Daily Gospel Reflection
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June 2, 2024
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
when they sacrificed the Passover lamb,
Jesus’ disciples said to him,
“Where do you want us to go
and prepare for you to eat the Passover?”
He sent two of his disciples and said to them,
“Go into the city and a man will meet you,
carrying a jar of water.
Follow him.
Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house,
‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room
where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”‘
Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready.
Make the preparations for us there.”
The disciples then went off, entered the city,
and found it just as he had told them;
and they prepared the Passover.
While they were eating,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, gave it to them, and said,
“Take it; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them,
and they all drank from it.
He said to them,
“This is my blood of the covenant,
which will be shed for many.
Amen, I say to you,
I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine
until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Then, after singing a hymn,
they went out to the Mount of Olives.
We have seemingly limitless food options in a modern world filled with convenience stores and grocery stores with entire aisles dedicated to cereals, chips, or condiments. It can be easy to forget that in many places around the world, access to simple bread and clean water is still the difference between life and death. As vital as this daily food and drink are to our survival, Christ is pointing out in today’s gospel that there are other things that we hunger and thirst for that are also essential to human life: companionship, forgiveness, mercy, and love.
It is no accident, then, that Jesus chose bread and wine to transform into his Body and Blood. Christ sustains us physically by offering the bread and wine, and he fills us spiritually with his love and mercy when the bread and wine transform.
The Last Supper is, like Christ, many things at once. Jesus breaks bread with his chosen friends to eat a meal together. But it is also an anticipated memorial of his sacrificial death on the cross. Our Lord’s Body was brutalized in crucifixion so that when our own bodies are exhausted, our spirits may enter the kingdom of Heaven. Our Lord’s Blood was shed freely in atonement so that when we break our relationships with God and our fellow humankind, we may embrace a new covenant between God and humanity.
As we partake in Holy Communion, let us appreciate the true miracle. Let us be sustained by the bread and wine transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. Let it be a chance to grow in oneness with God.
Prayer
Jesus, you open wide your hands and heart and fill us with living food. You give us the bread of the Eucharist, the Word, the church community. You give us the bread of nature’s beauty, of friendship, of people who care for us when we are in need of help. You give us the food on our table, the roof over our heads, the clothing we wear. All the necessities of life come from you, and the extras as well. Blessed be you, Lord, God of all creation. Amen.