MARK 14:24-32
WHENEVER WE CELEBRATE
MASS TOGETHER WE MAKE CHRIST PRESENT. FIRST, HE IS PRESENT IN OUR
ASSEMBLY; WHEREVER TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN MY NAME, HE
SAID, THERE I AM. SECOND, HE IS PRESENT IN THE WORD. WE BELIEVE
THAT GOD IS PRESENT IN THE SCRIPTURES, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE
PROCLAIMED. THE WORDS IN THE BIBLE ARE JUST WORDS UNTIL THEY ARE
HEARD; JESUS BECOMES PRESENT IN THE WORD WHEN IT IS HEARD; WHEN WE
INTERACT WITH IT. AND JESUS IS PRESENT IN THE BREAD AND WINE, OR
MORE ACCURATELY, HE IS PRESENT UNDER THE APPEARANCE OF BREAD AND
WINE, WHICH NO LONGER EXISTS WHEN OUR PRIEST PRONOUNCES THE WORDS OF
CONSECRATION. JESUS IN HIS INFINITE LOVE FOR US, FOUND A WAY TO BE
WITH US NOT IN SOME METAPHORICAL SENSE BUT PHYSICALLY PRESENT,
COMPLETELY PRESENT, BODY AND SOUL PRESENT. AND FINALLY JESUS IS
PRESENT IN EACH ONE OF US AS WE LEAVE THIS CELEBRATION, BECAUSE OUR
INTERACTION WITH JESUS IN THE ASSEMBLY, IN THE WORD, AND IN THE
EUCHARIST, TOGETHER WITH OUR BAPTISM, MAKES US OTHER CHRISTS, AND WE
GO FORTH TO CARRY OUT HIS WORK IN THE WORLD, TO BUILD UP HIS KINGDOM.
THAT'S WHY GOD MADE US – AS THE OLD CATECHISM SAID, HE MADE US TO
KNOW, LOVE, AND SERVE HIM IN THIS WORLD, AND TO BE HAPPY WITH HIM IN
THE NEXT. THAT'S WHAT JESUS DID, AND THAT'S WHAT WE ARE CALLED TO
DO.
IT'S NO WONDER WE CALL
OUR WEEKLY EUCHARIST A CELEBRATION. WE MAY NOT FEEL LIKE WE ARE
CELEBRATING, BUT WHAT COULD BE A GREATER EVENT THAN BEING IN HE
PRESENCE OF THE SON OF GOD?
BUT TODAY OUR GOSPEL
READINGS REMIND US OF SOMETHING ELSE; THE SON OF MAN HAS NOT YET COME
TO US IN HIS GREAT TRIUMPH. BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHEN THIS WILL HAPPEN.
OUR ASSEMBLY IS NEVER
COMPLETE. WE GO TO DIFFERENT MASSES; MANY OF OUR PARISHIONERS DON'T
JOIN US AT ALL, AND OTHERS HAVE MOVED TO OTHER PARISHES. MANY PEOPLE
WE LOVE, PARENTS, CHILDREN, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, DEAR FRIENDS,
CANNOT BE IN OUR ASSEMBLY BECAUSE OF DISTANCE, ILLNESS, OR BECAUSE
THEY HAVE REJECTED OUR COMMON FAITH.
AND WHILE IT IS TRUE THAT
WE HEAR THE WORD, WE ONLY HEAR A LITTLE, JUST ENOUGH HOPEFULLY TO
WHET OUR APPETITES. WE HEAR WHAT GOD MEANS TO TELL US, BUT ONLY A
LITTLE BIT. AFTER WE HAVE HEARD THE WORD, THERE IS STILL A GREAT GAP
BETWEEN WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GOD'S PLAN FOR US.
WHEN WE EAT HIS BODY AND
DRINK HIS BLOOD, WE ARE NOT FILLED UP, OUR THIRST IS NOT QUENCHED.
IT HAS ONLY BEEN A TASTE. AND WHEN WE LEAVE THE ASSEMBLY TO DO
CHRIST'S DEEDS AND SPEAK HIS WORDS IN THE WORLD, DISTRACTIONS
IMMEDIATELY DRAW OUR ATTENTION AWAY FROM THESE THINGS. MOST OF US
WILL BE COMPLETELY “BACK TO NORMAL” THIRTY MINUTES AFTER WE LEAVE
THIS SOUL-CHANGING EVENT.
OUR WEEKLY EUCHARIST IS A
CELEBRATION, BUT IT IS ALSO A TIME OF MOURNING, BECAUSE WE LONG FOR
JESUS TO COME AGAIN. IF WE ARE REALLY CHRISTIANS, THERE IS SOMETHING
IN US THAT KNOWS THAT WE WILL NEVER BE COMPLETE, NEVER BE HAPPY,
NEVER FULFILL OUR DESTINY, UNTIL HE COMES IN TRIUMPH TO ESTABLISH HIS
KINGDOM, THE NEW JERUSALEM, WHERE HE WILL BE THE LIGHT THAT NEVER
GOES DARK, WHERE LIVING WATER WILL FLOW FROM THE TEMPLE.
BUT TODAY JESUS ALSO
REMINDS US THAT CHRISTIANS MUST BE READY; WE MUST BE ALERT; WE MUST
LOOK AROUND US FOR SIGNS OF HIS PRESENCE, SIGNS THAT HE IS WORKING IN
OUR WORLD.
OUR WEEKLY MASS IS A TIME
FOR REJOICING AND A TIME FOR MOURNING. BUT THE REST OF THE WEEK
SHOULD BE FOR NEITHER. WHEN WE LEAVE OUR ASSEMBLY WE GO ABOUT THE
DAILY TASK OF DOING CHRISTIANITY. I LIKE TO TAKE A LONG RIDE ON MY
BICYCLE EVERY NOW AND THEN. IT ISN'T BECAUSE I WANT TO GO SOMEWHERE;
IN FACT, I ALWAYS END UP BACK AT HOME. BUT WHEN I'M ON THE BIKE, I
AM FOCUSED ON THE MOMENT. YOU'VE GOT TO WATCH OUT FOR CARS AND
TRUCKS. IF YOU ARE ON A BIKE, YOU HAVE TO BE A LITTLE PARANOID,
BECAUSE THERE IS ONLY ONE WINNER WHEN YOU AND A CAR TRY TO OCCUPY THE
SAME SPACE. AND YOU HAVE TO LOOK OUT FOR POTHOLES AND OTHER
IRREGULARITIES IN THE ROAD. SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD BARELY FEEL IN
A CAR JARS YOUR BONES ON A BIKE, AND CAN KNOCK YOU FOR A LOOP. BUT
YOU ARE REWARDED BY SIGHTS AND SMELLS AND SOUNDS THAT YOU ENCOUNTER
ON YOUR RIDE. YOU EXPERIENCE THE BEAUTY THAT SOMEONE HAS CREATED IN
HIS FRONT YARD WITH LOVING ATTENTION TO DETAIL; YOU SMELL PINE TREES,
AND CHIMNEY SMOKE, AND ONCE IN A WHILE YOU MIGHT GET A WHIFF OF PIZZA
AS YOU ROLL PAST A PIZZA PARLOR.
IF YOU WANT TO BE A
CHRISTIAN, IT'S SORT OF THE SAME THING. YOU NEED TO FOCUS. YOU NEED
TO BE ALERT TO THOSE TEMPTATIONS WHICH CAN THROW YOU OFF STRIDE,
THOSE MOMENTS WHEN YOU REACT WITH ANGER; THOSE TRAPS OF SELFISHNESS,
THOSE TIMES WHEN WE KNOW WE SHOULD BE DOING SOMETHING BUT WE ARE TOO
LAZY TO DO IT. LIVING IN THE WORLD IS FULL OF POTHOLES AND TRAFFIC.
BEING A CHRISTIAN MEANS THAT WE CULTIVATE A SENSITIVITY TO WHAT KEEPS
US FROM DOING WHAT GOD WANTS US TO DO – WE HAVE TO BECOME A LITTLE
PARANOID, WE HAVE TO KNOW THAT THE WORLD, THE FLESH, AND DEVIL
CONSPIRE TO KEEP US FROM WHAT GOD WANTS OF US.
AND THERE ARE REWARDS.
IT'S FUNNY, BUT WHEN YOU BEGIN TO LIVE AS A CHRISTIAN, YOU FIND JOY.
WHEN YOU OFFER A COMPLEMENT TO SOMEONE WHO HAS DONE YOU A SERVICE,
YOU ARE REWARDED. WHEN YOU EXTEND YOURSELF FOR AN ELDERLY FRIEND OR
RELATIVE WHO CAN'T GET AROUND ANY MORE, YOU FIND JOY AS YOU GIVE JOY.
AND WHEN YOU DO YOUR TASKS AS WELL AS YOU CAN BECAUSE YOU ARE
ANOTHER CHRIST, AND ONLY YOUR BEST IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR GOD, YOU FIND
JOY IN EVERYTHING YOU DO, FROM YOUR OCCUPATION, TO EVEN THE MOST
MENIAL TASKS; NOTHING A HUMAN BEING CAN DO IS TOO SMALL, TOO
INSIGNIFICANT, TO BE TAKEN UP INTO GOD'S PLAN. FINDING JOY IN BEING
A CHRISTIAN SHOULD BE NO SURPRISE. JESUS TOLD US THAT HIS JOY WOULD
BE IN US, AND OUR JOY WOULD BE COMPLETE.
BEING A CHRISTIAN TAKES
PLACE IN THE VAST EMPTINESS BETWEEN THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS AND THE
MOMENT WHEN HE COMES AGAIN. IT TAKES PLACE NOT WHEN WE CELEBRATE THE
PRESENCE OF JESUS, OR WHEN WE MOURN THAT HIS KINGDOM IS STILL FAR
FROM NOW. IT TAKES PLACE BETWEEN OUR WEEKLY CELEBRATION AS WE GO
ABOUT OUR ORDINARY LIVES.
TODAY LET US REMIND
OURSELVES THAT TO BE CHRISTIAN IS AN IDENTITY, YES, BUT ALSO A
PROCESS, A WAY OF LIFE, AND REQUIRES CONSCIOUS EFFORT ON OUR PARTS.
OUR MASS WHERE WE ENCOUNTER CHRIST IS WHAT GETS US FROM ONE WEEKEND
TO THE NEXT IN THIS LONG JOURNEY.
