CORPUS CHRISTI SUNDAY 2015
June 7, 2015
MK 14:12-16, 22-26

It isn’t an easy task to give a meaningful explanation of what we Catholic Christians celebrate today…The Feast of The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. It is especially hard to offer an explanation to non-believers.

However, Michelangelo’s depiction of the “Peace of Christ” on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is a very familiar and original image of the creative power that brought life into Adam by “The Finger of God.” Obviously, that is not how the Creation Story is reported in the Old Testament. Nevertheless, the expression “Finger of God” is, in fact, used in the Old Testament in several places. Even Jesus used it as a way of describing the transmission of Divine power.

“The Finger of God” touched the shoulder of a young woman, and Divine Power, Life and Spirit was transmitted and received. Then, nine months later, The Word of God took Flesh and Blood and came to dwell among us. Jesus, the Eternal Word, The Son of God, was like us in all things…with this distinguishing characteristic: The Lord was completely free of sin. Other than that, Jesus was fully human.

At the Jordan River, The Finger of God reached through the heavens and pointed at Jesus, acknowledging Him as The Son of God, in whom God was well pleased. Call it a sacred mystery…but when The Finger of God touched the waters of the Jordan River, all Baptismal water was sanctified and made holy…filled with Divine power…Spirit filled….and able to call people to new life.

Over and above this gesture of introduction was the Divine command that we “Listen to Him!” And people did…and were amazed at the authority with which He taught. They were also amazed that His touch could do what clearly only The Finger of God had the power to do…heal, forgive, calm storms, feed the hungry, and return life to the lifeless.

When His mission and ministry in this world was complete, at the Lord’s Supper, when Jesus took bread into His hands and reached for a cup of wine, it was “The Finger of God” that touched this ordinary bread and wine…and transferred into them the Divine Power, Life and Spirit. Those privileged to be part of that Sacred Banquet listened to Jesus and heard Him say…This IS my Body and This IS my blood…DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME!

When we bring forward the gifts and place them on the Altar, and do as Jesus told us to do, once again, The Finger of God reaches into time from Eternity…and transmits the Divine Power, Life and Spirit into them, returning them for us to consume so that we might become what we eat!

Think of it this way: When we are touched by The Finger of God, we become The Body and Blood of Christ. The more we participate in the Sacramental Life of our Church, the closer we resemble Jesus. So then, in a very real way, this Feast of Corpus Christi…The Body and Blood of Christ…is about us! It is about our Church. We are The Body and Blood of Christ. So reach out today and touch somebody who needs healing, forgiveness, and life. You have the power…use it!