Preaching the Mystery of Faith

own life, Death, and Resurrection all that the Scriptures had promised (Lk 24:27). 30 It is through this rich relationship between the Old and the New Testaments, in all of their various interrelated images and types, that the homilist is able to proclaim to the faithful the one supreme mystery of faith that is Jesus Christ. 3. The Sunday Homily as Integral to the Eucharist The Gospels more than once portray Jesus preaching in the context of the Sabbath synagogue service, such as in Luke’s opening scene of Jesus’ minis try. They also present Jesus offering profound reflections to his disciples in the context of the last Passover meal celebrated on the eve of his Death (see Jn 13-17). Luke concludes the Emmaus narrative with Jesus staying with his disciples to share a meal with them and, in so doing, revealing to them his presence. As the travelers come near the town to which they are going, they press their mysterious friend to stay with them. He sits down with them, gives thanks, and breaks bread, at which point they recognize him and he vanishes from their sight. It is then that they admit to one another that their hearts had been “burning within” them as Jesus opened the meaning of the Scrip tures for them (Lk 24:32). The Emmaus account illuminates the interpene tration of the two dimensions of the Eucharistic liturgy. Jesus’ explanation of the Scriptures (the Liturgy of the Word) leads to an intense experience of communion with the Risen Christ (the Liturgy of the Eucharist), and the very vividness of the latter brings about a deeper appreciation of the former (“Were not our hearts burning within us?”). One of the most important teachings of Vatican II in regard to preaching is the insistence that the homily is an integral part of the Eucharist itself. 31 As part of the entire liturgical act, the homily is meant to set hearts on fire with praise and thanksgiving. It is to be a feature of the intense and privi leged encounter with Jesus Christ that takes place in the liturgy. One might even say that the homilist connects the two parts of the Eucharistic liturgy as he looks back at the Scripture readings and looks forward to the sacrificial meal. This is why it is preferable that the celebrant of the Eucharistic liturgy also be the homilist. 32 In addition, this very integration of the homily into

30 See TJPSS, no. 43. 31 See Sacrosanctum Concilium ( Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy ), no. 52. 32 See The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), no. 66.

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