Monday of the Third Week of Easter
(Acts 6:8-15; John 6:22-29)
In the “Grand Inquisitor” Fyodor Dostoyevsky presents a
searing socialist critique of Christianity.
The inquisitor chastises Christ for not accepting Satan’s invitation to
turn stone into bread. If he had fed the
world with that bread, the inquisitor claims, he would have its allegiance forever. In contrast, he says, all Christ attained was
freedom which few people appreciate.
But, some will object, Christ fed the multitudes as the gospels
of yesterday and today attest. It should be clear from both passages, however,
that the intention of the feeding was not to win the people’s allegiance. Jesus worked the miracle as a sign of the
Eucharist which is available to the world as the key to full or eternal life.
In the Eucharist we take and consume the Body and Blood of
Christ not to satisfy physical but spiritual needs. In the Eucharist we hear the Word of God which
makes us attentive to His will. Then we offer
to Him what we have in gratitude for that gracious Word. Of course, the greatest gift that we give to
God is His own Son. He, Jesus Christ -- human
and divine -- is who the bread, blessed and broken by the priest, and the wine,
blessed and poured out, have become. Ingesting
him, we become not only free but also loving as he is.
