What is the Meaning of the Lord’s Supper again?
(As told by a sea turtle named Chai)
Holy Thursday
Today is Holy Thursday, which is celebrated by most Christians all over the world. The two highlights on this day’s celebration are the washing of the disciples’ feet and the breaking of the bread and drinking of the cup. This is the way to commemorate the death of Christ and the new era of the covenant between God and His people. One’s life is given so others will have life.
The Readings
First Reading
From the Book of Exodus, it tells of the story of the Passover Meal, celebrating the event when God spared His people from the destructive plagues that struck Egypt.
Second Reading
1 Corinthians 11:23-26: St. Paul reminds the Corinthian community that the breaking of the bread and drinking of the cup is central to the life of the community. And that every time they do, they do it in remembrance of Jesus’ giving up His own life for them.
Gospel
The Gospel (John 13:1-15) tells the story of how the Passover Meal – the precursor to the Eucharistic celebration – is put in the context of service to others. Jesus washes the feet of His disciples.
“When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them. ‘You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.'”
The story of Chai.
In this year’s celebration, I would like to share the story of Chai. She is a female Olive Ridley Sea turtle. She tells of a story she witnessed somewhere beneath the waters off the coast of the Pacific Ocean.
One calm day in the shallows among the rainbows of corals, Chai was gliding along schools of fish. She happened to pass by a lone saltwater male Minnow. He is so far from his school, Chai noticed. She hid herself behind a giant orange anemone to observe the young fish.
The Minnow
“What a life.” Chai heard the minnow say to himself. “Once a minnow, stays a minnow. Is there more to life for a tiny fish? Why can’t I be bigger? The deep ocean is so terrifying for a small creature like me. Why not maybe a mackerel or a sardine?”
The Jack Fish
Before Chai and the Minnow could react, suddenly a Jack Fish appeared from behind a coral. “Hello, Minnow. I heard you.” Said the Jack Fish with an impish smile. “I can make your wish come true, you know that?” The Minnow straightened up. “Really? How?” he asked with deep interest. “Well,” said the Jack Fish. “It’s so simple. Let me eat you. That way you and I are one. Wherever I go, you go. You do not have to be scared anymore.”
The Minnow was silent for a second, pondering what the Jack Fish had just said. It makes sense, he thought. “Okay,” he reluctantly replied. “You can eat me. And promise we will be always together.” The Jack Fish said, “I promise.” Then he proceeded to swallow the poor tiny fish whole. Chai, the turtle, witnessed the whole thing. She was so terrified.
The Jack Fish continued with his normal life. Eating minnows was just part of a carnivore’s day in the sea. Meanwhile, Chai was tailing him surreptitiously. She herself was curious. Is the Minnow still alive inside the Jack Fish?
The Jack Fish’s turn to be afraid
A couple of days passed. Then Chai noticed the same Jack Fish resting under a wooden plank of a sunken vessel. Chai heard everything. “Ah, what a life,” sighed the Jack Fish. “The pack of predators are coming. Why do I have to live in fear? What if I am as big or bigger than they?” Chai felt so sorry for the Jack Fish. But before Chai could get out of her hiding place to console him, a huge fish suddenly appeared.
The ferocious Barracuda
“Hi there, Jacky!” A menacing Barracuda circled around the Jack Fish. Chai retreated further into her hiding place. “I hear yah. And I am here to help yah.” The Jack Fish looked up nervously. “Help me, how?” “Well,” the Barracuda winked at him. “Let me eat you. That way you do not have to fear anyone anymore. You and I are one.” The Jack Fish looked around. He felt so alone. But before he could decide, the Barracuda sucked him in one quick slurp. Chai’s body trembled deep among the corals in horror. The Jack Fish just disappeared before her very eyes!
The Barracuda lost no time in getting back to his school, as if nothing had happened. These Barracudas are among the fearsome inhabitants of the ocean, Chai reminded herself. So, she followed them at a safe distance.
It took a couple of days before the Barracuda stopped in his tracks and had himself separated from the rest. Chai quickly had to find a place to hide. She found a half-submerged huge clump of sea waste. Then she heard the Barracuda sobbing quietly.
Here comes the Bull Shark!
“How long do I have to live until they catch up with us?” The Barracuda was nervously looking around for signs of Bull Sharks congregating in the reef. This time of day is when they feed, he was thinking. “Why can’t I be like them? The great apex predator of the ocean!” And before he could catch his breath a very dark shadow suddenly hovered over him.
“Well, well, well,” a juvenile male Bull Shark was sizing up the terrified Barracuda. “What do we have here.” The Barracuda could not see any chance of escape. “What do you want with me?” he said in his cracking voice. “Well, I heard you,” said the Bull Shark with a grin. “And believe me, I feel you. I am here to help you.” The Barracuda knew what would happen next. But he thought playing dumb would save him somehow. “How can you help me?” the Barracuda said cautiously. He was trying to buy time, hoping something else would distract the Bull Shark’s piercing eyes. “I can see you are afraid. Very afraid.” Said the Bull Shark. “Yes, I am,” admitted the Barracuda.
The Bull Shark’s face was now almost touching Barracuda’s. “You don’t have to be afraid of anything. Come on now.” And without warning, the Bull Shark gobbled him with very little effort.
The hunt continues
But the big Barracuda was not enough to satisfy the Bull Shark’s huge appetite. He joined with the rest of his family scouring the nooks and crannies of the reefs looking for more prey. Chai was safely camouflaged among the rocks on the seabed. She witnessed how the pack devoured almost anything that moved around. When they were done, they continued with their hunting journey. Chai decided to stay behind, not wanting to push her luck. Turtles are part of sharks’ menu, she reminded herself. Only they could crush her invincible carapace.
Chai is soon to be a mother
Besides, she was aware that she would soon become a mother. She needed to prepare for her trip back to the shore, the place of her birth.
Weeks passed. Chai could feel her time was about to come. On her way to the shallow beach, she noticed something big and gray half-submerged in the water. It was the juvenile Bull Shark! She instantly recognized. Chai was curious. Only sick sharks would display such kind of suicidal behavior. And the Bull Shark looked so healthy. Chai thought of lingering around to see what’s going on. Then she heard the Bull Shark murmuring about something. She gingerly flapped nearer to investigate.
The Bull Shark’s lamentation
“What’s wrong, Bully?” Chai playfully asked. The Bull Shark didn’t even bother to look at her. “I want to die,” said the Bull Shark. “And why is that?” Chai asked sincerely perplexed. The Bull Shark continued, “They killed my whole family!” Chai became more confused. “I thought your kind are the most fearsome of all sea creatures. Great Whites are afraid of you.” The Bull Shark was quiet for a long time. Chai put one of her flippers over the Bull Shark’s head, trying to comfort the giant creature.
Chai suddenly noticed the familiar place they were in now. They were near the mouth of the big river that empties into the ocean. “Humans,” the Bull Shark broke their silence. “It was the humans who killed them. For their fins.” Chai was speechless. She’s aware. Humans are hunting sharks more and more these days. Killing them wantonly just for their fins. Chai and the Bull Shark fell silent again.
The Old Man and the sea
Then the Bull Shark looked in the direction of an old man fishing on top of the rocks. “I just wished I am human like that old man.” Chai noticed the old man took a quick glance at their direction. “I just wished I was human.” The Bull Shark continued. “Humans don’t fear anything. They do whatever they want, destroy the ocean. Nobody is more powerful than humans.” Chai pulled the Bull Shark closer. “Shh. I think he hears you.” They both saw the old man stand up and walk toward them.
“Hello, my friend.” He went straight to the Bull Shark. But the Bull Shark did not make any move. Then the old man stroked the Bull Shark’s head carefully. And he said, “I heard you. And I am here to help you.” Without looking at the old man, the Bull Shark said, “I know what you mean. I heard that before. Go ahead, eat me. I understand that when I am inside you, we become inseparable. We just hope it is true.” The old man ran his hand along the Bull Shark’s back fin. “Of course, it is true. When you are inside me, you and I are one.”
Chai saw how the old man grabbed the Bull Shark by its dorsal fin with his mighty strength. She witnessed the whole bloody slaughter.
The time has come for Chai
The sun was setting. She needed to be at her nesting ground before nightfall.
Chai spent the whole night burrowed deep in the sands. By sunrise she counted almost 200 precious eggs inside her nest. She carefully buried them and started her way back to the ocean. In the corner of her eye, she noticed the same old man sitting by the rocks. He was looking toward the horizon, as if searching for the first rays of the morning sun. Then Chai heard the old man.
The cry of the Old Man
“Why do people need to die?” Chai stopped in her tracks. Now in the daylight she could clearly make out the contour of the man’s face. He looks so sad and destitute, Chai said to herself. “Why not make them immortal?” The old man continued. “The world is too beautiful to leave behind. I am not ready to die yet.”
Then a loud but soothing voice boomed from above. “Son. My beloved son. I hear you.” Chai and the old man looked up at the direction of the voice. There was nobody. “My son. I am here to take away your fear.” The old man straightened up. “Who are you?”
God’s Gift
“I am God.” The voice answered. “And I am here to help you. You can be like me. You do not need to fear anything anymore. And…”
“No. No. Thank you.” The old man cut off in protest. “Thank you. But no. There’s no way you’re going to eat me!”
“No. You are wrong, my son. I am not going to eat you. If you become like me, you do not have to fear anything. Even death itself. If you want to be like me, here I am. Eat me.”
The Fish Story that sounds so familiar
Long after Chai finished her captivating story, I was speechless. Isn’t it similar to the story of the Holy Eucharist?
In the animal world, it is the survival of the fittest, so to speak. They eat one another mainly to survive. Only the strongest get to live longer. But there is an evolutionary reason behind that. It preserves the best of the species.
We humans are not like that. At least not what we are meant to be. When God Himself offered us the gift to be like him, He did not eat us. Instead, He gave himself to us. Literally, through the Holy Eucharist.
Jesus Himself instituted the first Eucharistic celebration with His disciples. In Matthew 26:26-28, it says:
“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’”
Again, what is the Eucharist about?
Every time we receive His Body, we are given the chance to be like him. We are not meant to be like the animals. Our life is in the service of others. We are nourished and strenghtened by the Eucharist to do this.
For example, we do not eat one another to be the strongest. Rather, we are called to give ourselves to the weakest and the powerless.
And we do not allow others to eat us, either. Or, let them use us, just so we become like them. We do not compromise our Christian values. And we are not ruled by greed and selfishness.
We keep these thoughts as we celebrate Holy Thursday today
This Holy Thursday, we are invited once again to reflect on those times we hurt other people. Those times we put ourselves ahead at the expense of our fellow human beings.
And those times we allow others to abuse and trample us, because we are too scared to stand up for the truth, and choose what is right.
The Holy Eucharist is God’s gift to us. It is the source of all our strengths. It is supposed to take away all the fears in our hearts. Even the most fearsome of all: death! Jesus gave up His life in the service of others.
What about you? Do you have your own story of the Holy Eucharist?
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