Art of Living!

Sunday, June 22, 2025

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Gen 14:18-20; 1 Cor 11:23-26; Lk 9:11b-17

As we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi, we are called to understand that the Eucharist enlightens Christians on the ‘art of living.’ 

The readings of the day help us realize the relevance and significance of the Eucharist for Christian lives. 

The first reading presents Melchizedek, the priest-king of ancient Jerusalem. In the Hebrew Bible, Melchizedek signified hope that, just like him, a priest-king who would fulfil all of God’s promises will come to the world. In other words, the name of Melchizedek infused hope in people about the coming of the Messiah. Jesus was that Messiah because he was considered a priest in the order of Melchizedek, as he did not hail from the line of Aaron. The theme of the first reading helps us understand that Melchizedek was a prefiguration of Christ in at least three ways: Like Jesus, he is both a king and a priest. Like Jesus, he is a king of peace (as King of Salem) and king of righteousness (as his name Melchizedek translates to). Like Jesus, he is the bearer of bread and wine, as witnessed in the first reading today. This act of Melchizedek – bearing bread and wine – contains Eucharistic overtones because Jesus, who comes in the order of Melchizedek, is a ‘priest forever’ (Ps 110:4) and the eternal high priest (Heb 7:13-17). In sum, the first reading provides us with three key insights. By showing Melchizedek as a type of Christ, it calls us to appreciate the continuity between the Old and New Testaments. Secondly, since Christ’s priesthood is not rooted in the Levitical lineage like Melchizedek, it is eternal and universal. Thirdly, the imagery of the bread and wine connects well to the Eucharist, which refers to the priestly offering of Christ and his role as king of peace and righteousness, like Melchizedek. 

In the second reading, we find Paul recounting the institution of the Eucharist by Jesus. Paul’s exposition helps us decode three important points. At first, the Eucharistic tradition is received directly from the Lord himself and not something human-made. Secondly, the word ‘remembrance’ proclaims all that the Eucharist stands for. A radical remembrance of the Eucharist calls for challenging disunity, practicing inclusion, prioritizing sharing, and living out sacrifice. If not for our readiness or willingness to ‘remember’ Christ in this radical manner, our celebration of it carries no meaning. Thirdly, the Eucharist, which is a sacrificial offering of Christ, also signifies hope. In other words, the Eucharist is a reminder of the past sacrifice of Christ and the future promise of Christ’s return. While Paul insists on these truths, he obligates the Corinthian community to lead a Eucharistic life, which calls for a critique of abuses in their Eucharistic celebrations and invites the community to uphold the sacrificial love that the Eucharist symbolizes. 

The Gospel account of the multiplication prefigures the Eucharist. More importantly, the use of verbs – took, blessed, broke, and gave – are the same ones used in the Eucharistic accounts of the Last Supper. While we often reflect on the Eucharist as spiritual nourishment, what stands out for me is that Jesus meant it as a communal celebration. In other words, if the Eucharistic celebration fails to uphold the communion of the faithful, it amounts to a disservice. When Jesus multiplied the bread and fish and fed the crowd, there was no difference or discrimination or partiality among them. It is clear from the way that they were ‘all’ made to sit down. The community that followed Jesus was made to forget the class and gender differences. The strict boundary that separated the Jews and Gentiles was abolished. The dietary laws that made one section feel superior and the other inferior were disregarded. In other words, the followers of Jesus were made to feel as one community, united by God’s love, brought around the food table, and overwhelmed by the generous sharing that Jesus inspired. Hence, in the miracle of multiplication, Jesus promoted the Eucharistic discipleship that enables people to forget the differences, celebrate diversity, and practice inclusion. In this episode, Jesus leaves behind a powerful reminder and model of how the Eucharistic celebration should look in a real-life setting. 

The content of the three readings helps us discover the enormous practical implications of celebrating the Eucharist. We can highlight at least three of them. 

1. Eucharist – A Call to Act: Any Eucharistic celebration honors the ‘memory’ that Jesus left behind. Now, how can we remember Jesus authentically? Here we may recall the powerful definition of love by Scott Peck in his The Road Less Travelled: ‘Love is what love does.’ If we claim to honor the memory of Jesus, we can only do it through a meaningful commission. As a sacrament of engagement, Eucharistic love calls for radical intervention or action. If we overlook the performative aspect of the Eucharist, it only amounts to a betrayal of the Lord’s love for us. 

2. Eucharist – A Style of Life: The Eucharist underlines a ‘higher measure’ by which we are called to love and serve others. This is why St. Augustine on Eucharist said, ‘Be what you see and receive what you are.’ Though Christians may work for ordinary food, they live by the Eucharist. The real presence of Christ in us is more powerful that, as St. John Chrysostom would understand, there is a direct relationship between Eucharistic participation and living out its inalienable call in the world. Referring to the poor, St. John Chrysostom said, ‘You dishonour this table by refusing to share your food with him who was considered worthy of sitting at it.’ Hence, by participating in the Eucharist, we become Christ-bearers, and we go about proclaiming the life-transforming Christ in us by promoting communion, togetherness, inclusivity, responsibility, fraternity, sacrifice, love, and whatnot. 

3. Eucharist – An Art of Living: The Ars Vivendi (Art of Living) tradition in the Church understands our lives as directly linked to our deaths (Ars Vivendi – Art of Dying). For Christians, Christ’s life becomes the norm for regulating our lives. Christ’s life taught us what it means to live well; his death taught us what it means to die for others. Jesus exemplified his teachings on love and sacrifice through the Eucharist, which became a sign and symbol of the fact that what he preached, he eventually became. Hence, walking in the footsteps of Jesus, we understand that living like him is the best way to be schooled in what it means to lay down one’s life for others. In this sense, the Eucharist is the Christian art of living, as it inspires a life modelled on Christ so as to become like him in our deaths. 

Let us pray that we may listen to the Eucharistic call to master the art of living by imitating our Master faithfully. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar