KNOWING JESUS IN THE BREAKING OF BREAD

“The Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it, and said: ‘ This is my body which is broken for you.” In the very bread itself Jesus is revealed. When God’s people gather together to share the common loaf and to partake of the common cup, Jesus is present—revealed. ...... God feeds his people not only that we may be filled but that we may feed. We feed in order that he who “is all and in all” (Col. 3:11) may be known. And how is he all and in all? He is the hands that break the bread. He is the hungry who take the bread. He is the bread that is broken and taken. Clyde Tilley – Christian Ethics Today The effect of recognising Him "in the breaking of the Bread" is action. The disciples did not linger at Emmaus. They hurried back to Jerusalem to proclaim that they had seen the Lord. Likewise, the Christian is not expected to linger at the Eucharist. It is an encounter with Jesus, in Word and Sacrament, which sends the Christian out to witness. We come to Mass so that we may go back into the life of discipleship, renewed by the encounter with our risen Saviour, and made ready for action in His service. ................................. Fr Michael Chua