A Mysterious Encounter

A Reflection on the First Reading for June 23rd, 2019:
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Genesis 14.18-20
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In those days: After Abram’s return King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. 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 hand!” And Abram gave him one tenth of everything.

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This is a mysterious encounter. In scripture, the chronicles of Abraham are lengthy, but this encounter with Melchizedek is merely a blip in the collective storyline. I could liken this story to my experience of the Eucharist at times—a mere blip. If I’m not vigilant in my prayer life, run down, or tired, receiving the most Holy Body and Blood of Christ can become a minor interruption amidst all the major life events going on around me. I can forget its significance—the gift that it is. This week, though, amidst uncertainty and emotional strain, I became keenly aware of the gift of this offering.

Like Abram, my life is a series of battles. Generally speaking, these battles involve the good wrestling with the evil. Sometimes the evil is present as an external oppression. Other times, the evil is an interior struggle—a self-perpetuated angst. The good news is that the good, should I choose to accept it, is true, consistent, and salvational. The good is the presence of Christ. The key here is, I must choose to accept the good.

"The good news is that the good, should I choose to accept it, is true, consistent, and salvational."

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Let’s imagine the center of our being as a vacant circle, vulnerable to an infilling of whatever we pour into it. When we pour in things that are hard and dark—fear, insecurity, anger, judgement (you get the idea)—our circle is heavy and impenetrable. But when we pour in that which is soft and light—love, forgiveness, charity, compassion—our circle can absorb the life that is meant to consume it. And this life triumphs over all the enemies, exteriorly and interiorly, in our day-to-day. Just as the blessing from a righteous priest-king was poured over bread and wine and offered in thanksgiving and celebration of Abram, so is Christ in the Eucharistic Prayer, poured into bread and wine and offered to us in an eternal celebration over all our enemies.

It is a mysterious encounter, the most Holy Body and Blood of Christ truly present in a simple meal of bread and wine, but it is an encounter that has changed the course of my life, and continues to do so each time I choose to accept it. As I walked into the church this past weekend, I did so feeling empty and alone. But the vacancy within caused by my hunger for love and communion, afforded a room for Him to dwell, and as I consumed Him, He consumed me. It then became clear, again for the first time, that every battle I fight has already been won.

Lori MacDonald

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