Tomorrow
(Be warned…this is a long post.)
I love this story.
One Sunday morning, a mother knocked on the door of her son’s bedroom to get him up for church. “Go away! I’m not going.” Patiently she replied, “get up.“ ”No!” He replied. “Give me one good reason I should go!” His mother was not to be out done. “I’ll give you two good reasons. First it’s Sunday and we always go to church. And second —you are the parish priest and the people are waiting for you!”
Tomorrow. It won’t be like that tomorrow. It will be a different story won’t it? All of our priests and bishops and our pope will be in the Church waiting on us, serving us, Literally and most importantly spiritually. Just last week our routines were turned upside down. Who would have thought that churches would be closed come Monday? Businesses incredibly scaled back or closed. Schools and activities seasons abruptly ended. Almost like a winter frost had frozen our lives. Coldly isolating us with “social distancing”. But here we are. US.
Tomorrow we will stay home for mass/church and receive the Eucharist in the tabernacle of our souls. But have we considered how fortunate we are? US.
Within days of this social distancing and precautions brought on by an invisible virus, we have witnessed numerous systems and services that have been literally given to us. Schools set up google classroom for distance learning. Working from home has become a relatively nimble process. (Upside of that is face to face meetings are cancelled! Time wasters). And tomorrow, all the faithful of the Diocese of Youngstown we will celebrate mass with our Bishop in our homes. (Collection optional—kidding, checks in the mail!!). But seriously, what really do we have to complain about!?
But we are as fickle as the Hebrews in the desert and the apostles with a hungry crowd. We are never satisfied. Tell us we have to go to church and we rebel. Tell us we can’t and we feel slighted. But here we are. US.
Tomorrow. My focus is on a non-communion/communion. As Catholics we will celebrate spiritually what our priest celebrates actually, “that on the night before he died, Jesus took bread gave thanks…took the cup, blessed it…and gave it.” (See: 1 Cor 1:23f). To those same apostles who asked the Lord to give them a prayer, Jesus gives his very self—his body and blood.
Tomorrow. Interesting isn’t it? In the prayer Jesus gave his followers as a standard for communion with his father, he said “Give us this day our daily bread.” This reference to the provision of manna in the desert could not have been lost on his apostles. Hungry, starving the Israelites crumpled to Moses and God answered. God provided them with manna by day and Quail by night. (See: Ex16). It’s interesting the instruction given to them to eat it and not to store up it or take extra. Those who tried to horde,failed. It all spoiled. Rely on the daily supply. What was the lesson? Trust. Trust in God‘s promise to provide. Take what you need for today. As the Hebrew were not to horde manna, maybe “we” should refrain from hording Toilet Paper etc??
Truly in the Lord’s Prayer (Our Prayer) about Our Father, we prayer just as the disciples did…and just as they taught us. Lord, give us today TOMORROW’S bread! The trust we pray for is that as God has provided for us TODAY, He will provide for us tomorrow. In the Eucharist Jesus is tomorrow’s bread today! In the Eucharist, Jesus gives us himself, the bread of heaven. “On earth as it is in heaven.” Today!
Think about that. The bread of heaven, the bread of the angels, comes down from heaven upon the Altar by the words spoken by our priest— standing Both as Christ the sacrificial victim and as US, sinners, in need of God’s mercy, forgiveness and grace. I have to admit, when I approached to receive communion last Sunday, I did not do it with the full consciousness of that truth. But I can promise God as I observe this spiritual communion tomorrow, I will.
Tomorrow. This will pass. This global crisis will not last forever. It may only be a momentary interruption to everything we think is so important. Or it may be longer. But, It will pass. My hope is that, unlike our most recent crisis of nearly two decades ago, 9-11, it will not just pass and our consciousnesses and lives will drift back to the bunkers of the unimportant and mundane. We are called to so much more. We are called HIGHER!!
So for tomorrow, and for what is now an undefined period of social distancing and for most of us just inconvenience (pray God that is all is is), as this has come for us Christians in the midst of Lent, might I suggest that it we embrace this as a gift to:
1. Tomorrow. We should fear nothing of today, for we believe that the Lord of life, Christ Jesus has conquered sin and death and the grave itself! We have been healed. Sin has been forgiven. Death dies no more. Heaven is our home. Heaven is our goal. Heaven is our tomorrow. And we can begin to live that Heaven now. Believe it TODAY.
2. Yesterday. Lent bids us to look at the yesterday of our lives only to look forward. And the great thing is we do it in the light of Christ. His light will first show our sin and weakness. But his light then show us his face…His crucified, risen and gloried face. The face of love. We are loved. God loves us. Always has. Always will. No matter how far we have wandered, the father runs toward us. Believe it. TODAY
3 Today. While we have to wait now to physically receive our Eucharistic Lord, may we hunger for Him. May we hunger for Him so much that, this hunger movers us to love…to call on our neighbors in need…to simply our wants and desires…to share (our Toilet Paper!)…to reflect peace. If we are receiving the bread of tomorrow today, then today let us offer the gift of tomorrow to those we meet. May we live TOMORROW so convincingly TODAY, that those who do not know Him and believe Him, will want what we have! Believe it. TODAY.
An Act of Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment I receive You sacramentally, come atleast spiritually into my heart.I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. +AMEN