In the second reading today, we hear the earliest known text of the Eucharist, written in a letter to the Corinthians around the year 56 AD, some 20 years after Jesus’ Crucifixion.  St. Paul wrote:

Brothers and sisters:
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

Paul was sharing what the early Church had been practicing ever since Jesus’ Resurrection and Pentecost, the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

That was the practice of the early Church, and it still is, now some 2,000 years later.

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At the Last Supper,

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.

This past week we had First Confessions and First Communion for many of our young people.  I couldn’t help but be concerned, once again, that these children were not ready, despite two years of formation.  They still didn’t yet get it.  As pastor, each time this happens, I cannot help but experience some anxiety and concern for them.  Then, I go back and read Jesus words at the Last Supper,

“I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.”

Recently, I spoke of how Simon didn’t understand his new title, “Peter”/Cephas/Rock.  It took a while for Simon to become Peter.  He received the title well before he understood how to be Peter.

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You have heard me ask the question, “Where did Jesus go after his resurrection?”  Remember the answer?

Jesus went into the Church.  That is fundamental to our understanding of Church over the past 2,000 years, based upon scriptures.

Some 500 years ago there began a schism which has shattered many Christians into innumerable factions, perhaps as many as 50,000 different churches today, creating the impression in many quarters that the Catholic Church is just one more of those factions.  The Reformation was a divisive schism leading to more factions, each with its own peculiar little twist or emphasis.  This happened because many rejected the apostolic teaching authority of the Church.

Meanwhile the apostolic Church has survived.  And Jesus lives in the Church.  The teaching authority of the Church remains.

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Here, in the third week of Easter, the Church continues to unpack the mystery of the Resurrection.  The story of the Resurrection cannot be told without the foundation of the Church as part of the Resurrection mystery.  And the foundation of the Church cannot be understood without understanding the role of Peter.

Few topics create divisions for Christians like the role of St. Peter.  Disputes over the role of Peter and his successors in the Church have resulted in centuries of division among Christians, like Protestants, and before them, the Greek Orthodox.  Roman Catholics and many others claim the primacy of Peter and his successors.

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Have you ever been afraid to speak the truth?

We live in times when others want to restrict our right to speak our thoughts freely.   Our Constitution guarantees us the Right to Free Speech as a basic right of American citizens.

Yet we observe every day that there are many, many layers of restrictions upon speech.  This is particularly true of “Righteous” speech.  In fact, it is not considered “polite” to speak of your faith in public.  We can easily become isolated from others or even disenfranchised if they disapprove of our speech.

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Some 600 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem, the Temple and the city walls.  They killed or carried off into exile most of the upper and middle classes of Jerusalem, taking them as slaves to Babylonia.  The Jews remained in Exile for approximately 70 years, or two generations.

After those 70 years in Exile, the King of Persia, Cyrus, who had conquered Babylon, gave permission to the Jews to return and rebuild Jerusalem.  None of those who went into Exile were still living.  None of them knew Israel or Jerusalem, except for the faith and family stories which had been handed down to them in families of Faith.  They were a defeated, devastated people.

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