So this is Corpus Christi, the day we focus on the miraculous gift of the Eucharist.
Familiar though it is, it remains a miracle because it goes beyond the borders of nature and gives witness to Jesus' divinity.
I see our weekly Eucharistic liturgies as celebrating the hidden, sustaining presence of God in the midst of the most common elements of our lives.
I like to feel that the hurts, the fears, the shame of our lives are all fused into one and then held and embraced by all of us.
I like to think that although some arrive here alone, they are not alone for long and that, as we speak the familiar words of prayer and response, we draw closer together as he prayed we would.
If only we knew how unconditionally he loves us, how cherished we are, how safe we are.
So safe that we are encouraged to be happy that our cares are in good hands and that our blessings are without number.
As community we look upon the elevated sacred host which is his body given up for us and upon the chalice of his blood shed for us, we are as close to him as were his apostles in that upper room on the day before he died.
They say that "seeing is believing" ...but Jesus wants much more than to be seen and that is why, under the cover of bread, he feeds our spirit with his own essence. And so we are enabled to return to our places, one with our Saviour, and through our common union with him, one with each other.
This is not a play. This is as real as is anything in our lives. This is when and where redemption happens. This is where our need for healing is met. This where He literally touches us.
That is why God became a baby. That is why that baby grew up to become our Eucharistic Lord.
