Several years ago, maybe more than several years ago,
I saw a movie that made a lasting memory for me.
Perhaps you yourself saw it,
It was called “The Untouchables”.
And it was filmed here in Chicago.
And it was, the main character was Eliot Ness.
Eliot Ness had come to clean up the crime,
Particularly the crime of the mob here in Chicago
And across the country.
And he worked hard at doing so.
And in his life experience,
He experienced so many dark moments.
He saw the cruelty of humanity,
The suffering of humanity.
As humanity – people inflicting harm,
People inflicting hurt, people inflicting murder.
For what end?
And his life’s goal was to rid the country.
Towards the end of the movie, he looks into the camera,
And reflecting on his own life
And the experiences of darkness that he had,
He said these most profound words.
He said, “I have become what I have beheld.”
And he didn’t like it.
He meant that all of that he had seen and experienced
Created in him something that he simply did not like.
Darkness and anger and a sense of lack of forgiveness.
Something to think about as we’re influenced
And as we experience the dark moments of life.
And now we celebrate this great Feast Day
Of the Body and Blood of Christ.
And we are to become what we behold.
We are to become the very Body
And Blood of Christ in the world.
We are to become the Disciples of the Lord
As we gather, as we pray, as we listen to the Word,
As we act as Disciples in the world
That has been given to us as co-creators
To make a difference,
Has received the Body and Blood of Christ.
We are to become what we behold in life.
To be Disciples, the arms, the legs, the ears,
The eyes of Christ in the world,
To enhance and to make a difference.
And so as we gather this day celebrating Eucharist
With grateful hearts, Eucharist which simply means:
Gratitude and thanksgiving.
We’re grateful for the many gifts that God has given
And bringing into our lives.
We’re grateful for the ways in which we’re nourished.
And then we accept the challenge to go out
And to bring the very Body and Blood of Christ
As Disciples into the world,
To be agents of transformation, to make a difference.