. It’s me Barb.
It’s me whatever your name is.”
It would have been great if you would have come down and come up and
touched the altar and said, “Here I am today God, it’s me. I’ve come to worship You, to praise You, to
thank You, to ask Your help.” But what
happened. You walked in, put your hand
in the holy water font to recall the waters of baptism and you’re still in your
pews. Now wouldn’t it be great. We could make up for this if at the offertory
time everyone of you could come down again at the offertory time and place
yourself on the altar. What are we going
to do? You’re going to stay in your pews
aren’t you? And then somebody else is
going to represent you. They will walk
down that center aisle carrying the bread and the wine. But you need to realize, as I do to every
time I celebrate the Eucharist, that is me.
One of those wafers has your name on it.
You are coming down the aisle.
You’re the bread and the wine as I accept them from the people. Then I come around to this side of the altar
and I place them on the altar. What we
need to realize then, all of us are being put on the altar. We are coming to offer ourselves to God this
morning. We are renewing the
covenant. And what happens? Oh it is so awesome. God says, “I accept you. I take you Marie. I take you Bill. I take you Lois. I take all of you. I bring you to Myself. You have given Me yourself to praise and to worship
Me and I take you to Myself and I now make you become the Body and the Blood of
My son Jesus. What you have given to me,
I have accepted and now I in turn change you into the Body and Blood of My Son. Now go back through those doors and be His
presence in the world today.”
God changes you and me. We do not change Christ. God changes you and me. And when you and I come down that aisle again
and receive the Body and the Blood of the Risen Lord we are transformed. We are changed. We, as St Teresa said, “We become the eyes,
the ears, the hands, the feet, the voice of Jesus today.” Wherever you go forward from this day, after
this Eucharist, you are bringing Christ because you are being transformed into
the Risen Savior. It’s that real. It’s that basic. If we don’t understand that we don’t deserve
to be here. It’s that powerful. You and I then are called to love in the same
way that Jesus loves, sacrifices for us.
We don’t put ourselves first. We
think about the needs of others. We get
wrapped up in ourselves we’d be very selfish.
The gift of the Eucharist is outpouring.
So wherever you go today
think about that. My feet, where are my
feet going to take me today? Will I walk
into the home of someone to give them strength and comfort? Will my hands hold the door open for
somebody? Will I hug somebody to give
them a little love and affection? Will I
listen to somebody else today without making a judgement? Will I see the beauty and the goodness in
another person today rather than what I don’t like? Will my tongue speak words of encouragement
and peace and joy, understanding and compassion? That’s what we are about. See the beauty of it? I think it is so marvelous that this has been
going on for all these hundreds of years.
And you and I have it this morning.
The Eucharist is being celebrated today, whatever language, country or
world, the same reality is taking place.
This is what you and I have as Catholic Christians. A beautiful gift, the Body and Blood of
Jesus.
So maybe today, take out a
little time to sit and be awed by the presence of Christ within you. Think of yourself. I’m not just Pat Grile, but I am to be the
presence of Jesus. I am being changed
into Jesus. Yeah, you still have all
your quirks and I will have mine too.
We’ll still have our faults and our failing. I still will have my glasses but wherever I
go today I’m not just bringing Pat Grile, I’m bringing Jesus.
So here in the Eucharist
this morning, don’t let me just stand here at the altar by myself. You put yourself on the altar as well. And when I say those beautiful prayers, “This
is My body, this is My blood” allow the Lord to change you into Himself and
then be empowered into being Christ today wherever you go.