EUCHARIST
XAVIER JAMES L.S.
Jesus took Passover of the Jews with renewed meaning because it is in this context of Passover that the Eucharist was instituted. Paschal meal was in commemoration of the liberation that Yahweh lent to Hebrews in slavery in Egypt. It is remembering God’s redemptive action and covenant with the people of Israel on the Mount Sinai. When we analyze the life of Jesus come forth from the Gospels, we are certain that he had a table fellowship with all sorts of people. The early Christian churches also kept up this great act of Jesus in their own Eucharistic gatherings. Gradually the meal and fellowship aspect of the Eucharist took the form of Papal mass and the church brought in many rules and regulations. Step by step ‘Meal’ aspect paved way to ‘Sacrifice’ and Sacrifice aspect in turn gave way to ‘Presence’ aspect. Jesus was a friend of poor and sinners. He was a man of love and approachability. Eventually people began to adore him only and thus he became unapproachable in the tabernacle.
St. Paul highlights the predominant crisis in the Eucharistic community that the members did not wait for one another for the meal as required and thus began humiliating the poor (1Cor. 11:17-22). On the contrary Jesus inaugurated a new community where love, equality and fellowship are valued. This covenant community had threefold relationship to the Father, to Jesus and to one another. They had the proper relation to the Father (they acknowledged his presence by thanking him for the bread and wine), and to Jesus (they welcomed him as food and drink). The Corinthian community had failed in the third aspect: relation to one another in the community. This covenant community is called to be a contrast community. Here we need to mention that body of Christ means both person of Christ and the community. So communion with the Lord has to have communion with one another or else it is meaningless. Reconciliation is paramount important prior to the Eucharist. A person, who goes to the Eucharist without a willingness to forgive, to be for and with others, will certainly not experience any change (Mt.5:23). As bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Jesus so also our community has to be transformed into the Lord. Shared meal brings about unity. A shared meal, which is a symbol of acceptance, generosity, graciousness, friendship, joy, celebration and community, is the human reality God uses as the sacrament of his saving action in Christ. The person who shares is present in what is shared i.e. the giver in the gift. St. Augustine says, “Receive what you are and become what you receive” i.e. the body of Christ, which is to be for others in love and service as brothers and sisters. Sharers at the Lord’s Table are challenged to live what they celebrate together as equals. To eat and drink the body and blood of the Lord means a deepening of relationship and intimacy, a new style of life, a new way of thinking: to have the mind and heart of the Lord in us, his heart of love for others. It was only in sharing their bread with a stranger that the two disciples on the road to Emmaus recognized and found the Lord. Pedro Arupe notes, “We cannot properly receive the bread of life unless at the same time we give bread for life to those in need wherever and whoever they may be”.
The term ‘Sacrifice’ used for the Eucharist in a cultic connotation is borrowed from the Old Testament. St. Paul tells the Romans, “Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice” (Rom.12:1). He invites us to sacrifice our ego to serve others. Every sacrifice is a sign of a deeper reality, which in the present case is Jesus’ self-surrender to his Father, an act of loving obedience to God, which shows his commitment to be obedient to the Father. God wants man’s self surrender so that He may give Himself over to man and transform him through the acceptance of his sacrifice. Self-surrender for man is only a means of self-realization. Man reaches his perfection in another rather than in himself. This is the profound meaning of Christian sacrifice and Christian Theo-centrism. Jesus lived as God wanted and his death was a consequence of his life. What God wanted from Adam is finally achieved by Jesus i.e. plan for humankind to fulfillment.
Jesus is present in the Eucharist through his relationship. Only superficial understanding of presence of Jesus does not affect our lives whereas in relationship and in love for one another and to the Lord that Lord is present. In order to make a covenant a person has to be present to the other, so also Jesus is present with us. Words of remembrance relates to remembering the God of the covenant that there is a solid bond between God and people. Therefore the words over the bread show the relation to the community (This), I am to be your nourishment (my body). Generally, the Catholics are not yet ready for commitment. It is more likely that they do not feel challenged by an active sense of commitment on the part of those who do celebrate the Eucharist. Eucharist is the obvious expression of an ongoing Christian gift of self. It celebrates our willingness to place our lives on the love and concern for others. This will attract others.
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