John 6:51-58
Lead in: In everything he did for us, Jesus gave it his all, including on the cross when he gave his very body and blood. All of this out of love for us. In partaking of Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist, we are invited to do the same. As Christ gave his very body and blood for us, so in the Eucharist we are now invited to give to God the very “body and blood” of everything we have.
Prompt: If the reception of Holy Communion is the invitation to give God the very “body and blood” of everything we have, what stirs in you as you hear this?
Lead in: I’ve heard it suggested if we partake of the Eucharist with no intention of giving God our all, then going to Mass risks becoming a formality. With no real meaning for us, nothing changes within us. Mass is simply a formality we do out of habit or obligation.
Prompt: What is your experience? What can you do so that the Eucharist does not slip into a meaningless formality done simply out of habit or obligation?
Lead in: “Amen, amen, I say to you. Unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” (John 6) In Biblical thought, the word “blood” signifies both death and life. Understood this way, our partaking in the Eucharistic food of Christ’s body and blood is our way of saying that we’re willing to die with Christ. Paradoxically, the more we die with Christ, the more that Christ’s life within us comes alive.
Prompt: If partaking of Christ’s body and blood calls us to die with Christ, what dying to self are you being called to do this week?
Prompt: Reflect on a time when the Eucharist took on new meaning for you.
Lead in: At the consecration, the priest repeats the words of Jesus saying, “Take and eat, this is my body,” and “Take and drink, this is my blood given up for you.” Christ has poured out his blood for us. Yet, we receive Christ’s body and blood not just for ourselves. What Jesus has done for us, we are to now do for others. We receive Jesus to be Jesus for others. Eucharist then, is the invitation to let our bodies be broken and our blood poured out for others. We do this not literally, unless called for, but in our willingness to die to self so we can be for others.
Prompt: Understood this way, we could say that it takes courage to receive Holy Communion. Why is that?
Prompt: What does “dying to self” mean to you?
