New to the Red Cloud Indian School, I told the high school boys that it was time for dinner. One of them said: “We already had dinner. We’re going to supper.” That’s when I learned that some people only know the word “dinner” as applicable to the noon meal. They’d refer to the evening meal as ”supper.” My use of the word “dinner” for the evening meal was foreign to their experience. Raised in Detroit, I knew the word “supper” was used by some people, but my family simply used the well-worn terms of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, the Lakota holy-man, Black Elk, said that his people traditionally did not eat in the middle of the day. They ate only in the morning and evening when he grew up on the plains in the 1800s.
Dining habits come to mind because this weekend is “Corpus Christi Sunday.” “Body of Christ” Sunday calls us once again to reflect on the gift we have in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Readings for Mass address this special sacrament that we honor on Holy Thursday each year. So let’s first get a handle on dining customs within Israelite culture at the time of Jesus.
Because Matthew, Mark, and Luke share perspectives on many of the same incidents in the life of Jesus, their gospels are called the “synoptic gospels”—a way of noting that they share much in common with one another. Each, for example, speak of “the Last Supper” as a “Passover” meal (which Jewish people still practice when Christians are celebrating “Holy Week” services. Interestingly, John does NOT refer to the Last Supper as a Passover meal but as one that took place the day before Passover.
Debate has not settled when, exactly, the “First Supper” of the Eucharist took place. Some scholars say that our gospel account is simply asserting that the sacrament came into being at SOME unknown date that was GROUNDED in the theology of the Passover and Eucharist. The Synoptics are at odds with John—but their theological POINT is more important than on what actual date something occurred. That point is the Eucharist flowing out of Israelites tradition reported in the Hebrew scriptures. Jesus is the new Passover lamb.
In this week’s gospel, Mark rightly notes that 2 of the disciples went and prepared the Passover meal. Contemporary readers of this passage assume that nothing of note is being reported in what Mark says about meal preparation. However, there IS a technical point being made. Namely, when feast days were being celebrated, it was men who prepared the meal. In everyday life, it was an older woman/widow who would prepare the evening meal for men and boys (12 and over). They would eat first—followed later by women and girls. Mark’s report thus corresponds with the customs of the day. What appears to be a minor observation (that men prepared the meal) actually affirms the accuracy of Mark’s account.
A term sometimes used by anthropologists to refer to households is “commensal unit.” It refers to the group of people who eat meals together each day. Such a group shares common values and is bonded by ties of blood, labor, religion, friendship, etc. The departure of Judas is his self-imposed excommunication from the group.
The first reading reported how Moses came down from the mountain and brought with him the Torah—the teaching that God revealed to him. The people were told that God’s word in the Torah should be how they, as a people, should live their lives. And as done throughout the Bible (and in other cultural traditions) an animal (i.e., a lamb) was slain as an offering. Keep in mind that the ritual shedding of blood was the people’s way of symbolizing their own self-sacrifice—as death is the most solemn testimony to one’s commitment. The people said they would commit themselves to these teachings, and when Moses sprinkled blood on the people, this represented their union with the slain lamb—which they then consumed. Slaughter of animals in the Temple or elsewhere was a re-enactment of their pledge of faith. Each year at Passover, the historical event of being liberated from Egypt was commemorated, and this MADE PRESENT that saving action once again.
Cultures have what are known as “remembrance ceremonies” in which events of the past are “made present” through the ritual re-enactment of what took place. Christians sprinkle with holy water in remembrance of the Israelites committing themselves to observing what the Torah taught, and when Jesus gave bread and wine as his body and blood at a meal with his disciples—becoming the new “lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” The ritual slaughter has been replaced by bread which likewise replaces the “manna” in the Israelite desert And the sprinkled blood can at any time be replaced by the sprinkling of water that reminds Christians of their baptism and THEIR willingness to observe the NEW Torah that the gospels teach.
And what DOES the gospel Torah teach? Summarized, we can think of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. When we come to communion expressing our need for the nourishment of the new lamb and new manna—we ask God to inspire us to incarnate these works of mercy: To feed the hungry, To give water to the thirsty, To clothe the naked, To shelter the homeless., To visit the sick, To visit the imprisoned, To bury the dead, To instruct the ignorant, To counsel the doubtful, To admonish the sinners, To be patient with those who wrong us, To forgive offenses, To comfort the afflicted, To afflict the comfortable, To pray for the living and the dead.
All of these works of mercy are either explicitly or implicitly stated in the gospels, e.g., Matthew 25. They don’t exhaust biblical teachings, but they are a good starting point for prayerful reflection. Moreover, avoid the temptation to think simply that these “works” call us to “be a nice person.” They extend into our socio-political life and so, often enough, make Christians unwelcome. For example, to give someone a drink of water is a kind act. However, what do you do when a corporation dumps poisonous chemicals into lakes, streams, rivers, and oceans? Eventually, you’ll have no clean water to offer anyone.
The works of mercy, if practiced, can bring one into conflict with forces that are profiting in some way from the plight of people. One’s Christian identity calls us to resist those forces. For example, diabetics in other countries were able to acquire insulin while the richest country in the world made insulin hard to get for those who couldn’t afford it. Pharmaceutical companies influence politicians, so there’s little political will to bring down the prices of medication. Thankfully, the price of insulin is now manageable due to pressure from the White House. Meanwhile, a medication that people can get in England for 35 dollars is available to me for 1000 dollars. Arguments are made to explain why American prices are “legitimately” high—but those arguments boil down to massive amounts of wealth controlling the issues—at the expense of YOU and millions of others.
“The United States experiences the worst health outcomes overall of any high-income nation. Americans are more likely to die younger, and from avoidable causes, than residents of peer countries.” In light of this World Health Organization FACT, you can see why the works of mercy are sure needed right here in our home country. They will be resisted by forces that seek to continue acquiring vast wealth at your expense. One’s religious practice has “real-world” consequences.
Last week, our presence at Mass was compared to seeking shelter from the shrapnel of life that comes flying at us from all directions. Our presence in this sacred foxhole allows us time to reflect and see how our life role can bring peace to the battlefield to which we’ll return. Our presence back into the fray is needed. As St. Ignatius said, we are called to serve the Lord, to fight and not heed the wounds, to labor and not seek for rest, to toil and not ask for any reward except we know we’re doing God’s will.