Can you imagine Jesus in all of His glory, coming down to us during mass? Shining with light and trumpets blaring in this massive and impressive moment. What would we do? Probably run. Or hide under the pews. This is our Lord coming to us, wanting to be with us, His beauty and glory is unfathomable. And we would probably faint at the sight. We probably couldn’t handle the perfection that is in front of us. We would probably hide and be too shocked to even worship.
But that’s not how Jesus approaches us. He comes to us every day in the mass and He isn’t coming down with trumpets (at least that our human ears can hear) and He isn’t coming down as this massive giant. He wants us more than we can even fathom. He wants us to come to him. So what does Jesus do?
Jesus hides His majesty, humbling Himself in such a small way. In a piece of bread.
Let’s look at the Eucharist. As Catholics, we believe that the bread and wine at mass truly is the holy, sacred body and blood of Jesus Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that “The Eucharist is ‘the source and summit of the Christian life’”(CCC 1324). Diving deeper, THE GOD OF THE UNIVERSE chooses to come in the simple form of bread. He hides his glory, so that we don’t have to hide; so that we can actually physically come to Him and make it all the way to His presence (without fainting).
Jesus, in His simplistic beauty, asks us to be simple with Him.
The Jesus that we receive in front of the altar, in His simplistic beauty, asks us to be simple with Him. The moment that He is held above you, and the words “The Body of Christ” are uttered, Jesus is giving us His Sacred Heart. He comes in the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Love, so people lovingly receive him.
But do we see this when we go up for Communion every Sunday? Do we see Christ’s Sacred Heart, His humbling being, offered to us? A Sacred Heart that longs for the ones He died for to love Him in return. He gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit to not only dwell in our hearts every day of our lives, but also the opportunity to let Him actually dwell in our bodies; to consume, with great joy and thanksgiving, His love and sacrifice.
So let’s look at this sacrifice for what it truly is. During the Liturgy of the Eucharist we all say “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.” Jesus, willingly choosing to obey the perfect Will of the Father, takes on the responsibility of being the gentle and humble lamb that was killed. Because we choose the world over Him over and over, Jesus chooses the death for us- the death that sin brings to our souls. Christ knows that we need Him and that we are lifeless without Him. He chooses to forgive over and over and that’s why we choose to love him in return. That’s why we need to receive Him with thanksgiving. It’s not a given right to be able to walk up to the front of the church and receive the King of Kings. It’s a gift. We are made to humble ourselves as Christ humbles Himself.
“We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us… and there is no fear in love, for perfect love drives out fear…We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:16, 18, 19