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Sunday 22 June 2025 (or Thursday 19 June) The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
The Eucharist – gift and challenge
Genesis 14:18-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Luke 9:11-17
Context: a small parish serving a large area of rural East Sussex
Aim: to encourage people to give, give and give some more
Today we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, or ‘the Body and Blood of Christ’, and our readings encourage us to have a more profound appreciation of what it means to feed our souls with this most blessed sacrament at each and every Mass we attend. But they also provide a call to respond to those in the world who hunger both spiritually and physically.
In our reading from 1 Corinthians, we hear Paul encouraging us to celebrate the Eucharist in remembrance, but also with a frequency – ‘as often as you drink it … until he comes’ – to ensure our recollection of our blessed Lord’s death, and his gift of showing us the pathway to eternal Glory.
In our Gospel we see the miracle of feeding the 5,000, and whilst the disciples are sceptical that Jesus will succeed and think that many will go hungry, Jesus sees the devotion and belief in the crowd and again uses this as an opportunity to reveal God’s generosity and love to all those gathered in that place.
The Eucharist is at the very centre of our faith and, unlike many things in our life, it is as relevant today as it was that first time when Jesus explained the significance to us in scripture – but what does this really mean, in a world where millions
go hungry?
Pope Francis frequently reminds us that the Eucharist compels us to action. It is not sufficient to receive our Lord each week in the hope that we will be personally nourished without the intent in our hearts of collaborating as the Body of Christ to help those less fortunate than ourselves.
We also need to remember that hunger in our world is not just physical: people hunger for justice, they hunger for companionship, they hunger for love. The Eucharist challenges us to open our eyes to this hunger, and through our actions, demonstrate to our neighbour God’s generous love
and compassion.
Some criticise the need for food banks, soup kitchens, shelters in church halls and other acts of kindness and understanding in our world, but these acts of charity give us all the opportunity to participate in ministering to the symptoms of the shortcomings in our society. However, the call from Jesus and Pope Francis is to go further to diagnose and eradicate the cause of the divisions in our society, and break down the barriers in our communities that prevent the love of Christ from reaching the marginalised.
The Gospel reminds us that God will provide and, in a world that values scarcity and celebrates competition, the Eucharist we receive today is a recognition of abundance. It tells all who will listen that, if we trust in God and share what we have, there is enough food, there are enough resources and most importantly of all, there is enough love to
go round.
As we all know, love is the key and, as Mother Teresa once said, ‘Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.’ Some of us may feel we have nothing to give – but acts of love can be free: a smile, a kind word, a sympathetic ear – the gift of time. All of these actions show our neighbour that we value them.
Today, as we receive this most blessed sacrament, let us also reflect on the words of St Augustine who said, ‘Become what you receive.’ As we eat, pray, worship and reflect on collectively being the body of Christ, let us focus on the fact that we are the vessels God has chosen to nourish the hungry and heal the wounded.
And once we have shared the sacrament, let us leave this place filled with God’s grace and committed to sharing it with all those we meet, whether they be family, friend, stranger or foe. May we trust in God’s abundant generosity and, recognising the hunger in those around us, let us open our hearts to show God’s love, so that all may drink from the deep well that feeds us each week in this place.
Our mission is to give, give and give some more. Only in that way will we be able to shine the light of Christ into the hearts of those who have not been blessed, as we have, to know our living Lord.
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