First Reading: Exodus 24:3-8
Commentary:
In today’s first reading we hear about the covenant God made with Moses and the Israelites during the time of the Exodus. The Israelites had recently been released from slavery in Egypt after the famous 10 plagues. They had then journeyed to Mt. Sinai after crossing the Red Sea. At Mt. Sinai, Moses received the laws of God, including the Ten Commandments. He is now delivering those laws to the people. They receive what God has revealed, saying, “We will do everything that the LORD has told us.” They then offered animal sacrifices to God. The sprinkling of the blood of the bulls on the altar and on the people was the sign of the covenant God made with the Israelites. Keep in mind the phrase “blood of the covenant,” as we will see it again in today’s gospel reading. Why blood? The sacrificing of animals in the Old Testament was directed by God. He instructed His people to do so in order to teach them the consequences of sin. Our sins have broken our relationship with God. In order to make things right, there must be sacrifice. The lives of animals were offered in our place in order to atone for sins. But this was always just a temporary fix to the problem of sin. Animal sacrifice could never really solve the problem. Only Jesus could.
Second Reading: Hebrews 9:11-15
Commentary:
The author to the Hebrews connects the dots for us between the Old Testament sacrificial system and what Jesus did. In the Old Testament, God ordained that His people would worship Him in a tabernacle that He directed them to build (and later a temple), where He would dwell among His people and they would offer sacrifices to Him. God also established a priesthood to be mediators between God and the people and administer the sacrifices. The high priest oversaw all the liturgical worship and had the important role of entering into the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, where the Ark of the Covenant was housed and God’s presence dwelt, once a year in order to offer sacrifice to atone for the sins of all the people. The author to the Hebrews shows that Jesus Himself fulfills all this. Jesus is the new, everlasting high priest. He mediates a new covenant in His blood. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus entered into the “perfect tabernacle not made by hands,” which is heaven and made atonement for all of the sins of the world. Rather than the shedding of animal blood, Jesus shed His own blood, offering Himself to God as the perfect sacrifice for sins. In doing so, He won for us “eternal redemption” so we could have eternal life.
Gospel: Mark 14:12-16, 22-26
Commentary:
On this Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, we hear the account of the Last Supper, when Jesus instituted the Eucharist. The Last Supper was a Passover meal, commemorating the original Passover during the time of the Exodus when God spared the Israelites from the death of their firstborn children in the 10th plague by having them slaughter an unblemished lamb, smear its blood on their doors, roast it, and eat it in a communal meal. If they did this, then their homes were passed over by the angel of death and their firstborn children were spared. Every year since then, the Jews were to celebrate the Passover. At the Last Supper, Jesus and His apostles were doing just that, but Jesus was also doing even more. Jesus was setting the scene for His death the next day. He was showing His followers that His death was not going to be just another Roman crucifixion but was a sacrifice. Jesus was offering His life for the salvation of our souls. He was dying to atone for our sins. He was also offering us a way to participate in this saving act. By instituting the Eucharist, Jesus gave us His very life—His body, blood, soul, and divinity—to consume and, therefore, reap the benefits of what He did for us on the cross. The Eucharist is the real presence of Christ among us. Jesus offers Himself completely to us every time we go to Mass.
Taking it Home: