Image by Claire Joy
The Easter season ended with Evening Prayer on Pentecost Sunday. We reentered Ordinary Time but every year the first and second Sundays following Pentecost are special days: the feast of the Holy Trinity (this year on May 30) and the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus et Sanguinis Christi (this year on June 6 in the US).
For this weekend's scriptures and background material on them, check the St. Louis University Sunday liturgy site and for helping children prepare to hear the Word this weekend, check out the Sadlier page.
The first lesson this weekend (from Genesis) gives us Melchizedek, a priestly figure from the Hebrew scriptures who offered bread and wine to God. The second lesson (from 1 Corinthians) sets forth Paul's account of the Last Supper as he "received it (from) the Lord." Finally the gospel is Luke's account of the feeding of the five thousand from five loaves and two fish.
Preachers may take as their homiletic theme either something from the scriptures or something from the liturgy itself. I'm thinking of using my homily this week to speak about practical ways in which we show (or fail to show) our respect and reverence for the Body and Blood of Christ when we gather on Sunday to celebrate the Lord's Supper.
Any thoughts on a preacher taking that direction?
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6 comments:
My only thought is that I can't wait to hear what you come up with. That sounds great!
Crikey, I thought that last Sunday's was hard enough but this is even harder !!
Blessings
Phil
Phil: and this is an ANNUAL dilemma!
At the urging of the staff, our former pastor took this opportunity to underscore our reverence and respect for the Eucharist and to remind everyone of the way to approach the sacrament and to receive the sacrament.
We all agreed that it was appreciated and bore fruit! I bet you could do a terrific job of this!!
Because my congregation for the last 11 years was filled with men from different gangs, different languages, different life experiences, to say nothing of different crimes, every Sunday was a chance to emphasize that, around the Table of Christ, we are one body.
I named the things that artificially divide us and then said, "When we come here, we are one and this is where we practice what we believe." And then I encouraged them to make each mealtime a deliberate sharing of hospitality and communion.
It was a challenge for gang members and former gang members to share the table. It was a stretch for the drugged burglar to sit at the same table with the child molester. But it is the demand of the gospel, and so we kept talking about it. And doing it.
We can look pretty homogenous in the parish--but I'm betting my last dollar that there are still a few folks I'd rather not sit with if I'm honest with myself.
i hate to be a complaining person, but I often struggle at communion time when I see others receive the host in such callous ways. Sometimes I wish I could ask them how they would act if the priest was holding the crown jewels of England filled with priceless gems and they were allowed to touch it? What if the priest held a solid gold bar and they had the opportunity to run their hands over its smooth surface? And here the priest is holding more than precious gems or solid gold, he is holding Jesus and we are not just allowed to touch it-- we are allowed to consume it! Even more, we are transformed by it. That does not happen if we touched the jewels or the gold. How can we ever be reverent enough?
Kathy
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