In the invitation at the Eucharist the priest offers up the wine and the bread and states "The gifts of God for the people of God", not only indicating the gift of God's Son but also the real gift of the grain and grape that the elements originated from, a double blessing. In seeing within the grain and the grape the mystery of Christ's offering of his body and blood we may miss the gift that is in the reality of life, bread and wine, sustenance for the physical body. We are often too focussed on the sign and the symbol to accept the reality of the gift in much the same way that those following Christ were to fixated on the sign that they rejected the food of eternal life (Jn 6:30). This is the free offering that God gives to us that is contained in the bread and the wine, life. A life that is abundant and a life that is freely given to us through God.
We cannot live without the freely given bounty of God, which we have inevitably commodified for the benefit of a few. The eucharistic meal is, among other things, a reminder to us of this free gift which we need to remind ourselves constantly of. It is a FREE gift. To our minds anything that comes to us free has a catch associated with it. We are too used to the fact that every 'freebie' has a price attached and if we think like that then we are not receiving a gift but purchasing something. We can perhaps turn to politics, and recent politics in this country, to see the effect of gifts on the political landscape. We have had in recent months this rort and that rort that seems to indicate that those in power and authority are buying our compliance with 'gifts'. However, the components of gift giving at the level that we are talking about, around life, is well beyond the pettiness of human lives and expectations. The gift of life both physical and spiritual is a gift that is beyond any capacity of ours to return in full. We can only give thanks and praise for the gifts granted to us and demonstrate our willingness to respond to the best of our conscience and free will.
Paul and other writers are very clear that not only is the gift of life freely given but also other gifts that can be termed both mundane and spiritual. At the start of the Church the gifts of prophecy and apostleship were seen to be among those celebratory gifts that come from God. But not all people are called into the same gift but all are gifted with a diversity that is beyond our understanding. Yet, as seen above we tend to commodify the gifts freely given to us by God. Using them for our own benefit rather than for the glory of God and the benefit of those around us. In doing so, we naturally will proclaim that this way or that way is better than his or her way thus those who follow are being tossed to and fro by the vagaries of popular demand (Eph 4:14). In using the gifts that God gives we should be using them first and foremost for the benefit of the community in which we find ourselves that speaks of an honesty of purpose rather than deceiving others for our own benefit (Eph 4.15), an honesty that is built on love for the other so as to improve all of those in the community.
I am reminded just how much this effects us when we have gifts to share. In starting a new endeavour or a study group or a possible teaching mechanism we are often put off by others saying that there is no real call for it or we won't come or its to high falutin for us or other excuses. In getting this sort of feedback we actually withdraw and do not utilise the gift that we have. Yet, God has given us the gift to do with it what we will for the benefit of the other. Who is to say that the other who will benefit is part of our current community? We are so often led by the express wishes of those within our small communities that we neglect the fact that God calls us to minister to the other not ourselves. We huddle in our small communities concerned with our decreasing numbers and not celebrating the gifts that God gives to us for all. In utilising the gifts God gives to us, we praise God and give God's love back to God. We can then come into the eucharistic space with genuine thanksgiving for the gifts that we receive. The physical gift of life as well as the deeper well that comes from the entwined presence of Christ whose well of love is deep and encompasses us in all that we are and do.
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