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COMMEMORATION OF OUR LORD’S LAST SUPPER

 Manila Cathedral Basilica
Intramuros, Manila
5:00 p.m., April 5, 2007

This evening we join the whole of Christendom in the celebration of the institution of the Eucharist.

Most probably, if we are not Christians, if we had not been Christians – thank God that we are Christians, Catholics – but if we were not, perhaps we would say: This is crazy. A man giving his flesh to eat, and washing his disciples’ feet. Kung hindi tayo Kristiyano, sasabihin nating malaking kaululan ito. But no. We understand better. In fact, all the readings coming from the Old Testament, Exodus, are meant precisely to explain to us why Jesus will commit himself and give his flesh to eat. Everything that happened before was preparing us for this. Hindi kalokohan ito, kung hindi karugtong noong nagdaan.

Our growth and our salvation continues when Jesus is with us. Because only a man who is in love could think of what Jesus said and did. Hindi ba tutoo na kapag nagmamahal ka, kung anu-anong ginagawa mo? At kung anu-anong gagawin mo? When you are in love, you will do anything, even the most stupid thing. And the only explanation is that you are in love. And yet it is God who is in love with us. God who is in love with you, with me, with all of us. That is why He thought of this. That is why He gave you and me life – without our asking for it, He gave it to us. No one in this cathedral ever asked for life. Wala kahit na sino dito na humingi ng buhay. A day arrived and one day we are aware that we are alive. Oh, yes, we could ask for health. We could ask for good health. We could ask for healing. We could ask for a long life. Oh, yes. But life itself is a gift. We did not ask for it. One day God decided, at a point in eternity – that man and that woman must live. He loves you. Not only loves you and me, he fashioned history, he shaped history to show that he loves you and me. Despite everything that surrounds us. Despite slavery. Despite oppression.

That is also exactly what Yahweh did in the Old Testament. An enslaved people whom He loved, He slowly led to salvation. Yung mga taong mahal Niya, na naging alipin, dahan-dahan Niyang hinugis, binigyan ng porma ang kasaysayan, para sila’y maligtas. Yahweh did this, instructing them: “Your leaders oppress you; your governors are trying to destroy you.” And he said, “I’ll take you out. The end has come to your enslavement. Take the blood of a lamb or a goat. Paint it on the posts to your doors. Ipinta ninyo yung dugo sa puertahan, sa poste ng inyong mga pintuan. And the meat of the lamb, save that. You will need that for your flight that night. Yung karne ng kordero, itabi ninyo. Yan ang pagkain ninyo pagtakas ninyo.” And then the instruction, the declaration: “This is the Pasch of the Lord.” Ito ang dakilang pagtawid. Itatawid tayo. Yan ang ibig sabihin ng “Passover”. The “pesah”, the “pasehu”. Itatawid tayo ng Diyos. At ang palatandaan ay ang dugo ng kordero. At ang laman ay magiging pagkain ninyo sa inyong pagtakas papunta sa kalayaan.

It doesn’t mean anything, except in that episode. That night they’re going to escape. And there will be wailing and crying and sobbing and shouting, because death will visit Egypt that night. While slowly, what we thought as crazy, was the Eucharist already slowly being formed as early as that. Ang Eukaristiya ay dahan-dahan nang hinuhugis, pinoporma ng Diyos, sa kasaysayan ng pagliligtas. Bakit? Ang dugo ay magiging sanhi – isang palatandaan ng pagliligtas. At ang laman ay magiging pagkain sa pagtakas. Don’t you see the semblance of the Eucharist in that exodus? The blood will be signed on salvation and the meat, the flesh of the lamb, is going to be our Communion – which will be our strength, for our salvation.

Ngayon, loko ba si Hesus – sa Eukaristiya ngayon? And we even say, “Kordero ng Diyos na nag-aalis ng lahat ng mga kasalanan ng sanlibutan” – “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world…” That lamb was the exodus lamb, telling us about the lamb of God, Jesus. That is why in the establishment of the Eucharist, he was certain. I’ll give you my flesh to eat and my blood to drink. There’s history, loaded in those words – flesh and blood. Punong-puno ng kasaysayan ang dalawang salitang iyon: Laman at Dugo.

At ngayon inaalaala natin. Tonight we remember that Jesus committed himself to the people. Yes, it was done ever since that event recorded in the first chapter of Luke, when the Angel of the Lord appeared to Mary, saying, “Hail full of grace, the Lord is pleased with you.” God is happy with you, the Angel said. But she was troubled; and she said: Ano ba ito?“Huwag kang matakot, Maria. Magiging ina ka ng anak ng Diyos na kataas-taasan.” You will be the mother of the Son of the Most High. And the moment Mary said “Be it done to me according to your word” – mangyari nawa yung gusto ng aking Ama sa langit” – noong sandaling iyon, at that moment, Jesus was present in time. Doon siya pumasok sa panahon. Like you and me, he experienced pain, joy, happiness, hope, love, compassion, mercy, thirst, hunger, sleepiness, weakness. And to show us that he loved us, he not only talked about love, he not only talked about goodness, he not only talked about forgiveness and understanding. He showed it. The word of God is not just word, it’s now incarnate. It has the shape of a man. It has the bones of a man. The body of a man. Able to speak, able to embrace, able to love, able to cry – like you and me. And everything that he did was an expression of the love of God for you and for me.

Jesus is the expression. Jesus is the human expression in time of God’s love. No wonder this is the summation of all this: “I give you my life. I’ll offer my life for you.” Ang kaganapan nito ay ang kanyang buhay. “Ibibigay ko, bukas na bukas… kapag ako’y pinosasan ng mga berdugo… Yan ay para sa inyo… Eat my flesh. Drink my blood. Wala akong ititira. Saidin ninyo na. Iinyo nang lahat.”

Everything is yours – flesh and blood. That is the Eucharist. The commitment of God to love you and me. To save you and me. To accompany you and me. And that’s why in the Eucharist, everything that’s good, everything that’s love, and everything that’s fair and honest and true, and forgiving – all that will ensue from the Eucharist. Lahat daw ng kabutihan ay magmumula sa Eukaristiya. Lahat daw pagdamay ay magmumula sa Eukaristiya. Tutoo iyon. Everything will begin – and will result from the Eucharist.

Ito ang pangako sa atin.

That is why the Eucharist must be repeated. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit ang Eukaristiya o Misa ay kailangang ulit-ulitin, kapatid. Ulit-ulitin. Hindi sapat ang isa. Sapat na ang minsang kamatayan doon sa Kalbaryo. Pero ang Eukaristiya ay uulit-ulitin. Why? So that you and I will remember. In the Eucharist, Jesus is always mentioned as wanting Eucharist to be repeated. So that many more people will share from its wealth. Many more people from its food. Many more people will share from its love. There’s so much goodness in the world not yet released. Just as there is plenty of hunger in the world. Believe me. There are more food on this earth than could feed all the hungry people in this world. There are only six and a half billion people in the world – nearly seven. And yet this world is said to be able to feed 20 billion. That’s more than three times. What’s happening? Why are so many people hungry? Kung ganoon pala, kayang pakainin ng yaman ng daigdig ang 20 bilyong tao, aanim na bilyon lang tayo. What’s happening? There’s so much greed. There’s so much selfishness in this world.

They have not heard of the Eucharist. The Eucharist will unleash all this. That’s why it has to be repeated. Our Lord said, “This is my body, this is my blood.” And then he added, “Do this in memory of me.” Ulit-ulitin ninyo ito dahil sa akin. Marami pang nagugutom. Marami pang walang bahay. Maraming naghihikahos. Ulitin ninyo nga ang Eukaristiya.

Kapatid, hindi natin naiintindihan pa. Tanggapin ninyo ang asal nating mga Pilipinong Kristiyano. Huwag na ninyong pagbibintangan ang sinuman. Don’t dare. Our leaders are our images. Mga namumuno sa atin ay larawan natin. Huwag magreklamo. Wala tayong Eukaristiya. Ito ang tinuturo ng Simbahan dahan-dahan – na kayang pakainin ang lahat sa pamamagitan ng Eukaristiya. We can do a lot little by little – love is made up of little things. Kaya!Ang lahat ay galing sa Diyos. Huwag mong sasabihing hindi kayang pakainin ng Diyos itong mga nagugutom. Ang biyaya lamang ay nasasayang. Kung kani-kaninong palad nagdadaan. “Do this in memory of me,” he said.

One way of describing this in a memorable picture is the way John described the Eucharist. Sanay tayong makita ang larawan ng “Last Supper”. We are familiar with that picture of the Last Supper, depicted in da Vinci’s immortal painting, which incidentally was desecrated by Dan Brown. But there’s one description of the Last Supper that hardly hits us or impresses us. It’s almost like the words “Do this in memory of me.” It’s St. John the Evangelist’s narration of what happened after the Last Supper, when Jesus is shown, kneeling down before each and every apostle, washing their feet. Ito’ng larawan ng Huling Hapunan na hindi pangkaraniwan ngunit nasasa-Bibliya. Siya nating pinagninilayan ngayon. Ano ang kinalaman noon sa Huling Hapunan? Napakalaki, kapatid. Very big. What? The Eucharist is an act of love. The Eucharist is a gift of love. The Eucharist is a commitment to love. And love must show in actions. Love must show in service. This was St. John’s picture of the Last Supper: Ang pagibig ay paglilingkod. Ang pagibig ay pagpapakumbaba. Ang pagibig ay sakripisyo.

Huwag sanang babuyin uli ni Dan Brown. Pero, kapatid, kapag hindi natin natutunan na ang Eukaristiya pala’y pagpapakumbaba, paglilingkod, pagsasakripisyo – we are worse than Dan Brown.

May we ask the good Lord, as we celebrate this Institution of the Eucharist – from which and through which sharing will come, from which and through which hunger will be attended to, from which and through which compassion, understanding and forgiveness will ensue – may we ask the Good Lord: Make the Eucharist real, living, in the life of the Filipino.

Start now. With little things. Little acts will contribute to the extension of the love Jesus committed himself to. Concretizing those acts in a smile for a friend. Your arm on the shoulder of a friend. Concretizing those acts of love in a friendly conversation. Expressing those acts of love by encouraging people who are depressed. Expressing those acts of love by asking others to do the same. Sacramentalizing those acts of love by a little gift like ten or 25 centavos that you give to “Pondo ng Pinoy”, which will go to the poor. Let those little acts speak of your love for God and your compassion for the poor. That will be a good beginning for the Eucharist, for the Filipino Christian.

May God give you and me the understanding to live the Eucharist that Jesus may be ours in flesh and blood, as the apostles experienced. God love you and bless everyone. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.