Sermon preached for Corpus Christie

John 6. 51- 58. 1 Corinthians 11. 23-26

Today we are here to celebrate the institution of the Holy communion, yet over the past couple of years the sharing of Eucharist has not always been possible, so I thought this might be a good time to reflect on how the pandemic impacted on the Eucharist and what we can take from that period of fasting.

During lockdown we had to really reflect on what worship and the Eucharist are and how we can continue to be disciples of Christ without the possibility of physically meeting. We adapted and took our services online, first worshipping at home and then going back into church and broadcasting worship from there. I know personally that fasting from the Eucharist was painful and although as a priest I could have received, I didn’t want to conduct a service unless I could be amongst a community. However, as time went on, I came to realise that I needed to preside at worship so that others may receive their ‘spiritual communion’. During this fast from the physical eucharist, we were reminded that we are nourished by much more than just the bread and wine, but also the liturgy and the music of worship. The Pandemic also gave us time to refocus on what being the body of Christ actually means.

When we share the body and blood of Christ it is more than just receiving these physical elements. We are receiving the gift of Jesus’ whole life and sacrifice on the cross, not just so that we can remember what Jesus did for us, but so we can be reminded of what Jesus does for us now. Through the eucharist we are brought together as a community, whether physically or online, and sent out into the world to do the work of Jesus Christ.

Matthew Bullimore who is the chaplain of Corpus Christie in Cambridge wrote that it is Jesus’ flesh who suffered and was raised. It is flesh with a story, flesh that acted and been acted upon. It is the flesh of Jesus in the sense that it is his whole life. We are transformed into the body of Christ by receiving Jesus’ whole life, its whole shape, and the grace to exercise his way of life.

The language used in our gospel reading from John is quite shocking and would have been confusing for his followers. Yet it makes us stand up and understand the sacrifice that Jesus made and the gift that he wants to give. He is gifting every part of his whole life to all of us.

Although today we are able to receive the physical bread and wine, we need to hold on to the fact that there is more to the Eucharist than just receiving this gift. We need to use this gift to be active in the world and share the love of God. Our new ways of sharing worship have created new worshipping communities and enabled us to think more deeply what it is to be the body of Christ in the world. As we prepare to receive the physical bread and wine of communion, let us remember that this gift of the life of Jesus needs to be shared.

Amen