Taken, Blessed, Broken, Given

Living a Eucharistic Life

And Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Luke 22:19

Taken, Blessed, Broken, Given

There are subtle differences of perspective in the familiar passages in which Jesus feeds the 5000 (found in Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, and John 6) and then the 4000 (Matthew 15 and Mark 8). In each Synoptic Gospel variations of the same four verbs are used in the identical order: Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it.

A Hard Saying

The day following the feeding of the 5000 (John 6:22), Jesus makes clear in the Bread of Life Discourse (vs. 26-58) that the miraculous multiplication of loaves foreshadows a greater truth: “The bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh…. He who eats this bread will live forever” (51b, 58b). Jesus prophesies that his human body would soon be taken, blessed, broken, and given – and that in consuming his flesh we might share in his divinity. Five times Jesus tells us we must eat his flesh. Four times he insists we drink his blood, concluding by saying, “he who eats me will live because of me” (vs. 57). “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” some of his followers asked (vs. 52). “This is a hard saying. who can accept it?” (vs. 60). “After this, many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him.” (vs. 66). Then as now, the Eucharist divides otherwise sincere disciples of Jesus.

This is My Body, Given for You

The Passover meal Jesus celebrates with the Apostles on the night he will later be taken by the Jewish authorities is plainly missing a key element: the sacrifice and consumption of the unblemished lamb. Jesus of Nazareth, the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), returns to the taken, blessed, broken, given theme (once again in precise order, see Matthew 26:26, Mark 14:22, Luke 22:19) and reveals it was and is no oversight.

And Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19, emphasis added)

Jesus there institutes the Eucharist, “the source and summit of the Christian life” in which we “unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) #1324, 1326). The Eucharist “fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the Church in the glory of the kingdom” (CCC #1340). “This is my Body,” Jesus tells us, “given for you.” How should we then respond to His unmerited gift?

Life of the Beloved

In his spiritual classic Life of the Beloved (1992, Crossroad Publishing) Fr. Henri Nouwen writes, “As a Christian, I am called to be bread for the world: bread that is taken blessed, broken, and given. [These four words] summarize my life as a human being because in every moment of my life somewhere, somehow the taking, the blessing, the breaking, the giving are happening.” (pg. 48-49)

Taken

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit.

Jesus (John 15:16)

It is said that when G.K. Chesterton was asked to submit an answer to the question “What’s wrong with the world today?” he wrote back: “Dear sir, I am, G.K. Chesterton.” The problems in the world cannot be solved by stronger laws or stricter enforcement. A sermon I once heard put it this way: “The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart.” God chose you from the womb. You were made for a purpose, given a unique combination of gifts and passions, and set apart for special work. If you don’t do it, it’s quite possible no one will, and the world becomes that much more of a mess. Jesus wants to take you. Are you open to being taken? You are uniquely qualified, and through the Eucharist strengthened, to do what you were made to do – not perfectly, perhaps, but if you remain faithful, ably.

Blessed

Jesus led his disciples out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them.

Luke 24:50

Fr. Nouwen points out that that Latin term for bless is bendicere, literally, “to speak well of.” When the world says you’re not – not smart enough, or talented enough, or old enough, or fit enough, or patient enough, or whatever enough – God says you are. Which voice are you listening to? The prophet Elijah was in fear for his life. The world was telling him he was all alone, fated to be slain by the evil King Ahab and Jezebel. He awaited the voice of God in a mountain cave, where mighty winds, an earthquake, and fire surrounded him. “But the LORD was not in the wind, earthquake, [or] fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice.” (1 Kings 19:9-12). God speaks to us in the silence. Shut off the noise that surrounds you and listen for the blessing. Make time to pray at specific times each day. And after we pour out are hearts let us embrace the silence and like Samuel say, “Speak, LORD. Your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10). God will bless you in the silence.

Broken

I rejoice in my suffering for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of His body, the Church.

Colossians 1:24

In 2 Corinthians 11, the Apostle Paul lists the sufferings he had thus far endured, most in the plural: Imprisonments, beatings, stoning, shipwrecks, robbers, betrayals, hunger, thirst, cold, etc. In Colossians 1 he writes, “I rejoice in my sufferings” and says that by his suffering he is filling up what is lacking in the suffering of Christ. Is that braggadocio? What could possibly be lacking in Christ’s sacrifice? The answer should be more obvious to us than it is. MY suffering and YOUR suffering is what’s lacking. The word compassion literally means “to suffer with.” My friend Harold, who could write his own list on suffering, once wrote,

“How powerful is suffering when it is connected to love! Don’t waste your suffering! God unites our suffering to His on the Cross. The good thief suffered with Christ. Jesus was innocent, but the thief was not. Those of us who suffer need only look to our left to see Jesus suffering along with us. We need only say, “Jesus, remember me…” and listen as He assures us, “This day, you will be with me…” The bad thief wasted his suffering. Some people go through their whole life wasting their suffering and end up Hell. Their entire existence is a symphony of suffering. Which thief am I? Which thief are you?”

A not uncommon claim is that religion is a crutch. Maybe so. If I broke my leg I’d certainly appreciate the use of a crutch. I am a broken person. So are you. If it is true that each of us are uniquely gifted, it is undeniably true that each of us are uniquely broken. There is a beauty and depth to our brokenness that makes us even more qualified to be used for the good. I am proud to say that Jesus and his truths are my crutch.

Given

We often live as if our happiness depended on having. But I don’t know anyone who is really happy because of what he or she has. True joy, happiness, and peace comes from the giving of ourselves to others.

Henri Nouwen, Life of the Beloved pg. 109

Fr. Nowen writes, “It is sad to see that, in our highly competitive and greedy world, we have lost touch with the joy of giving. We often live as if our happiness depended on having. But I don’t know anyone who is really happy because of what he or she has. True joy, happiness, and peace comes from the giving of ourselves to others.” He goes on to point out that learning to truly give only comes through our brokenness.

“This is my Body,” Jesus tells us, “given for you.” How should we then respond to His unmerited gift? Knowing we have been taken, blessed, and broken, may we faithfully and humbly approach the Eucharistic Table and say in reply, “This is my body, Jesus. given for You.” Then go out into your neighborhood -with a smile, hug, handshake, word of encouragement, and your compassionate presence – and give it.