There is a very interesting choice of readings today for the feast of Corpus Christi, the day on which we celebrate the institution of the Eucharist. Only the second reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians has an account of the Last Supper; the other two readings are the account in Genesis of the Priest Melchizedek and St Luke’s version of the Multiplication of Loaves. Let us take the reading from Genesis first; it tells us about the appearance of Melchizedek the King of Salem, which is known to us as Jerusalem, bearing the gifts of bread and wine. He blesses Abraham and in turn Abraham offers him a tithe of all his possessions. That he comes from Salem is important because this links him to the line of David out of which would eventually come the Messiah. So while Melchizedek is seen by the Jews as a precursor of David he is also seen by Christians as a forerunner of Jesus, the Christ. You can see how significant this meeting between Abraham and Melchizedek was for the first Christians.
It was of great importance to them that the Book of Genesis records that Abraham, the first and greatest of the Patriarchs, acknowledges and pays homage to a figure who is a direct forerunner of Christ. Melchizedek is both priest and king and although this was not uncommon in ancient religions, it is further confirmation that he prefigures Christ, especially as Melchizedek comes bearing gifts of bread and wine which are clearly recognised as having a direct link to the Eucharist. In the Gospel reading we are presented with Luke’s account of the Feeding of the Five Thousand. This clearly has Eucharistic overtones especially when we see Jesus taking the bread and blessing it and giving it to the people gathered there. What is interesting as much as the similarities with the Last Supper are the differences. Firstly this is not with an inner group of selected disciples; no, here everyone is included: men, women and children. Also the people are asked to sit down as the Apostles surely would have done at the Last Supper, but here it is in the middle of the countryside and within easy reach of pagan areas.
Both of these differences help us to see that the Eucharist was not designed for a cosy introverted group of disciples but rather for the whole world and everyone in it. It is important for us not to think of the Last Supper as a special meal in isolation from the rest of Jesus’ ministry. I am sure that Jesus celebrated many important meals with his followers and that at those meals he frequently performed what we now see as Eucharistic actions by blessing bread and breaking it and distributing it to those gathered there. These actions performed frequently throughout his ministry were surely characteristic of Jesus. The sudden recognition of him by the disciples on the road to Emmaus when he broke the bread is only another underlining of just how closely he was identified with these Eucharistic actions. We are in no doubt therefore of the close link between the Feeding of the Five Thousand and the Last Supper. Indeed in the Gospel of John there is no blessing and breaking of bread at the Last Supper instead there is the Washing of the Feet. In John if you are looking for references to the Eucharist it is to this great miracle of the Feeding of the Five Thousand that you must go. We then turn to the account of the Last Supper given by St Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians.
You will note the opening phrase, ?This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you.’ Paul did not know Jesus except by reputation since he only converted well after the Crucifixion. So we might wonder what St Paul means by using these words. I think we have to conclude that he received knowledge of the Last Supper from the Lord but via Christ’s disciples. What the Lord revealed to them, they revealed to St Paul, and he in turn revealed to us. This is what we call the transmission of Christian revelation. It is by this same method that the Christian faith was handed down to us through our parents and grandparents and how we in turn will hand it on to our children. It is the same revelation that comes directly from the Lord but mediated through countless generations since the time of Christ. On this day on which we celebrate the Eucharist we recognise that it is at the very heart of our faith; it is the keystone of our Christian practice. It is because we come to the celebration of the Eucharist each Sunday that most people know us to be Christians. So the Eucharist is absolutely vital to us.
Although we only receive a morsel of bread at Holy Communion we know that this is real food for our souls. We realise that the Eucharist is vital nourishment for our souls and that through our celebration each week we are enabled to grow in faith and in fidelity to the Gospel. Over these last few weeks about a hundred children have made their First Holy Communion in this Church and this is something that brings us all great joy. These children have been thoroughly prepared by the catechists and know that the bread and wine has become, through the celebration of the mass, the body and blood of the Lord Jesus. As Catholics we have a very high theology of the Eucharist and although we realise that the Eucharist still tastes and acts like bread and wine we also realise that something essential has changed and that, despite the outward signs remaining the same, we understand that it has become the body and blood of Jesus. We realise too that by consuming it we are united in a special way with Jesus at the Last Supper and in his sacrifice on the Cross and in his resurrection from the dead.
We know that through our reception of the Eucharist we come as close to Jesus as it is possible to come this side of eternity. One other important phrase has been used by the Church through the centuries; we say that the Eucharist is ?a pledge of eternal life.’ So while the Eucharist is food for our souls and unites us with Christ in the present moment it is also a promise of what is to come. It is a promise, a pledge, of eternal life with God in heaven together with all the Angels and Saints. This day on with we celebrate in a special way the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus is indeed a joyful day. We are reminded of all the things that the Eucharist represents and we are encouraged to receive Holy Communion as often as we are able within the limits of the circumstances of our lives. It says in the Gospel reading that when the bread and fish were distributed the people ate as much as they wanted. Like those people gathered on the hillside, our hunger too is satisfied in the Eucharist we celebrate each Sunday.