SUNDAY HOMILY FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST (CORPUS CHRISTI) – YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST
BY: Fr. Karabari Paul
‘Take, this is my body.’
We celebrate the Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, the most excellent gift of God today. All the readings show the significance of this celebration. In the Gospel (Mark 14:12-16.22-26) Mark tells us how Jesus celebrated the Passover with his disciples to prefigure his own sacrifice of body and blood which has become a huge deposit of faith in the Church today.
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We all know that diet is important. Diet can play a huge role in how healthy we are. We are often told the foods we should eat more of and the foods we should eat less of. But we also need to take our spiritual diet seriously. Jesus said: ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.’ Just as what we eat influences our physical health, what we are feeding on spiritually also influences how we act, think, and behave. It should be added that lack of proper spiritual food can also create crisis within the human soul. When we focus on feeding ourselves spiritually, we grow spiritually. So what are we consuming?
Unfortunately, we belong to ‘the-good-looking generation’. We look so good and attach so great an importance to how we look from our heads to our feet. But without the grace of God, we carry dirty souls. We neglect that which is necessary for us.
We can spend our time watching reality TV, reading gossip-filled magazines, listening to music with explicit lyrics, or comparing our lives with others on social media but never contemplating the sublimity of Jesus in Eucharist. Again, we focus only on physical food and struggle all day long to take care of our stomachs that we have no time for the soul. In the Old Testament, we are told that ‘man does not live on (physical) bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord’ (Deuteronomy 8:3). That word of God took flesh and has become the food for the soul. We need the body and blood of Jesus in our lives. We need to be consuming that if we are going to be spiritually full and spiritually nourished, We need to spend time in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament and have conversation with God. It means we need to be building time into our days to feed ourselves spiritually.
In the First Reading (Exodus
24:3-8), Moses ratified the covenant between God and his people. This action prefigures what Jesus would do in the future. To understand this covenant ratification ceremony, we need to understand the Bible’s view of sin and forgiveness.
God is the sovereign judge of the universe. He is also absolutely holy. As the holy judge of all, he condemns sin and judges it worthy of death. In the Old Testament, God accepted the death of an animal in place of the sinner. The animal’s shed blood was proof that one life had been given for another. So, on the one hand, blood symbolized the death of the animal, but it also symbolized the life that was spared as a result. Of course, the death of the animal that brought forgiveness in the Old Testament was only a temporary provision, looking forward to the death of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:9-10:24)
Moses sprinkled half the blood from the sacrificed animals on the altar to show that the sinner could once again approach God because something had died in his place. He sprinkled the other half of the blood on the people to show that the punishment for their sin had been paid and they could be reunited with God. Through this symbolic act God’s promises to Israel were reaffirmed.
We each need the life-giving Blood of Jesus to cleanse us, protect us, and sustain us. And we need it every day. Unfortunately, very many of us only remember that we need the Body and Blood of Jesus on Sundays. The Bible says, ‘the blood of Jesus Christ…cleanses us from all sin’ (1John 1:7). Ask any doctor: blood determines who a child’s real father is. And the Blood of Jesus proves you are God’s redeemed child; otherwise you are just a pseudo-heir trying to receive promises reserved for members of the family. Every one of our heavenly Father’s blessings flows to His children through the blood. It is what enables each of us to stand before Him, righteous and qualified to receive His blessings. Thus, ‘the cup of blessing which we bless is a participation in the Blood of Christ’ (1Cor 10:16).
The New Testament alone mentions blood around 100 times. Almost half of those times are references to Jesus’ blood specifically, so we know that it must be hugely important in God’s message to us. Romans 5:9 reminds us that ‘we have now been justified by His blood’ and 2 Corinthians 6:18 records God saying ‘I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters.’ That is exactly what blood does. It proves who a child’s parents are, passes on their DNA, and if Jesus has given us His blood, we are, inarguably, God’s children with His blueprint running through our veins.
And just like blood, having His DNA does three important things for us. 1) Blood provides the right things to cleanse and heal our wounds. It’s the blood that goes to the broken, injured skin to clean the cut and create a clot to begin healing the wound. This is the first role of Jesus’ blood, to cleanse and heal us from our sin. That is why He allowed it to be spilt for us on the cross. 2) Blood contains white cells that defend the body against infection. They fight off any attack, destroy everything harmful, and protect against anything that could make the body ill, just like Jesus does for His body, the church. 3) Blood carries oxygen around the whole body, which is then burned to produce energy. The blood of Jesus is our fuel, too. With Him, we are provided with everything that we need to get by and more. Having God’s DNA in our lives fuels us to fully live the life that He promises to us. May God give us the grace to appreciate what we celebrate together. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. May God bless you and your household always through Christ Our Lord Amen. Good morning
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