THE REAL PRESENCE OF JESUS CHRIST


FRIDAY, THIRD WEEK OF EASTERTIDE   

Acts 9:1-20; Ps 117; Jn 6:52-59

Eating the Flesh and Drinking the Blood of Jesus Christ

What causes us not to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man? Understanding the sacramental nature of creatures and creation as a whole, we see that the problem is not that we are not eating the body and drinking the blood of the Son of Man; we are eating and drinking without recognising the reality we are feeding on. Because we eat these creatures, structured into a rational path leading to divine truth and revelation, without walking the path of reason they present to us, and the spiritual path hidden behind their sacramentality, we fall short of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. When we interact with creatures without hearing the voice of God through them or seeing God through them, we misuse them and fail to follow the path they point out to us for God. It was to bring the consciousness of his disciples to his abiding presence with them that Jesus Christ took the bread, gave thanks, blessed it, and gave it to his disciples to eat as his body. The same thing he intended by taking the cup of wine, gave thanks, blessed and gave to them as his blood; he demanded that they see in the cup of wine, his blood that was shed for our redemption, which established an everlasting covenant between God and us. The keyword is his abiding presence with his disciples, who will always see him through faith in his word, and not through the senses. Understanding divine presence as the core issue of this sacramental establishment, we believe that God is always with us, both individually and collectively, as the Church.

Our difficulty comes from our lack of faith in the word of God. We usually fail to transition to the spiritual through the physical presentation because of our lack of faith in God. Without faith, we cannot easily see the invisible qualities of God in the visible creation. We fail to understand how the physical goods are sacraments of God’s providential care for us. The Jews were bewildered by our Lord’s words because they did not believe in his divinity. “The Jews started arguing with one another: ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ they said. Jesus replied: ‘I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day.” It is by recognising the presence of God in our daily events and interacting with him through them that he comes to dwell within us spiritually. Only faith in his word gives us the spiritual vision to commune with him in the real presence. Hebrews says that faith is assurance of the reality we do not see, and certainty of what we hope for. If we learn to commune with him like this, we then draw our lives and inspirations from his presence. This is what his words mean: “As I, who am sent by the living Father, myself draw life from the Father, so whoever eats me will draw life from me.” The gift of the Holy Spirit initiates and promotes this communion with God.

Saul, before he was converted to the real presence of the Risen Lord, was blind to this real presence of God with his people. He suffered from the blindness of the Jews and Pharisees, which anyone who approaches the Scriptures without the Son of Man suffers. As we stated previously, they suffer the same blindness as those who turn to creation without faith in the Incarnation of the Son of God. God, wanting to convert Saul and use him to proclaim the Gospel of everlasting life, opened his eyes to the real presence. “Suddenly, while he was travelling to Damascus and just before he reached the city, there came a light from heaven all round him. He fell to the ground, and then he heard a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? ‘Who are you, Lord? He asked, and the voice answered, ‘I am Jesus, and you are persecuting me.” Faith in the real presence of the Risen Lord makes Christians grow into the mystical body of Jesus Christ. Hence, he lives in them through the Spirit, and they live in him through their spirits. So, our spirits are eternal life initiated within us. The real presence of the Risen Lord fills all the earth, making the true worship of God possible in all the nations. “O praise the Lord, all you nations, acclaim him all you peoples!”

Let us pray: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we, who have come to know the grace of the Lord’s Resurrection, may, through the love of the Spirit, ourselves rise to the newness of life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. 

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