Acts 3:13-15, 17-19
1 John 2:1-5
Luke 24:35-48 

Bishop Untener’s Homily

The Risen Jesus and Food

Did you ever notice how many of the resurrection appearances of Jesus involve food? The Gospels report seven different resurrection appearances. Four of them involve a meal.

• Mark reports that Jesus appeared to the disciples while they were at table.
• Luke tells the story of being with the two disciples on their way to Emmaus, and when they got there, they sat down to supper, and that's when they recognized Jesus.
• In today's passage from Luke, Jesus asks if they have anything to eat, and he enjoys some baked fish.
• John's Gospel describes an appearance on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Seven of the disciples come in from fishing and there is Jesus cooking some bread and fish on a charcoal fire. And he says to them (I quote), "Come, have breakfast."

Four of the seven appearances involve food. I'd like to hear your thoughts on that. Why do you think so many of the resurrection appearances involve a meal?

[Various responses: Ghosts don't eat, and Jesus was showing that he wasn't a ghost.// Jesus ate with them during his earthly life, and this was a familiar way of relating to them.// It made the resurrection more believable.// It was a way of bringing people together.]

Well, there are probably a number of reasons, and you've touched on some. The one I would like to emphasize is this. Through his appearances Jesus wanted to teach that he is still present to us and, most important, he is not present simply to be looked at, simply to be adored. He came to engage us, to connect with us, and to draw us into his living and dying and passing through death to life. Jesus ate with his disciples the night before he died. And he continues to do the same thing after he rises from the dead.

Think for a moment of the implications of eating with someone. It's one thing to be part of a crowd when a great celebrity comes to town and to see him or her in person. You might even get to shake hands with them. But... to have a meal with them. What a difference.

There's something about having dinner with a person. There are people you might greet, and speak with, and shake hands with, but you don't have the kind of relationship that would involve having them over for dinner.

An Example

I'll give you an example of the difference between meeting someone in person, and having a meal with them. Pope John Paul II is one of the most famous people in the world. Millions of people every year see him in person - either in Rome or on one of his world visits. Some, if they go to an audience, might even get to shake hands with him.

Every five years a bishop is supposed to visit Rome and pray at the tomb of St. Peter and the tomb of St. Paul. They were both martyred in Rome and we remind ourselves that we're supposed to give our life for our people.

In the course of that visit, we have a meal with the Pope. It's the midday meal which, in much of Europe, is the main meal. It's not a huge banquet. We eat in the small dining room in the Pope's quarters - there would be about 10 of us at the table.

When people hear this, they're astounded. They may have seen the Pope, even shaken hands with him. But they say, "You get to sit down and have a meal with the Pope??!!"

That's the difference between meeting someone... and having dinner with someone.

The Risen Jesus didn't come simply to be seen or to be touched. He didn't come simply to give a speech. He came to engage with, interact with, and connect with us.

The Eucharist: Some History

This raises some interesting thoughts about the Eucharist.

Imagine that you were invited, not to eat with a famous person, but to watch that person eat. You're allowed to come into a room adjoining the dining room and open the door a crack, and watch the person eat. Now that's very different from having that person say, "C'mon in. Have a seat and eat with me. There's plenty of food and I'm in no rush." There's a huge difference.

For the first three centuries of Christianity, the Eucharist was celebrated mostly in homes - they didn't have church buildings. They'd pick larger homes that had good-sized dining rooms and gather together around the table. When they did begin building churches, they tended to model them after government buildings at the time - very large, with a semi-circular recess at one end. That's where they put the altar table. Picture that - the altar up toward the front, and the people sitting out there. It became more like people gathered to watch a meal. But at least they came forward at Communion to eat.

Then, shortly after the first millennium, the people were no longer offered the cup. So, their participation in the meal became more limited.

Then, after a couple of centuries, most of the people didn't come to Communion at all. They were there to watch. Even that was difficult, because the priest had his back to them and they couldn't see what was taking place at the altar table. That's when they introduced the elevation of the host and chalice after the consecration. 

What's more, the Mass was celebrated in Latin, a language that once was the common language of the people, but over the centuries was no longer spoken or even understood by the people.

Think about the evolution that had taken place. The people were there to watch. The interaction of being gathered together around the table with the Lord was gone. The people didn't speak one word of the Mass itself. The priest did everything, and he spoke in a whisper that no one could hear.

The Eucharist Today

Now you understand better why, during these past 35 years, the Church has been returning to the earlier tradition of including everyone in the meal. Church buildings are now constructed so that the people have a sense of being gathered together around the table of the Word and the table of the Eucharist. The priest now speaks aloud, in the language of the people. And the people speak too - there is some back and forth as at a meal. And the people sing parts of the Mass - the Gloria, the Psalm after the first Scripture reading, the Sanctus, the Our Father, the Agnus Dei. And the people share not only the Bread, but also the Cup.

We haven't fully arrived yet. Some people are still reluctant to join in the speaking and the singing. Some are reluctant to take the Cup. But we're moving in the right direction.

It all goes back to those appearances of the Risen Lord. He ate with the disciples, just as he did on the night before he died. The Risen Lord wasn't there simply to say "hello," simply to be looked at and adored. He was there to engage with the disciples, connect with them, and share a meal together, with all the interaction that is part of a meal.

So, my friends, when you come to the Eucharist, always think of those meals the Risen Lord shared with his disciples. He is doing the same thing with us. I like to picture that scene in John's Gospel when seven of the disciples land their fishing boat on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The Risen Lord is standing on the shore waiting for them. The text reads: "When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread." Then Jesus says to them: "Come, have breakfast." Just picture that scene, and catch the spirit of it, and you understand what we're doing at Eucharist.

Originally given on May 4, 2003