Homily- the Solemnity of Most Holy Body and
Blood of Christ – Fr. Michael Ufok Udoekpo
- · Exodus 24:3-8;
- · Ps 116:12-18;
- · Heb 9:11-15
- · Mark 14; 12-16, 22-26
Restoring Our Rightful Relationship with God
We come today as a Church, and family of
faith, to solemnly celebrate God’s continues presence in our midst, through
Christ, His Son.; through the efficacy of the Body and Blood of Christ which we
celebrate and receive at every Mass. The
more we celebrate Christ at Mass, received his body and blood, listen to Christ address us through the scriptures, sacred music, through one another, the more our relationship with God
is strengthened, and restored, for those who may have had a broken relationship
with him, for one reason or the other.
Historically, this has been the
understanding of Pope Urban IV who in 1264, who, during the time of the great-
Saint Thomas Aquinas, instituted this celebration by encouraging each of us,
every year, from different parts of the world to be devoted to Christ, to
worship him, to adore him, to sing his praises, to visit with him in the Blessed
Sacrament, to venerate him in songs and processions, wherever and whenever we
can, knowing that we have an unbreakable relationship with God.
Today’s
solemnity reminds us that we are God’s children of the biblical covenant- a
biblical story of what God has done for us through his Son Jesus Christ. Relationship
as a whole is found in different cultures and contexts and comes with different signs and symbols!
What we do specifically in our faith
context today is rooted in the scriptures, especially in today’s well-chosen passages
of the Bible. You may want to ask
yourself, why is today’s first reading from Exodus 24:3-8, on the ritual of sprinkling
of animal blood on the altar and on the people chosen for this celebration? One
of the answers could be, because it takes us back to the ratification of the
sinaitic covenant that God established with his people, Israel. When you read
Exodus 19-24 you see and appreciate in full, details and significance of this important
covenant rituals. This ritual is repeated in Leviticus 16 and 17, on the Day of
Atonement, when blood is again sprinkled by priests in the Holy of Holies.
Since ancient times this sprinkled blood was not only a sacred symbol,
but a symbol of life, a sign of purification from sins, filthy things,
blessings, peace (shalom), good luck, covenant and life’s renewal in the years
ahead.
We celebrate today, our lives in Christ. The Exodus’ sinaitic covenant provides us
the framework for understanding this, and even for understanding God’s earlier promises to Noah, to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. It reminds us of the importance of what we
read in the entire, Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. It reminds
us that it is God that watches over our lives and successes, and our journeys as
exemplified in the entire biblical history- for the Old to the New Testaments. The covenant ratification of the first reading
was also used in measuring the faithfulness of Israel’s Kings. It forms the
backdrop for the preaching of Israel’s prophets- leading up to events fulfilled
in Christ of the Gospel and of the Letter to the Hebrews- the New Covenant.
Recall, Jeremiah, one of Israel’s prophets,
familiar to us, prophesied about this “new covenant”. In chapter 31:31,
Jeremiah, foretold,” in the days to come I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel and Judah.” A new covenant. Not with animal blood, but written
in our hearts- spiritual, powerful, apriori with a new meaning, and
symbols, through the events of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice for us on the Cross.
The author to the Letter to the Hebrews in
the Second reading, Hebrews 9:11-15 eloquently preaches on Christ’s event, n
the efficacy of his body and blood. With
his body and blood our rightful relationship with God his father, is
guaranteed.
Unlike the Levitical priest, human not divine,
Christ, human and divine, our High priest is sinless. He is both the perfect
high priest and the perfect sacrifice. Christ’s blood, shaded us on the Cross,
on that Good Friday, has a deeper and different meaning.. For us, Christian-believers
it is more effective than the blood of the animals shaded annually and
sprinkled on the altar and on the people, during the ancient sinaitic days!
Think of it also this way. If the ordinary
animal blood could be effective in the context of earthly sacrifice, how much
more the perfect sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, his body and blood- that gives us life!
Today as we celebrate this Solemnity, Christ
invites us, as narrated in that gospel of Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 to remain
partakers in his Body and Blood, the source of life, - that puts us in a rightful relationship with God. In that gospel passage, is it not interesting to hear Christ of Mark once again says,,
“Take, this is my body… and for the cup, this is my blood of the covenant,”
words we repeat and hear at every Mass we celebrate and attain.
By sharing in the body and blood of Christ, we
are cleansed from sinfulness, from dead works and we are protected spiritually
and morally, and strengthen to worship the living true God. We are kept in that
track of holiness that Pope Francis, in March spoke of in his new Apostolic
Exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate. We are restored to a rightful
covenant- relationship with God, who loves each and every one of us,
irrespective of our culture, region and location.
By every one of us we mean the poor and the
rich, our families and children; the healthy, the sick, the borne and the
unborn, those who are physically alive, and those gone before us marked with
the sign of faith.
Remember also that the Christ we share at
Mass, at worships is also alive in our relationship with one another. He is the source of life. He is in
the scripture we break, preach and Share. He is in the sacred music we sing. He
accompanies us on our journeys. He is the Christ of the peace makers, of good
leaders, of champions of unity and of those who are merciful, who live the gospel
beatitude and who forgive wrong doings done to them; and promote the culture
life.
As we celebrate this Solemnity of the Body
and Blood of Christ may we continue to share our faith experience of the
efficacy of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist with our neighbors,
friends and family members!
Reflection Questions:
- 1. How strong is our faith in the real presence of Christ, in the Bread and Wine blessed by our priests at every Mass?
- 2. In light of today’s scriptures how far have we kept the covenant we established with Christ at Baptism?
- 3. How does today’s solemnity help us restore our rightful relationship with God and with our neighbors?
