This gospel passage often prompts reflections about civic duty for Jesus’ basic advice seems to be, “Pay the tax.” Notice, however, that he then adds, “Repay to God what belongs to God.” With those words, he focuses on our obligations to God. In effect, he is saying, “If you are so concerned about paying taxes, you should be more concerned about your obligations to God as your creator and Lord.” The Liturgy of the Eucharist, our prayer of thanksgiving, is our opportunity to repay God for the many ways we have been blessed.
The liturgy of the Eucharist dates back to the Last Supper. That night, according to Matthew, While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Luke adds that Jesus said, “Do this in memory of me,” and this the Church has done ever since. At first there was no formal ritual but in due time, one emerged so that there would be consistency in the celebration of the Mass. Granted, differences still exist from parish to parish, from country to country, even from one priest to another, but the flow of the Eucharistic Prayer remains the same. A priest takes bread and wine, representing the gifts you have repaid to God, invokes the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon these gifts and transforms them into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The prayers we have been using emerged after Vatican II when the bishops mandated that the Mass be celebrated in the language of the community so that the congregation could fully participate.
At the start of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the celebrant offers up bread and wine and says words rooted in an ancient Jewish prayer known as the Berekah. His words have changed somewhat but yours remains the same, “Blessed be God forever.”
After washing his hands, the celebrant invites you to stand for the preface. All of them, along with the prayer said beforehand, have been rewritten. In the Sanctus, we will proclaim “Lord God of hosts,” instead of, as we now do, “God of power and might.”
Before Vatican II, there was only one Eucharistic Prayer, known as the Roman Canon, which is often used on solemn occasions such as Christmas and Easter. The Council fathers added three more: the second prayer, the shortest, is usually used for daily Masses. The third is customarily used on Sundays. The fourth Eucharistic Prayer with its unique preface stands apart from the others since it summarizes salvation history.
The words of the consecration are slightly altered. Soon you will be hearing the word, chalice, rather than cup. Another notable change is the word, many, in place of all, when the wine is consecrated. Pope Benedict made the change to echo what Jesus said at the Last Supper. Historically, the Roman Canon has always said, “pro multis,” that is, “for many” at the consecration. This subtle change points out that while Christ died for all, not everyone has accepted his gift of salvation.
One significant change comes after the consecration. The celebrant now says, “Let us proclaim the mystery of faith” and together we do, often in song. Soon, he will simply say, “Mystery of faith.” He will listen as you voice one of three acclamations. This is now your prayer. One that has been used often, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again,” has been dropped while the other three have been modified. The one we presently use will be changed to read, “we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again.”
The Eucharistic Prayer concludes with the doxology, that moment when the celebrant holds up the body and blood of Jesus Christ. He then invites you to pray the Lord’s Prayer, perhaps the best way to prepare ourselves for receiving Jesus. Because of its old English, this prayer wasn’t changed. Some Church scholars assert that the petition in this prayer, “Give us this day, our daily bread,” was coined with the Eucharist in mind, as though we are saying, “Give us this day that mysterious bread, which alone is enough for us today.”
After the Lord’s Prayer comes the sign of peace. Your words and mine had been altered but the purpose remains the same. We prepare ourselves to receive Christ by first offering a sign of reconciliation with those around us.
Resonating John the Baptist, the celebrant will then invite you to “Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world.” Your response to his prayer has taken on a familiar biblical line. “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.” There will be no change to receiving Holy Communion. You are still expected to reverence the moment and respond, “Amen,” to the words, “Body of Christ,” and “Blood of Christ.”
How blessed we are! The Lord wants to feed us with his Body and Blood. He wants to give us food to sustain us. As our way of repaying God, we gather as a community to sing, thank, pray, and eat. We eat this meal together and count our blessings. We have so much to be thankful for as a faith community.
To the state, we pay taxes, but to God we are to give undivided service and worship. Isaiah speaks for God, “I am the Lord, there is no other,” so we give “the Lord glory and honor.” The Liturgy of the Eucharist embodies our response from the moment we offer our gifts to receiving the ultimate gift of Jesus Christ himself.