The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body
and Blood of Jesus Christ (Corpus Christi)
June 7, 2015
Mark 14:12-16, 22-26
“This
is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many (Mrk 14:24).”
The body and the blood are two
important symbols in many cultures and societies. In our modern society, the
blood is considered as the essential element of our lives. In our biology
class, we learn that blood cells carry several functions, and the two most
significant are to carry oxygen plus nutrients to the entire body and to fight
germs. Thus, losing a lot of blood means literally dying. Looking at the
importance of blood to save life, I myself make a bloodletting as my personal
apostolate.
For the ancient Jewish society,
blood was also closely related with life, but they did not see it from solely
biological aspect, but also religious perspective. Blood is the ‘source of
life’, and since life is coming only from God, blood is sacred and belongs to
God only. This is why the Jewish people do not eat blood of animals. The blood
is mainly used for the ritual sacrifice as it is offered back to the Lord or
sprinkled upon the people as a sign of blessing.
Unlike the blood, the body is
perceived in heterogeneous and often conflicting views. For some, body is the
prison of the soul and thus, considered as evil. For others, body is mere
commercial commodity, good to be exploited in sex or labor. For
materialism-induced people, body is the only thing that is real. However, for
Jewish and Christian believers, body is God’s gifts and therefore holy. We do
good, we work and we worship God surely through our body. Our body is not only
a vessel of our soul, but it is intimate expression of our life. That is why
when we steal and get caught, we cannot say that our hands did the crime or
only my body committed the sin but my soul is innocent. Surely, the law
enforcers will dismiss our excuse as ridiculous! We did it as a total human
persons.
The basic gesture of sacrifice in
the Temple of Jerusalem is to separate the blood from the body, and both are
offered to the Lord. In the Last Supper, Jesus practically did the same. He
‘separated’ His Blood and Body, offered them to the Lord in act of
thanksgiving. Jesus transformed the Last Supper into a sacrifice of Himself.
But, Jesus did not stop there. He completed His radical act of sacrifice by
sharing His most precious possessions to His disciples. Jesus then redefined
the meaning of sacrifice. It is not only about slaughtering animals, but it is
fundamentally about one giving up oneself totally for God and others.
Every time we celebrate the
Eucharist, we are reminded and taught by Jesus that Christian life is basically
a life of offering and sacrifice. In marriage, a husband and wife are giving
each other his and her body and blood for better or for worse, in health and in
sickness, for richer or poorer until death do them part. In a family, being
parents means sharing body and blood with their children, virtually doing a
24/7 job without any payment, plus all the emotional hazards. In religious
life, we are offering our body and blood to our community and the people of
God, in obedience, constant prayer and tireless service.
Indeed, to give up our body and
shed our blood are painful and far from easy, but when we are faithful to our
call, then we are assured that we have pleased God. Like the sacrifice that is
burned totally in the Temple is most pleasing to God, then our unreserved
sacrifice for others is the most beautiful in eyes of God.
Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno,
OP
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