This familiar post-Resurrection narrative in which Christ relates to these disciples through Scripture and the breaking of the bread serves as an appropriate background for reflecting on how Christ continues to communicate himself to us as Word and as Eucharist.
This statement of Paul VI reminds us that when we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, Christ is already present with us. He gives us his Spirit that empowers us to come to the Eucharist and to identify ourselves with this worshiping community. We don't come to this celebration to find Christ. He is always with us. We come to be open to his unique sacramental presence and communication to us as the Word of God and the Bread of Life. This encounter with Christ enables us to be more conscious of Christ's presence in the rest of our lives.
In this article we reflect on Christ's unique presence in the Liturgy of the Word and in the Eucharist, the relationship of both of these presences to each other, and some of the applications that flow from this.
Christ's Presence in the Liturgy of the Word
The first belief we bring to the Eucharist is that Christ is the Word of God. The prologue in John's Gospel gives clear testimony to this article of faith: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth" (John 1:1, 14).
We come to the Liturgy of the Word not just to hear words about Christ but to open ourselves to the Real Presence of Christ who speaks to us now through the reading of the Scriptures (Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 7). We allow Christ, the Word of God, to encounter us and to transform us by his Word. He stands at the door knocking. To anyone who hears his voice and opens the door he promises, "'I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me'" (Revelation 3:20).
The connection between receiving the Word of God and eating is also brought out elsewhere in the Scriptures. When God sent the prophet Ezekiel to speak to the people, a written scroll "covered with writing front and back" is unrolled before him (Ezekiel 2:9-10). God then said to Ezekiel, "Son of man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat" (3:1-2).
At the Liturgy of the Word we are called not just to hear God's Word but to eat it, drink it in, let it enter into our minds, our hearts, our souls; to integrate it into the depths of our being so that it transforms us and becomes the inspiration for the way we live and relate to God and to others. This is of vital necessity for all of us Christians. Like Ezekiel, we must absorb the Word of God into our being in order to be enlightened and empowered to communicate effectively this Word to others.
Christ's Presence in the Liturgy of the Eucharist
Our ultimate liturgical response to the Liturgy of the Word is the Liturgy of the Eucharist. In the words of Consecration Christ, through the priest, proclaims the gift of himself to us as he did at the Last Supper and enacted on the cross: "Take this, all of you, and eat it: this is my body which will be given up for you…Take this, all of you, and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven." As these words are proclaimed, we acknowledge in mind and heart Christ's unique presence and self-offering. "Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free. You are the Savior of the world."
At Communion, we express our desire and our openness to Christ, the Incarnate Word, the crucified and risen One, to enter ever further into the depths of our being to transform our minds, our hearts, our souls into his image. We eat this Eucharistic bread and drink this Eucharistic wine as the most explicit way we have of symbolizing our need and our yearning for Christ to be in us and with us.
Christ came as the Word of God incarnate. He continues to proclaim his Word to us especially in the Liturgy of the Word. He is present to us most sacramentally in the giving of himself in Eucharist. We who listen to his Word and receive him in Eucharist are sent forth to be for others the Body of Christ, the One who comes to serve, not to be served.