This weekend marks the fourth stop in our reflection on the “Bread of Life Discourse” of John’s gospel. So far, we have pondered the themes of food, faith, and forgiveness in relation to the Eucharist. Today’s point for meditation comes to us, not from scripture like the other three, but from Pope-Emeritus Benedict. In his homily to young people attending the 2005 World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany, he said the Eucharist is “like inducing nuclear fission in the very heart of being—the victory of love over hatred, the victory of love over death. Only this intimate explosion of good conquering evil can then trigger off the series of transformations that little by little will change the world.” Let’s spend some time this morning on this theme of nuclear fission as we enter the fourth dimension of the Eucharist.
In high school science most of us probably learned something about nuclear fission. Science wasn’t one of my strengths and I apologize to all you physicists out there. Nuclear fission involves unleashing energy inside matter which then multiplies and increases energy. Since this process involves some of the building blocks of matter, —-things like neutrons and protons, the effects can be enormous. The element uranium is the natural engine of fission and it can do incredible things, even in small amounts. For example, one kilogram of uranium, which equals 2.2 pounds, can produce as much energy as 3.3 million pounds of coal! One pound of highly enriched uranium, like that used to power a nuclear submarine is equivalent to 1 million gallons of gasoline.
What looks like a humble rock has enormous power inside. Just so, says Pope Benedict, Jesus' death "on the outside is simply brutal violence - the crucifixion - from within, it becomes an act of total self-giving love." Jesus renews that self-giving in the Eucharist and is literally a dynamo of grace and love and mercy. When the priest lifts up the host and says, this is my Body given for you - and the chalice, this is my blood poured out for you - Jesus draws us into his self-offering. By his cross he takes us to the Father through the Holy Spirit. You might protest: But I am a sinner. I am terribly distracted. There is so much I don’t understand! So were the disciples at the Last Supper. They even started falling asleep! Jesus takes us to the Father despite our sins.
Those failings afflict us, but you know Jesus still wants to take us to His Father. The forgiveness - the acceptance - we experience in the Eucharist can remake us. The Eucharist is the great sacrament of forgiveness. Think about this: If God put so much potential energy and power in uranium, how much more potential has he put in you? Several pounds of this rock can give light and warmth to an entire city. Consider what God can do with you.
As technology advances and we explore more of the universe, it becomes increasingly clear that God has done amazing things in our world. Just think of the incredible images we have received from the spacecraft near Pluto and the probe on Mars. But we have something even more amazing within ourselves. The American physicist, Dr. Michio Kaku, said, "Sitting on your shoulders is the most complicated object in the known universe." God has put enormous potential power in us: the nuclear dynamo which is our body, mind, and most especially, our soul. To unleash that energy, God wants to refine us with something even greater - the Body of Christ. Jesus tells us today that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood to have eternal life. It only makes sense when you think about the fact that you and I are composite beings, made of matter and spirit. Jesus, who is perfect God and perfect man, did not take up a human body, then discard it. No, he redeemed and perfected it when he rose, body and soul, from the dead. He gives us his body so we might have eternal life.
I want to offer one last thought on the topic of nuclear fission. It is something that has incredible potential for good so long as it is carefully used and applied in the right circumstances. However, if misused, there can be terrible consequences. I am thinking specifically of the atomic bombs that were dropped 70 years ago on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed some 200,000 people. More recently, the Cold War comes to mind and currently, there is much concern about what will happen if Iran enriches enough uranium to make a nuclear device. How sad that something with so much potential for good has also been used to hurt so many!
In a very similar way, the Eucharist must be respected, cared for, and never taken for granted. Because the Eucharist is God himself, it has great power; power for good if used correctly, another type of power is misused. In fact, St. Paul warns Christians in 1 Corinthians 11 that anyone who receives the Eucharist unworthily, which is to say, mindlessly or in the state of mortal sin, eats and drinks condemnation on themselves. We should be on guard against becoming too casual in receiving Communion and taking it for granted. For example, how many Catholics now refer to Holy Communion now as simply bread and wine? We need to look deeper and be mindful of what God is sharing with us. Remember what Pope Benedict says: “the Eucharist is like inducing nuclear fission in the very heart of being.” What an incredible opportunity that is for spiritual power, warmth, and light to radiate out of our soul!
May the life and love of God, the same life and love that created the universe out of nothing and redeemed a world full of sinners, may that life and love be placed in your hearts today at this altar and enable you to help good conquer evil!
