Take It June 18

Piety

God, creator and source of all, tell us what you need us to do. Let us take the Body of Christ and pass it on to the wilderness poor. Help us pick up your cup and cross in discipleship. Holy Spirit, help us never to betray our mission or deny your being. Give us the gifts needed to do everything that the Lord has told us. Amen.

Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/061806.shtml

“We will do everything that the LORD has told us.” Exodus 24:3

“How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.” Hebrews 9:14

“While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is my body.’” Mark 14:22

How do we receive the promised eternal inheritance?

Discipleship. Doing what Christ commands. Today’s readings unite past, present and future. Passover, Passion and Salvation. However, rather than focusing on the words of the institution of the Eucharist, Exodus and Mark’s narrative recall Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand when he broke bread for the many. Jesus body will soon be broken like the bread is broken and shared. In addition, the cup of salvation refers back to sermons Jesus made to James and John (among others) of the cup and the cross. “Can you drink the cup that Jesus drinks?”

Jesus wants us to have his body and spirit dwelling within us. He tells us to “Take it.” Jesus tells us that his blood is shed for many – to forgive our sins and to give us eternal life. Take it…and do something with it, with Him.

Action

Take up the cup
Call upon the name
Be His servant
Offer sacrifice of thanksgiving
My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of His people

Eucharist is not just about the paschal mystery of God dwelling in us and sharing his eternal inheritance with us. It also is about what we do about Eucharist. The disciples in Mark’s Gospel don’t yet understand what is happening. We know the end of the story from 2000 years ago. But can we write a new ending today? We can when we “cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God” by putting our faith in action – by drinking from the cup of eternal salvation.