Every so often, we reach a moment in our lives
that requires us to make a stand and say what we believe. Those
moments might fill some of us with fear or anxiety that others may
look at us differently or change how they treat us. There is some
truth to those fears. Saying what we believe can change how others
look at us or think about us. It makes us vulnerable. Yet, if we
give in to our fear and never admit to what we believe, what are we
doing here in this Church? How can we say we are Christian, unless
we at some point profess what we believe?
The readings give very powerful examples of how
we are all called to profess what we believe. It starts with the
Book of Joshua. The reading we just heard comes at the very end of
that book. Joshua, the leader who took over after Moses died, has
lead the people of Israel on a successful military campaign to
reclaim the Promised Land. Each of the Twelve Tribes are free to
find a section of land to settle on. They are no longer forced to
wonder the desert as they did for forty years, but can finally build
homes and raise crops and livestock. With this new found freedom is
also a choice, as Joshua points out. Who are they going to serve?
Who will they worship? They can choose to serve the various pagan
gods that all the other people in that area choose to serve, or, they
can choose to serve the Lord, God. Joshua tells them, “As for me
and my household, we will serve the Lord”. Joshua makes a stand
and professes what he believes: that God is Lord of all. The rest
respond by agreeing to serve the Lord as well.
The Gospel
today brings us to the end of the Bread of Life Discourses. For the
past several weeks we have heard Jesus explaining that He is the
Bread of Life and that the way to eternal life is to eat His flesh
and drink his blood. Today the disciples begin to complain about how
hard this is to accept. Notice Jesus' response. Elsewhere in the
Gospels, when the disciples have difficulty with something Jesus
says, He responds by explaining to them what He means. This often
includes explaining all the symbolisms within the parables. But
here, He doesn't do that. He doesn't say, “Hey wait guys! I was
only speaking symbolically.” Instead, He actually reiterates what
He already said. “It
is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The
words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.” In other words,
He is saying that He has been speaking the truth: The bread of this
world only feeds you in this world. What you need for eternal life
is the Bread of Life. Jesus is that Bread of Life and so we must eat
His flesh and drink His blood.
Now the
disciples have a choice to make. Sadly, many of them leave: They
can't accept what Jesus is saying. The Twelve Apostles, however,
make a very strong profession of faith when Jesus turns to them.
“Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One
of God.” We are called to make this same profession of faith
whenever we come before this alter to receive the Most Holy
Eucharist.
Have you
ever thought about what the word AMEN really means? The simple
definition of the word tells us that it means “I believe”. When
we say it at the end of a prayer, we are saying that we believe the
words that we just said. We also say it in response to the priest or
deacon or extraordinary minister saying “The Body of Christ” or
“The Blood of Christ”. I have every so often run into well
meaning Catholics who, instead of saying “AMEN”, proclaim the
words “I believe” when they receive communion. As I said, they
mean well. I think their reasoning is that “I believe” holds
more meaning to them. Plus, both responses mean the same thing. But
when you take a moment and consider what it is that you are saying
“AMEN” to, you realize that it means so much than “I believe”.
It is much more accurate to say that it means, “I believe with all
my heart and soul that this truly is the Body and Blood of Our Lord,
Jesus Christ who died for me.” The Eucharist is the source and
summit of our faith. Shouldn't our response match that?
Our faith
tradition is full of Eucharistic miracles and stories about the power
of the Eucharist. I would like to share one of them with you.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, famous for teaching the faith on his TV
shows, was once asked by an interviewer who was his greatest
inspiration. People thought it might be the Pope or another bishop
or priest, but instead he said it was a Chinese girl.
Not long
after the communists took over China, soldiers came to a little
village, arrested the Catholic Priest in town, and locked him in the
rectory. The priest could only watch from his window as the soldiers
entered the church, breaking things. They even broke into the
Tabernacle and threw out the ciborium, scattering the Eucharist
across the floor. The priest knew there were exactly 32 hosts in the
Tabernacle. The soldiers left, but failed to notice a little girl
who had been praying in the back of the church and saw everything.
That night,
the priest could see a small shadow moving towards the church. It
was the little girl who had managed to sneak past the guards. She
entered the church and spent an hour of adoration before the
Eucharist on the floor. After the hour, she bent down and picked up
one of the hosts with her tongue and consumed it (because lay people
weren't allowed to touch the Eucharist with their fingers). The
priest watched her do this each night for 31 nights. On the 32nd
night, she came and prayed and consumed the last host. As she was
leaving, she made a noise that woke the sleeping guard. He chased
her down and killed her.
Archbishop
Sheen said that after first hearing that story, he was inspired to
spend at least an hour of adoration before the Eucharist everyday.
That is how powerful and important the Eucharist truly is. We are
called to profess our belief in the Eucharist. May our AMEN not be
just another throwaway line that we say just to fit in, but let it
mean that you truly believe it and would lay down your life to prove
it.
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