FIRST READING: Genesis 14:18-20. Melchisedec king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed Abram and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hands!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26. I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
GOSPEL: Luke 9:11-17. Jesus spoke to the crowds of the kingdom of God, and cured those who had need of healing. Now the day began to wear away; and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away, to go into the villages and country round about, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a lonely place.” But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish – unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in companies, about fifty each.” And they did so, and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And all ate and were satisfied. And they took up what was left over, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
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What in Greek began to be called ‘eucharistia’, that is thanksgiving, is a curious thing. First of all, Jesus had this intriguing idea of holding a supper which he seems to have wanted it to become in itself an emblem of his life-mission, a ‘remembrance’ of all that he had said and done. Who would have thought of such a thing? Indeed, holding meals on special occasions has always been a part of many cultures, not least the Mediterranean one. But to make this a way of recalling a presence, a mission and an ideal is not at all obvious. Secondly, why call it thanksgiving? The word is actually used fifteen times in the New Testament, none of which occur in the gospels, and none are used in connection with what we call the Eucharist. Thirdly, it is not the meal which came to be called the Eucharist, which would have been understandable, but the actual victuals of the meal.
The answer to these questions might be found in the fact that the most perfect prayer there can be is gratitude. For the most profound experience of God is through his infinite providence. Jesus’ whole life-mission might be said to have been essentially a revelation and a restoration of man’s gratitude towards God. This gratitude is expressed in generosity. The Jews’ comparison of Jesus to Melchisedec in certain respects highlights Jesus’ difference from him. Melchisedec demands a tenth of what Abraham possessed. Jesus demands nothing in return. Mirroring God’s providence, Jesus’ generosity is likewise unlimited, and asks for nothing back from us; he only gives and gives, including his same life.
Paul insists that we remember this always, especially by accepting Jesus’ invitation to unite ourselves with his big Thank You to the Father’s open-handedness and big-heartedness.
Luke depicts such generosity by Jesus’ act of munificence against the apostles’ meanness. Like Jesus, we thank God by being generous in all we possess.
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