Bread for the World

It is our good fortune, our grace, to be invited into the mystery of "the one, eternal Child, who, from the beginning of the world, intervenes as sponsor for his alienated creatures." (prev. post)

Advent helps us to prepare for this Incarnation, and its renewal in the Eucharist, "as we wait in hope for the coming of our Savior, Lord Jesus Christ."

"The spiritual vocation of human individuals is not primarily a concern for one's own salvation or eternal happiness. That would still be a sublime form of egoism: "The soul is not a demand of immortality, but a [moral] impossibility of murdering. . .; the spirit is the very concern for a just society." Peperzak, Beyond, p. 27 (quoting Levinas).

I read that to mean that our "vocation", and the meaning of our faith, is our call to see all, and treat all, in terms of the hoped for realization of the kingdom of God for all.

According to Levinas, incarnation is in the other. "The Divine cannot manifest itself except through the neighbor. For a Jew, incarnation is neither possible, nor necessary. After all, Jeremiah himself said it: "To judge the case of the poor and miserable, is not that to know me? says the Eternal?" Jer. 22:16.

If we believe in Incarnation, its meaning must be the same: Christ as entering between the murderer and the victim. The "bread" of God is what in the here and now symbolizes and graces us to act like Christ, our brother, in this, our role as persons in this world.

Lest you think of this a theoretical enterprise (since "killing is far from my thoughts"), think about this article in yesterday's Chgo. Tribune.

Listen to Elina Garanca sing Panis Angelicus

Latin text	An English translation
Panis angelicus fit panis hominum; Dat panis coelicus figuris terminum: O res mirabilis! Manducat Dominum Pauper, servus et humilis. Te trina Deitas unaque poscimus: Sic nos tu visita, sicut te colimus; Per tuas semitas duc nos quo tendimus, Ad lucem quam inhabitas. Amen.	The angelic bread (The bread of angels) becomes the bread of men; The heavenly bread ends all prefigurations: What wonder! The Lord is eaten by a poor and humble servant. Triune God, We beg of you: visit us, just as we worship you. By your ways, lead us where we are heading, to the light in which you dwell. Amen.