Fr Kevin Kilgore

If you only had one week to live, what would you do?

And how would you want to be remembered?

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These are questions that Jesus himself had to wrestle with. He knew his death was coming. But instead of fleeing in fear or changing course, he embraced it head on, making the appropriate preparations.

He spent the final week of his life specifically teaching his disciples to remember him as one who had the power to perform miracles.

On his way to Jerusalem, for example, Jesus hears about the death of his friend, Lazarus, and so travels to the cave where he’s buried.

But instead of going inside, praying over him, or touching him in any way, Jesus simply stands at the entrance of the tomb, commanding him, “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43).

Suddenly, the darkness breaks…

A figure wrapped in white bandages wiggles his way to the entrance of the tomb. It’s Lazarus… And he’s alive!

Jesus intentionally performs this miracle a week before his death to remind his disciples that he has the power to do what he says. 

When he speaks… it happens.

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Today we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi, the truth that Jesus offers his Body and Blood to us under the appearance of bread and wine.

As the Gospel tells us, he took bread and wine and said to them, “This is my body… this is my blood.” (Mark 14:22-24). They ate it and drank it.

Though the disciples must have thought this was strange at the time, they took Jesus at his word. Remember Lazarus. Jesus spoke… it happened.

Still, how many of us are wondering, is it really Jesus?

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Consider it this way. Most, if not all of us, have been to Dunkin’ Donuts. You know the smell. The air is almost damp, soaked in the smell of fresh coffee brewing and bacon searing on the griddle.

And then there’s the donuts.

We’ve all been tempted to order a dozen Boston Creme’s and scarf them down like nobody’s watching.

But if we do, there will be consequences. Those donuts don’t simply disappear; something of them remains in us. The scale tells us so!

In a similar way, there are consequences to consuming the Eucharist. Something of Jesus remains in us, much like a Boston Creme donut.

The only difference is, we don’t gain weight from consuming his Body and Blood… we gain eternal life. As Jesus tells us clearly, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” (John 6:54).

And so for 100,000 Sundays, that last miracle of Jesus has been repeated through the hands of a priest.

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So if you had only one week to live, what would you do?

I’d simply ask for the Eucharist.

***

“Donut” doubt the resurrection, my friends. “Donut” doubt.

It happened to Jesus… and it will happen to us. The Eucharist is the source of that promise. Thanks be to God!

This is the only encounter in the Gospels between two women… and they’re both carrying secrets.

Both Mary and Elizabeth are holding onto the most intimate secret a woman can physically experience – being pregnant. And why either of them is pregnant is strange, almost unbelievable.

Mary conceived by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit and Elizabeth in her old age.

So instead of celebrating, throwing huge baby showers surrounded by their family and friends, they must celebrate together… quietly, unnoticed by the outside world.

They might not have much … but they have one another. And that’s what counts in the end. In fact, we see just how strong and nourishing their relationship was, as Mary stays with Elizabeth for three full months.

***

This encounter between them reminds all of us just how much we need other people – we need friends who bring out the best in us, who encourage us, who nourish our hearts with love, who affirm us in our faith.

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How am I a friend for others? How do I nourish other people with love, much like Elizabeth did for Mary?

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Remember, doing so always comes at a cost.

Elizabeth let Mary stay with her for as long as she needed. She offered Mary the comfort of her home, her food, and above all, her heart.

And that’s what we must all do as Christians – love and support one another as friends, no matter what the cost may be.

Let’s travel together back to the summer of 1987. The Cold War was reaching its climax. Would the world end in a nuclear war?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Do you remember, in particular, the bold speech of President Ronald Regan, who sternly pointed his finger at the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, commanding him to, “Tear down this wall!”

That is, the Berlin Wall, which divided East and West Germany.

(Yes, I was alive in 1987. I might have only been an infant, but I was alive!)

Reagan’s famous quote, “Tear down this wall!”, reminded the world just how much walls divide us. Peace would only be possible without forced separation. After all, walls are meant to divide; it’s their purpose,  to keep people out.

Think about how often walls are still used to separate nations, communities, families, and friends…

Now I’m not seeking to enter into a political discussion — I’ll let the news shows do that. But what I am suggesting is that our ability as people to erect physical walls points to a deeper tendency within all of us.

We’re all guilty of putting up emotional walls, barriers in our minds and hearts meant to prevent people from hurting us, to keep them out. Such walls can be subtle, or even quite pronounced.

They can be found in marriages, families, friendships, and in our relationship with God. Wherever two people exist, there is the potential for a wall.

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Think about some of the more painful experiences we’ve had in life. Some of us may have been bullied or experienced the sting of prejudice. Others may have lost a loved one, suffered a broken heart, or the pain of divorce.

These experiences wound us. They hurt! And often we put walls up to protect ourselves from being hurt again.

We can even erect little, temporary walls. How many of us have given someone the “silent treatment” or held a grudge? These, too, are meant to create distance, to keep people out.

And while protective, walls come at a cost.

They impede us from entering into nurturing relationships. Even psychologists admit we are relational beings; we are happiest when we feel accepted and affirmed, part of a broader community.

***

What are the walls that I’ve put up? How do I block people out?

And, more importantly, am I willing to tear these walls down, one by one?

The more we do that, the happier we will be. Just look at God.

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The Gospel tells us that God is three distinct Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But they love one another so intensely that they are inseparable. They are one.

Thus, in God there are no walls. 

God is perfect, unconditional love.

That is key for us. If God loves without any walls, then we should try to do the same.

***

Imagine your home without arguments. Imagine a marriage where compliments are commonplace. Imagine watching children share their clothes and toys, not worrying about what is “mine.”

Imagine social media without bullies, a world without racism, without prejudice, without violence. Imagine every human heart without a beat of greed, poverty, jealousy, or hatred.

Imagine a world where everyone is loved, where everyone has a reason to smile. Imagine a world without walls.

That would be a Christian world.

That is why God created us, to love and serve one another, to live in harmony.

In reality, that vision starts right here – in our own hearts, in our own homes, in our own families, in our own community. Will we take the first step?

***

If we do, then we can end the “cold war” of hatred and prejudice one heart, one person at a time.

Because the more we live in harmony, the more we reflect the inner life of God…and who doesn’t want to do that?