The Body of Christ – We hear these words every time we receive Holy Communion. On this Good Friday, the body of Christ is a focus of our worship. The body of Christ is beaten, spit upon, scourged, crowned with thorns, dragged through the street, stripped, nailed to a cross, and buried in a tomb. Yet amidst all this abuse of the body of Christ, there are also heroic examples of those who show great love for the body of Christ. In today’s homily, I consider three such persons.
The first is Mary Magdalene. She loved Jesus passionately, and that meant that she had a great love and care for the body of Christ. We read today that she was one of the women standing by the cross of Jesus. This should not be surprising. Just a few days earlier she burst into a dinner and anointed the feet of Jesus with costly oil. She wasn’t afraid of ridicule because she loved much. She anointed Jesus in preparation for his burial. It was this passionate love that drove her to the foot of the cross and then back to the tomb two days later to once again anoint the body of Christ.
Secondly, we read today of the figure of Joseph of Arimathea. He boldly goes to Pilate to ask for the body of Christ. He risked endangering his own life by exposing himself to the Roman authorities as a follower of Jesus. He then gives two great gifts that express his reverence for the body of Christ. First, he provides a shroud with which to wrap the body. Then, he gives his own new tomb to be the final resting place for the body of Christ. Thanks to the care of Joseph of Arimathea, we have today two of the greatest relics in all Christendom, the Shroud of Turin and the Holy Sepluchre.
Finally, there is the example of a man who most people probably would not have heard of until this past week. His name is Fr. Jean-Marc Fournier and he is the chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade. As Notre Dame Cathedral was burning this past week, Fr. Jean-Marc ran into the burning building to save two precious treasures. First was the crown of thorns. Second, and more importantly, Fr. Jean-Marc had to save the body of Christ, the Eucharist. As the building was falling down around him, he risked his life the rescue the Blessed Sacrament from the burning church. Fr. Jean-Marc did what priests should do, he was willing to die to save and protect the body of Christ.
Good Friday is an opportunity for each of us to examine our own love for the body of Christ. Do we have the passion of St. Mary Magdalene? Are we willing to sacrifice like St. Joseph of Arimathea? Would we be willing to give our life for the Eucharist like Fr. Jean-Marc? On this Good Friday, after venerating the cross, we are given the opportunity to receive Holy Communion. We will have a chance to renew our love. The priest will hold up the sacred host and say those simple but powerful words… The Body of Christ.