The Lectionary and Scripture Interpretation for Feasts
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Important background on this feast
Genesis 14:18-20
The beginning of this chapter sets the stage with four kings from the East and five rebel kings from the West. The rebels have joined forces near the Dead Sea (v3). They have served an Eastern king for 13 years but that king has continually expanded his territory, and the rebels have decided enough is enough. The rebel kings include the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abram’s nephew Lot is along for the ride.
V10 gives an almost humorous picture of the defeat of the rebels: while trying to flee, they fall into the valley’s tar pits. The Eastern kings seize everything, including Lot (this is before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah). In v13, someone comes and tells Abram about the battle and Lot’s capture. Abram promptly assembles a sizeable force to go and recover his nephew. Abram then achieves what five rebel kings could not: he defeats the four Eastern kings and recovers Lot along with everything else.
In v17, Abram returns to the valley, and the rebel kings come out to meet him, which is where we pick up in v18, with the curious figure of Melchizedek, King of Salem. He is also referenced in Psalm 110 as well as in the book of Hebrews. In the Genesis account, the King of Salem is shown as a higher station than Abraham himself because Abraham gives Melchizedek a tithe of the spoils of war. Rabbinic literature of the century before and during Jesus’ lifetime showed a high interest in this figure and a definite association with the Messiah. Melchizedek was interesting because, in the Biblical account, we are not told where he came from or how he died. In a sense, he had no beginning or end.
Hebrews 7 looks at this figure from a Christian lens. We could sum it up by saying: a human priest can serve as mediator between humanity and God only for the duration of his earthly life. Jesus is superior because he serves as mediator for eternity – he is not bound by the span of his earthly life.
In v18 Melchizedek comes out to meet Abram, bringing bread and wine. Some scholars see this action as a way to gain favor with Abram, who is a strong and powerful figure in this story. He first blesses Abram (v19) and then God (v20). Abram then gives Melchizedek a tithe or a tenth of everything he had captured from the Eastern kings: the possessions of the rebel kings, who were there with him before Melchizedek. This offering acknowledges Melchizedek’s spiritual authority, but it also acknowledges Abram’s temporal authority to dispense of others’ possessions as he sees fit.
As with any feast day, we first seek to understand the historical context of the reading. But the understanding and interpretation should be governed by the context of the feast. What does this reading tell us about the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ?
I think it’s interesting that the only theological treatment of this event in the New Testament does not mention the bread and wine. We also don’t know what Melchizedek did with the bread and wine in this reading. So perhaps the emphasis is not there, even on this feast day. What we do see is Abram submitting to a spiritual authority and being blessed by that authority.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
The context of this passage in the letter is a series of contentious passages about corporate worship and, particularly, the role of women.
In vv17-22, Paul talks about unity. He says there can be no Eucharist in a community whose members do not love one another. The cultural setting of early Christian communities was the home. The size of most homes generally would not allow all members of the community to gather in the same room for a meal. The poor would arrive to the gathering late in the day, after their labor was done. The well-to-do, having more control over their time, would have arrived hours earlier. They would have gathered in the dining room and enjoyed the meal and be well on their way to fellowship by late in the day. The poor, therefore, were relegated to scraps of leftovers and a seat in the hallway.
This is the situation that Paul is addressing – the need for care and consideration of others, especially by those in privileged positions.
The verses today are the earliest written account of the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper. This letter was written around 53AD – a mere 20 years after Jesus’ life on earth. Think about the connections here… People with living memory of the original upper room experience with Jesus remembered his words and told them over and over again to others. That oral tradition is what was handed on to Paul and received by the community at Corinth. And these same words connect us back to that original experience as well. This is what “apostolic succession” is all about – the handing on of Tradition in a way that links us to the key moments of who Jesus is and what he does.
In v23, Paul says he received and handed on the tradition of the Last Supper. “Received” and “handed on” were technical terms in the early Christian community. They are the language of authority, coming from the Jewish rabbinic tradition. These words indicate an important teaching that is memorized and transmitted in this same form. The use of this term and the idea of handing on was very common in Paul’s world. It’s the way both Jewish rabbis and Greek philosophers “handed on” their teaching to subsequent generations.
Paul says in that same verse that Jesus was “handed over” or “betrayed” (RSV). The Greek word carries both meanings. The NAB rendering highlights the potential wordplay with handing over the tradition.
In v24, Jesus gave thanks, the Greek word eucharistos. He says, “this is my body,” the Greek word soma, a word that means the entirety of a person: flesh and blood, yes, but more than that; soma is the entirety of who a person is.
Jesus then says, “Do this in remembrance of me.” The verb tense for “do this” means something to do over and over again – keep doing this. What does this refer to? In the context of this feast day, we could say it rightly refers to the action of the Last Supper. But I don’t think it’s inaccurate to view it as all that Jesus did and said and taught. His way of life. His soma – all that he did and taught and the way he lived.
And why are we to do this? Jesus says “in remembrance,” the Greek word anamnesis. It’s a word that implies far more than just recalling an event. The easiest way to understand this word is to think about a smell, something that transports you somewhere else. For me, every time I smell black-eyed peas cooking, I am transported to my Granny’s kitchen, watching her stir the pot, tasting it, and giving me a taste. I am right there with her. It is more than memory; I become a part of the memory once again. That is anamnesis, and that is what the Eucharist is meant to be.
The Jewish people experienced this any time they recounted the exodus story – they entered into it. The Passover celebration is a reenactment or an anamnesis of all that God did to deliver them out of slavery. What Holy Week is to us, the Exodus is to the Jews: the greatest moment of salvation. Anamnesis is what happens every time we celebrate the Eucharist; we are to remember it so deeply that we enter into it and find Christ truly present.
Soma in v24 is the essence of a person. Likewise, the blood in v25 was, in Jewish understanding, symbolic of the life of a person. In v26, it says “as often as you eat the bread and drink the cup.” The Greek literally says “drink the death.” The “institution narrative” for the Lord’s supper is found in Mark 14, Matthew 26, and Luke 22. Only here in 1 Corinthians do we find this explicit reference to “drinking the death” of the Lord.
These words challenge us most perhaps by their very familiarity. Every Mass we hear the priest tell the story of that first Eucharist. Try to set aside time this week to read them again, asking for the grace to see them with fresh eyes and hear them with the ears of the heart.
Luke 9:11b-17
This story invites the reader to recall the story of God’s miraculous provision of manna in the desert found in Exodus 16:4-36, Numbers 11:7-9, and Deuteronomy 8:3-16. Other related scriptures include Nehemiah 9:20-21: remembrance of God’s wilderness provision; Psalm 78:23-25: manna described as “bread of angels”; and Psalm 105:40: a celebration of God’s miraculous feeding. The story is one of the few that appears in all four gospels (Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, and John 6:1-14).
V10 situates the location in a town called Bethsaida. There are significant textual variations on this location. Some manuscripts locate the action in a “deserted place” which tracks more closely with other gospel accounts. The change is understandable because, later in Luke’s narrative, the disciples will point out to Jesus that they are in a “deserted place” (v12). However, the majority of manuscripts locate it in the town of Bethsaida, on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
The disciples have just returned from a busy preaching mission and Jesus himself has been busy healing others, and he seems to want to draw the disciples away for a bit of a rest. But the crowds followed him anyway, and, in v11, he received or welcomed them. This word indicates hospitality. He didn’t just see them, he actively made them feel welcome. Keep in mind that a large part of ancient hospitality was feeding the guest.
Jesus spends the day teaching and healing, and at the end of the day, the disciples tell him to send the crowd away. Perhaps they are tired and in need of solitude! I find it interesting that, even though it seemed Jesus brought them to Bethsaida for that reason, he doesn’t allow them to rest just yet. Instead, in v13, he tells the disciples to feed the crowd.
Immediately, the disciples focus on what they have and the fact that it is not much. All four gospels agree that what they have is five loaves of bread and two fish. Since this passage is usually connected with the Eucharist, we can understand the loaves. But what’s up with the fish?! Why is fish on the menu?
In many Jewish apocalyptic stories, when all has been made right at the end of time, the primordial beasts of chaos in particular will be served at the eschatological banquet. This final and total elimination of primary enemies is common in many myths. Some scholars see the addition of fish here as an indication that we are to understand and interpret this feeding story in light of The End. This is about what happens when the fullness of the kingdom has arrived. (Bergant)
The disciples want to focus on the little they have and their inability to provide more. So Jesus takes charge but he uses the disciples as the agents of what is about to happen. First he instructs the disciples to get everyone seated in orderly groups. Jesus then does a series of actions that will be repeated in the Last Supper and are reenacted at every Eucharist: took, blessed, broke, gave. And he gives to the disciples to distribute to the crowd. It is through them that the crowd receives the miracle; the disciples are mediators of it. Catholic interpretation sees this as legitimizing the role of the Church, but we might equally say that it legitimates the role of the Christian community, not necessarily the hierarchy. Elsewhere, Jesus will call us to feed and care for each other.
I find it fascinating that, as much as Luke is generally interested in women, he does not mention them here. Only Matthew does that, saying, “The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.” (Matthew 14:21).
In v17, the crowd eats and is satisfied. This is the same word used in the beatitudes: “Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied.” (Luke 6:21). Matthew and Mark both end their accounts by citing the astonishing number of people who had been fed. John and Luke both end on the astonishing amount that was left over: twelve baskets full. Twelve in the Bible is a number of fullness and completeness.
Recall a time when you were hungry for something, whether it was for food or a deep desire for something else. If you ultimately had that desire met, what did that feel like? Or can you imagine what it would have felt like? Ponder the idea of being satisfied.
This story of radical abundance happens in the context of community. I find it striking that the disciples are somehow integral to the action and yet they have basically nothing to give. But they work with it as instructed in faith that God is up to something. Think about ways you are involved in the Christian community (not necessarily “church” but any context where “hungry” people can be encountered). What are you serving up? Are you only sharing those things you feel are “enough”? What might happen if you served with the radical hospitality modeled by the disciples in this story?
Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
© 2023 Kelly Sollinger