The Eucharist and the Cross
Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ - A
Deuteronomy 8:2-3,14b-16a; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; John 6:51-58
All three readings lead us to the mystery of the Eucharist. Moses reminds the people how God fed them with manna in the desert (Deut. 8:2-3), Jesus reveals himself as "the bread that came down from heaven" (John 6:58), and Saint Paul writes about the cup of blessing and bread that is broken (1 Cor. 10:16).
The manna was God's response to the people's complaint that Moses and Aaron led the nation out of Egypt to starve them in the desert: "Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven" (Ex. 16:3-4). The Gospel of John refers to that event (John 6:31). But "the bread from heaven" which God rained from heaven in the desert foretold the true "bread from heaven" that the Father gives to the world (John 6:32-35; 3:16).
"If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever" (John 6:51). This statement reminds us about the tree of life and its fruits that could make one "live forever" (Gen. 3:22). In the book of Genesis, however, God did not allow the man to have access to the tree of life. Why? This access was denied after sin. Everlasting life under the slavery of sin would be a nightmare. That is why Jesus comes to "take away sins" (1 John 3:5) and to pay a ransom for us, the slaves of sin (Mark 10:45). "And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (John 6:51).
"The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?" (1 Cor. 10:16). Four cups of wine were part of the Jewish Passover meal, and one of them - the third - was called the cup of blessing. It was over that cup that Jesus uttered those memorable words: "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matt. 26:28). Moreover, the "thanksgiving prayer" that Jesus said over that cup (Matt. 26:27) was the same prayer that Jesus spoke in the Gospel of John before the multiplication of bread (John 6:11). The ” eucharist" is “an action of thanksgiving to God” (CCC, 1328).
"The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ" (1 Cor. 10:16)? The Word of God who became flesh (John 1:14) offers his body for the life of the world (John 6:33,51; Hebrews 10:10). During the last supper, Jesus takes bread in his hands and says: "Take and eat, this is my body" (Mt 26:26). Here is the answer to the Jewish question: "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" (John 6:52). We are encountering here the mystery of sacrament - a visible 'sign' of an invisible reality. The Eucharist is the sacrament of Christ's body and blood (John 6:53).
During the last supper, Jesus raised the cup of salvation, and then in Gethsemane, he called upon the name of the Father (Ps. 116:13) in whose eyes the death of his beloved Son on the cross was precious (Ps. 116:15). Although he was greatly afflicted, Jesus believed that after the suffering of death he would walk before the Father in the land of the living (Ps 116:9-10) and so it happened (Heb. 12:2). The content of Psalm 116 sang at the end of the Passover meal (Mark 14:26) became reality in Jesus' passion and resurrection and the Eucharist is the memorial of this saving event (see CCC, 1330).
The Eucharist and the Cross are the deepest expressions of God’s love for humanity: the eucharist is the "bread of life" and the cross is the "tree of life".