Corpus Christi Sermon 2023
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Corpus Christi is the day when we think about the Eucharist, and for the preacher it is the day they have to try and explain what is going on with bread and wine turning into body and blood.
Now I did consider taking the easy way out and saying it's a holy mystery that we can never understand, amen, and sitting down.
Whilst some of you might have preferred, that I was recently reminded that only around twenty percent of our communication is done using words. So I decided to take a look at what the actions in the Mass communicate about what we believe.
Firstly we have a rather long introduction of prayers, readings and hymns. This helps get us in the right frame of mind to engage with something holy, it gets us focused on God.
The prayer of confession and the absolution are key. It is saying that what is coming up is something holy and we need to be cleansed of our sin before we can receive it.
The peace is also important in expressing that we are at peace with our neighbour.
In Matthew's gospel Jesus says that if you bring a sacrifice to the altar and remember that you have fallen out with someone, go and be reconciled with that person first.
What we are doing at the altar is such a holy act that we need to be in a state of holiness, reconciled with God and each other. Sharing the peace reminds us of this.
Then the action, moves from the body of the church to the altar. The altar is traditionally seen as the most holy place in the church. Many of the first altars were the tombs of the martyred saints.
Whilst the body of the church may be used for secular activities such as fairs, markets, concerts etc the altar is kept only for the most holy of activities.
So the movement of action from the body of the church to the altar is a way of saying get ready, we're getting to the really important bit now.
When the bread and wine, the gifts of the people, are brought to the altar from the back of church they are escorted by the candle bearers with lighted candles.
Now, back in the day, there may have been a practical reason for this, So people could see where they were walking. However it also shows that these gifts are something important, something to be honoured.
Once the bread and wine are on the altar, they are censed with the incense, as they are about to be transformed from everyday bread and wine into the most holy sacrament of the body and blood.
The people are also censed as we will also become changed and become holy through receiving the sacrament.
In the eucharistic prayer we remember God's saving actions and give thanks for them. There are two parts of the eucharistic prayer that are especially significant. These are indicated by the ringing of the bell to make sure we are all paying attention.
These are, firstly, at the epiclesis where the Holy spirit is called down upon the gifts of the people.
The second time is at the words of institution, when the priest elevates the bread and the chalice for all to see.
This is also the point at which the priest will genuflect, indicating that bread and wine is now transformed into the body and blood of Christ. Extra censing is also done which indicates that this is now something special and holy.
When we come to receive communion we kneel, if able to, to show our acknowledgement that this is something special.
Tonight because we are especially celebrating the sacrament we will go further in our adoration.
After receiving communion the sacrament will be processed around the church before being placed back on the altar and acting as a focus for a time of prayer.
This procession can sometimes take place outside where it can also act as a way of witnessing about our faith to the wider community.
The procession of the sacrament allows us to show our respect and adoration for God, and our belief that he is in some way truly present in the sacrament.
The short service of benediction that follows allows us to worship God and shows that we believe him to be really present in the sacrament, in a way that is different to how we sense his presence in our normal daily lives.
So whilst expressing what the real presence in the sacrament means in words can be quite hard, our worship helps us to express our belief in the real presence through our actions.
Expressing our faith in this way can also be an important way of communicating with those who may not have the ability, for whatever reason, to understand the spoken word.
Through the actions of our bodies, the use of movement, bells and incense to highlight important moments, all can gain some understanding of complex parts of our faith.
Amen
