Part Four: Sharing, a reflection (The original, which was NOT presented)

Let us imagine a different ending to the story in Matthew. Let us imagine that when the disciples suggested to Jesus that he send the people away to find food for themselves in the villages, that Jesus had replied; “That sounds like a good idea. I am tired, and we only have enough for ourselves anyway. They should have thought about bringing enough food for themselves when they decided to stay so long.”

Let us imagine being invited over to grandmother's house for her famous Christmas Dinner. When family and guest arrive they stand around absorbing the delicious aromas, admiring the golden flaky crust on the pies, and seeing the turkey on the platter and the bowls of fluffy mashed potatoes. After standing around enjoying this sight and the smells, everyone puts on their coat and goes his or her separate way, leaving the meal admired but uneaten.

Let us imagine a dozen people in your congregation who have great voices and musical ability, but Sunday after Sunday, they sit in the pews and there is no singing at the service because no one will get up to lead or start the songs.

Let us imagine a mother or father who stand by while their children are hungry or who ignore them when they are sick and crying.

We say that Eucharist is a Sacrament. Some of us are old enough to remember the Baltimore Catechism answer to the question : What is a sacrament? The answer was that a Sacrament was an outward sign instituted by Christ which gives us supernatural grace.

While we are not likely to use that formula answer today if our children asked us that question, we do recognize its intrinsic truth. Eucharist is a sign... we know that it is a sign of the Lord himself, present in body and blood. He said so. We know that it is a sign made up of the fruit of the earth and vine and the work of human hands. That is the sign Christ chose to make his presence real among us.

Now imagine Jesus taking the bread and wine, blessing it , and then keeping it all for himself and not giving it to his disciples to share. What kind of a sign would that have been? We are getting to the heart of this reflection.... Jesus did not stop at that point. Instead he broke it and gave it to his disciples just as the loaves and fish had been given to the crowd in Matthew's story. So it is very clear that an essential part of the SIGN of this sacrament is the sharing with the crowd... the sharing with the disciples... the sharing with the members of the community today.

If we eat and drink, the body and blood of Christ become part of us... or rather... we become part of his body and blood. So we have become the sign of Jesus present in the world outside our church walls. Now, imagine if you will, if we have become his body and blood, and we keep it all to ourselves and refuse to share what we have become....

If that were to happen, we would have chosen to prevent the final and most essential part of this sacred sign.. of this sacred sacrament from being realized.

Imagine if you can, a priest, representing Christ, expressing the words of the consecration and then quietly bringing the chalice and hosts to the tabernacle to lock it away. We could show our reverence for the real presence and pray devoutly, but that would be like going to grandmother's Christmas dinner and leaving without enjoying the signs of her love for us.... the sign of God's love. Were that to happen, it would not be a sign of love at all. And if it were not a sign of love, it could not be the reality of the Sacrament which gives us an experience of the inner life of God himself.

(I opted to make the following presentation instead.)

 

I started the presentation by announcing that I had prepared my own presentation (The version above) but had then received an email from God in response to my request for help. I had the choice of presenting my own words or just reading to them what I had received in the email.  I was deferring to the words of Yahweh, and would read this to them. I pointed out that God had gone with modern Hi Tec. It was after the presentation that someone quipped; "What is God's email address?" I immediately replied " Fatherinheaven@home.com " Later, on getting back home, I thought about that and wondered if I could set up an email account for God under that address. I rethought the @home.com part, as that was strictly a cable service, and God would not be restricted to the rich who could afford broad band cable service. I thought that God would try to be more accessible, and that the free Hotmail service would be more probable. I was not able to get "fatherinheaven" or other similar versions without some number following the words, so I searched and finally found that "Elohim_Yahweh " was available and registered that email address. It is to this address that I send my own letters and from which I receive the replies. elohim_yahweh@hotmail.com

Part 4 Sharing “God Says” in answer to Gerald's request for help.... 11/02/2000 My beloved Gerald, God says, I am very pleased to answer your request for something to share with the people at the Diocesan Liturgy Conference. I am somewhat disappointed in you Gerald, if you had really put your head to the task you would have been able to come up with thoughts to share of which I would have approved. Do not doubt your own faith so much. But be that as it may, this is what I want you to tell these good people who came out on such a cold winter day to share their gifts with their parish communities. To begin, God says, I am really pleased with them. They are people of whom I am proud, and I want them to know that. You tell them that for me. I am also pleased that they are taking this time to consider what my Son created for them the night before he died for them. It was not a passing whim on the part of my Son. Even God's imagination could not imagine my Son Jesus having the final meal of his life with his friends, knowing that it was his final meal with them, and failing to do something of profound significance from the depths of his love for them. God says, my Son planned it for a long time and he tried to prepare them for this event when he fed the crowds with the five loaves and two fish. I ask you, God says, to try to imagine a different ending to the story in Matthew. Try to imagine that when the disciples suggested to my Son that he send the people away to find food for themselves in the villages, that my Son had replied; “That sounds like a good idea. I am tired, and we only have enough for ourselves anyway. They should have thought about bringing enough food for themselves when they decided to stay so long.” Let me bring to you, good people, gathered here at the Church named for my son's earthly father, another picture for your minds. Try to imagine being invited over to grandmother's house for her famous Christmas Dinner. When you and the other guests arrive you stand around absorbing the delicious aromas, and admiring the golden flaky crust on the pies, and seeing the turkey on the platter and the bowls of fluffy mashed potatoes. After standing around enjoying this sight and the smells, everyone puts on coats and hats and goes away, leaving the meal admired but uneaten. And God says, for those of you who are old enough, try to remember the Baltimore Catechism's answer to the question: “What is a sacrament?” The answer was that “ a Sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ which gives you supernatural grace.” Old Father Connell had it right, but I don't advise you to use that answer today if your children ask you that question. Eucharist is a sign... it is a sign of my Son himself, present in body and blood. He said so. He would not tell you something that was not completely true. You know that it is a sign created from grain and grape and the work of human hands. It was real food for my Son and his friends. That is the sign my Son Jesus chose to bring his real presence among you. Now imagine my Son Jesus taking the bread and wine, blessing it , and then keeping it all for himself and not giving it to his disciples to share. What kind of a sign would that have been? My Son did not stop at that point, God says. No, he broke it and gave it to his disciples just as the loaves and fish had been given to the crowd in Matthew's story. So it is very clear that an essential part of this SIGN that my son created for you, is the sharing with the crowd... the sharing with the disciples , the sharing with all of you, his disciples today. If you eat and drink the body and blood of my Son, he becomes part of you... or rather... you become part of him. That is what really happens. This is how you become the sign of my Son present in the world outside your church walls. Now, imagine if you will, if you have become his body and blood, and you keep all that richness to yourselves and refuse to share what you have become.... If that were to happen, you would have chosen to prevent the final and most essential part of this sacred sign.. of this sacred sacrament of my Son from becoming real. Imagine if you can, a priest, in imitation of my Son, pronouncing the words of the consecration and then quietly bringing the chalice and hosts to the tabernacle to lock them away. That would be like going to your grandmother's Christmas dinner and leaving without enjoying the work of her labours... If that were to happen, God says, I would see that and I would be angry. That would be showing contempt for the sign of my love for you, just as you would be rejecting grandmother's love. And if it were not a sign of love, it could not be the Sacrament by which I give you an experience of my own inner life! And Gerald, I also want you to remind these good people... I want you to remind these holy people, that I am always giving my love and life to them. Their very life is a gift of my love. Their time on earth, their energy, their talents, their laughter, their friendships and their loves... are all my gifts to them. And tell them, Gerald, that I, like my Son Jesus, give them gifts so that they may be shared with others and my Son wishes to be shared. Tell them that today! With all of my love, Yahweh, Your God (Note: the second, email version has greater power in my estimation.  However, it may be significant that I was not asked to make another presentation to that group.)