A promising, young
religion major was thrilled to find the following question on her final exam in
sacramental theology: “Please explain the real presence of Jesus Christ in the
Eucharistic.” Most theologians cower in the face of such a challenging question,
but not our religion major. Assured of
an A, she dove right in with this pithy response: “Jesus
is as present in the Eucharist as the pews are in the church and the candles on
the altar.” She failed the final exam. Our religion major neglected to mention the one thing we need to understand the real
presence and everything else we
believe as Christians – a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. She might have gotten that A if she had paid
attention to today’s readings.
Today’s
third installment in the trilogy of readings that lead our Elect to sacramental
initiation speak to us about life in Christ. Our first reading summarizes Ezekiel’s
prophetic mission to the exiles: “He preaches the word of God to bring new life
to a dead Israel.”[1] In our Gospel, Jesus proclaims that he is the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in him will live, even if he dies; and whoever lives and
believes in him will never die. That’s
why Saint Paul tells us in our second reading that the Spirit of Christ
dwelling in us gives eternal life to our mortal bodies. Christ dwells within us, and we receive that
gift of eternal life when we enter into a personal relationship with Jesus.
Pope Francis tells
us that “[b]eing a Christian means having a living relationship with the person
of Jesus; it means putting on Christ, being conformed to him.”[2] Understanding Jesus’ presence in our lives,
hearing his word, following his teachings, and everything it means to be a
Christian all depend upon having a personal relationship with him.
So what do we mean by a personal
relationship? Well, let’s return for a
moment to our young religion major’s misguided explanation of Christ’s real
presence in the Eucharist. Pews in the
church and candles on the altar are present, but they’re not really present. “The
only real presence is interpersonal
presence, the presence between two persons actively [engaging].”[3] That’s
a personal relationship. Think of it
this way, if I were to show up at your house this afternoon and ask you to
describe one person sitting near you at Mass who didn’t come with you, would
you pass the test? For some of us, they
might as well be a candle or a pew. One
of the reasons we have the greeting before Mass and the sign of peace is to
foster personal relationships – to take a moment to look each other in the eye,
to speak to each other, to exchange a smile. Those simple gestures are at least the
beginnings of a personal relationship, the kind of relationship we need to have
with Jesus. Why? Because eternal life is relational. “Man did not acquire it from himself or for
himself alone. Through relationship with
the one who is himself life, man too comes alive.”[4] Freed from the fear of death, our lives our
transfigured – we find joy in serving others; we trust that God will provide
all that we need; and we face illness, pain, and death with resolute courage. A life lived in personal relationship with
Jesus “is clad with a new loveliness, a new charm, a new strength.”[5]
Hopefully by now
you’re saying, “Sign me up for a personal relationship with Jesus!” The problem is I can’t. You have to. A personal relationship with Jesus is just
that – personal. Jesus’ revelation to
Martha calls for a personal response:
“Do you believe this?” Martha aced that test because she knew Jesus, she spent time with him, and
she listened to him. Only you can answer
that question for yourself, because only you can commit yourself to developing
a personal relationship with Jesus. I
can’t do it for you, but Martha’s good example is a great place to start.
First, get to know Jesus better. Read Scripture, attend Bible Study classes,
ask questions of your clergy, read books.
God’s Word became flesh so that we could know him and, through him, know
the Father. Let’s make the effort to get
to know him better. Second, spend a
little time with Jesus. Actively
participate in liturgy, sit quietly with him before the Blessed Sacrament, accompany
him on the Way of the Cross, pray. The
disciples developed intimate, personal relationships with Jesus by spending
time with him. Let’s set aside a part of
each day to spend a little time with Jesus.
Third, listen to Jesus. Offer
your cloak, live like a child, show compassion, forgive. We come to know Jesus best when we conform
our lives to his. Like Martha, let’s acknowledge
that Jesus is the Son of God and listen to him.
Being a Christian is the work of a lifetime. “Whether we are about to
receive the sacraments of initiation in two weeks’ time, or have lived many
years as Catholics, we must struggle continually to deepen our faith in Christ”[6] and develop a personal relationship with him.
Our Elect and candidates have been working really hard for the past
seven months to prepare themselves to receive the sacraments on Easter. You’re almost there. You’ve endured Deacon Mark’s boring lectures,
you’ve experienced Ed’s lofty spiritual exercises, and you’re probably still
trying to figure out what I was talking about in my presentation on God. Now, I understand that you’ll be taking your
final exam in class this morning. Deacon
Mark didn’t tell you? Well, then let me
offer you a little help. There’ s only
one answer to every question on the test because none of the doctrines, dogmas,
rites, and rubrics that you’ve learned mean a thing without it. That answer is a personal relationship with
Jesus.
[1]
Lawrence Boadt, “Ezekiel,” The New Jerome
Biblical Commentary, Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, Roland E.
Murphy, eds. (Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 1990), 325.
[2]
Pope Francis, Homily of the Holy Father,
October 4, 2013.
[3]
Michael G. Lawler, Symbol and Sacrament:
A Contemporary Sacramental Theology (New York: Paulist Press, 1987), 145.
[4]
Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth –
Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection (San
Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2011), 84.
[5]
William Barclay, The Gospel of John,
vol. 2 (Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, 2001), 110.
[6]
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Homiletic Directory (Washington, DC:
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2014), 39.
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