Last week, I spent some time talking about the idea of our presence in God's life and God's presence in our lives. This week, I'd like to continue reflecting on the "Bread of Life" chapter in John's Gospel we have been getting at mass over the last few Sundays. The above verse provides us with great insight into the role God calls us to play in the world. I'd like to "flesh" out that role by drawing a comparison between what we Catholics call the Eucharist and a family reunion that I attended this past weekend.
For those who may not know this, the word Eucharist means "thanksgiving." If we use the English translation to enhance our meaning of mass, then each time we gather, we do so not just to fulfil a doctrinal obligation, but more importantly, we do so to publicly thank God for the blessings in our lives. This is why we should sing and respond frequently and energetically throughout the Liturgy (which means "work of the people"). So, between the words Liturgy and Eucharist, we can see just how important our role as community members is to carrying out the message of Christ to one another. This being said, when we gather each Sunday we are not simply gathering as individuals occupying the same space next to strangers at the same time in the same pew every week. Rather, we are gathering as diverse yet unified parts of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12: 12-31). On top of this, though, we have the privilege of receiving the True Presence of Christ through the bread and wine at communion. If our eating of Christ's body as "true food" and his blood as "true drink" (John 6: 55) does not transform us into more Christlike versions of ourselves, then sadly, I'd say we may be receiving communion in vain. Similarly though, if we are not aiming to become better functioning parts of the Body of Christ, then receiving Christ in the form of Holy Communion is much less likely to transform us. As I've learned from Fr. Tom here at the UGA Catholic Center over the last few years, our lives are a "both/and" not an "either/or." We must both be Christ and receive Christ.
Now, how does this correlate to the Lambert family reunion from this past weekend? Well, this reunion brought together nearly 50 people who all shared ties to my grandfather and grandmother on my mom's side. When I was younger, we used to gather several times each year to celebrate the holidays and other special occasions. Then, as children got older and started families of their own, the net of our family grew larger and larger making it hard to bring everyone together as often. The widening of this family net, though, is a beautiful thing because this is exactly how living the Christian life is supposed to work. -- This is probably why some of Jesus' first disciples were fishermen. They knew how to effectively use their nets for their designed purpose. -- We all share family ties to Christ, and as we grow older, we become capable of casting our own nets farther out. As a result, we wind up connecting more people to the net of God's kingdom. Mind you, no net is perfect, though. We all have breaks in our nets that once joined us to others but now those nets may be in need of much repair. We all have kept our nets to ourselves at times when we should have been casting them out. We all have "thrown back" people who we did not care to keep in our net for whatever reasons. The list could continue on for each of us. Because of these reasons, though, we must continually reunite ourselves with each other through the mass, through prayer, and through communion both with each other and with Christ. When this is done well, they work beautifully together as one in the same Body.
To all my family with whom I gathered this weekend: I love you, and I'm proud to be part of your family net in Christ!
May we be ever-faithful, ever-mindful, and ever-joyful.
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