Body and Blood of the Lord A

Blody and Blood of the Lord 2020

Anyone who has ever gone astray would know how to talk about it. He could tell how he felt about what he was doing to find the right street or path. He could also talk about joy when he succeeded. Some people, especially the older and more experienced, say that life itself is a way to get lost. This is because the path of life is not always straight and often resembles a labyrinth. But what would life be like if we had to live it in a maze? If we didn’t know what we were living in, how to live, and where we were going, what would life be like? And it was precisely because we would not become lost in life that Jesus came to our earth.

He first taught people how to live. He said many valuable words, pictures, and examples so people would not get lost in life and, if they did, they could come back. He challenged people to believe that the purpose of their lives was to love God and man. The goal of their life is eternal life in God. But Jesus knew that information was not enough to reach one’s goal. He was well acquainted with the situation of the Jews as they traveled for forty years through the desert from Egypt to their country. They had a goal; they knew where they were going, but they lacked the physical strength to move forward. So God sent them manna from heaven for 40 years until they reached the borders of Canaan. Jesus also gave people strength for their souls so they would always have enough strength to pursue their goal.

He announced his intentions to the crowds after the miraculous multiplication of the bread. Some were shocked when he told them, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven” (Jn 6:15). He then explained to them the threefold sense of receiving this bread. It is the guarantee of eternal life: “He who is my body and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (Jn 6:54). Second, the acceptance of this food causes a close connection between man and Jesus: “He who is my body and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him” (Jn 6:56). Finally, the body of Jesus in the form of bread gives man a share in the relationship between the Father and the Son: “As the living Father sent me, and I live of the Father, so he who is me will live of me” (Jn 6:57). What Jesus announced was then fulfilled at the Last Supper. He transformed the bread and wine into his Body and blood and commanded the apostles to do the same. In this way, Jesus gave his believers a safe means not to get lost in life and achieve their goal.

On this day or the following Sunday, Jesus briefly leaves the tabernacle. The priest, with the monstrance and the believers, walks through the streets of our towns and villages. They stop in four places, which symbolize the world’s parties. The priest blesses the faithful and his entire parish. They all ask Jesus to protect them and to receive him even where they do not yet know him. The image of the procession expresses Jesus’ desire that people should not go astray. Unity can be seen in the procession. They all follow Jesus together, and he leads them. But let’s be honest, it’s very easy. It doesn’t cost us much strength. No one can get lost in the procession with the Body of God. The test of our relationship with Christ comes when we are left alone. When we are no longer in the crowd of believers but in the environment we live in, we are tested. There we meet different people, opinions, and orientations. In real life, we face various pressures. This environment is the labyrinth in which we can discover ourselves and lose orientation. But here is also the greatest opportunity to show the meaning of our relationship with Christ. To prove ourselves as strong personalities whose acceptance of Christ helps us go our own way, in the direction Jesus shows us.

In medicine, we know the term “immunity.” This means that the body is resistant to some drugs. The drug, as we say popularly, does not work. A similar danger may arise in the case of the reception of the Eucharist. Someone regularly receives Jesus but does not see him in his life. They wander like those who do not approach Holy Communion. His soul is also immune to the Eucharist. The cause may be our superficiality, weak faith, habit, or lack of prayer. We will open Jesus’ mouth, but not our hearts. In this way, we often waste a precious “compass” within us that wants to show us the direction of life and lead us to God. So today is a good time to decide to improve everything that prevents Jesus from leading us through our lives.

According to Greek mythology, King Minos had a cave maze built on the island of Crete. His son, who was half-human and half-animal, lived in it. Whoever entered the labyrinth was either killed by the monster or got lost and died. The young prince Theseus wanted to kill the monster, but he was afraid he would get lost like everyone before him. The young girl, Ariadne, gave him a ball of thread to untangle him along the way. He went down into the maze, killed the monster, and returned without any problems. The red thread showed him the way. Let us also have the courage, with Jesus in our hearts, to overcome all obstacles in the labyrinth of life, and he will help us as the “red thread” so that we do not get lost in life and come to him after death.