Third Sunday of Easter

The Eucharist is the meaning of the cross.

As Catholics we tend to think of our spirituality being grounded in the cross of Christ. But the cross is not the beginning of our spirituality, the resurrection is.

We identify more with the cross and experience the cross constantly in our lives.

But, it is the resurrection that reverses the defeat of the cross. Only the appearance of the Resurrected Christ, Christ living, undid the grip of grief, undid the grip of sin, un did the grip of death on all of our lives. It is only when we experienced Christ risen from the dead that we understood Jesus’ true identity. It was only when we experienced the risen Christ breaking the bread, sharing a meal with us, that we came to believe that he is the author of life as St. Peter proclaimed. So the resurrection is the beginning of Catholic spirituality. It is the beginning of our hope.

 

The Eucharist is the meaning of the cross.

When the resurrected Christ appeared to the disciples they might have been afraid thinking that they were seeing a ghost. But I can think of a few other reasons that they might have been afraid: They abandoned him when he was arrested, they had denied him when questioned, they hid out while he was crucified, they didn’t believe Mary Magdalen when see announced his resurrection. They probably were afraid of what Jesus might say or do.

But instead of being angry with them what does the author of life do? He says: Shalom - "Peace be with you." "Have you anything here to eat?" Then he explains how the cross was all part of a bigger plan foretold in the Scriptures. How he has restored life for the whole world. How the cross is all about forgiveness: He took in hatred, transformed it and now gives love. He took in sin and betrayal, transformed it and now gives reconciliation. He took in false accusation, transformed it and now gives peace. He took in death, transformed it and now gives life. This is what he meant when on the night before he died he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, gave it to them and said: "This is my body which is given for you." This is what he meant when he took the cup of wine and handed it to them saying: "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." The Eucharist is the meaning of the cross.

In the cross, Jesus embodied the Eucharist. All along, Jesus had been giving divine life to others, he continued to do so in his dying: He forgave those who crucified him, He offered salvation to the criminal who asked for it. Jesus always was Eucharist, from the time he was laid in the manger to when he was laid in the tomb. From eternity to eternity. Jesus is God’s life and he gives that life to others. Jesus knows us in our sins and loves us to the end.

St. John pleads with us to accept the forgiveness of Christ and then to embody that forgiveness in our relationships with others. Love generously as Christ loved. Engage in the life of faith.

Each time we celebrate the Eucharist, we enter into the mystery of the cross, a mystery made possible because Jesus is resurrected and has reconciled the world to him self and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins.

 

The Eucharist is the meaning of the cross.

 

Rev. Steven Dublinski