Smell of Wine

Seeing the Eucharist as the food for every journey

04/01/2021

John 13:1-15 Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. So, during supper, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel nd tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

Do you have a favorite food you like to take on a road-trip? Many of our parish families may have hit the road last week for Spring Break so their “food for the journey” is still fresh on their minds, or still lingering on their lips. Food and drink for the journey reminds me of that classic joke. A police officer pulled over a priest for speeding and immediately smelled alcohol on his breath. The next thing he noticed was an empty wine bottle lying on the passenger seat. The officer asked: “Have you been drinking, Father?” The priest answered, “Just water.” The officer insisted, “Then why do I smell wine?” The priest looked over at the bottle and shouted: “Good Lord! He’s done it again!” That’s an old one, but I still love it!

I’m sure the priest had just finished celebrating Mass and only the slight smell of wine was on his breath. It’s interesting that on the day of Pentecost when the apostles spoke in tongues, we read in Acts 2:13, “But others mocking said, ‘They are filled with new wine’.” The apostles were indeed filled with new wine at Pentecost because the Holy Spirit had changed the wine into the Blood of Christ at Mass that morning. And then, strengthened by that Eucharistic Food, the same Spirit gave the apostles the power to speak many languages. The Wine had loosened their tongues! The apostles took the “new Wine” of the Mass on their great missionary journeys over the whole world, fearlessly preaching the Gospel.

Indeed, the new Bread and Wine of the Eucharist is the ideal food for the final journey after death, our personal Passover, when we “pass over” from this world to the next. The Church teaches that when we receive Holy Communion for the last time, it is called “Viaticum,” literally “for the road,” or “food for the journey.” Why? So we will have the strength to make it to our ultimate destination, our Father’s House. The Eucharistic Food gives us the confidence to set out on that final journey with joy. Why? Because Wine makes us smile.

Today we celebrate Holy Thursday, the night on which our Savior instituted the Eucharist to be our Food for every journey. Of course, he did not start cooking from scratch, but rather built on the Jewish feast of Passover. Before their momentous march across the desert, Moses fed the Israelites with the original food for the journey, namely, lamb and unleavened bread. The people were not leaving schools and books for Spring Break, but leaving slavery and bondage, and many students may feel those two are exactly the same.

Leaving slavery in Egypt for the freedom of the Promised Land prefigured leaving this valley of tears we call “earth” for the glory of the real Promised Land called “heaven.” Egypt was earth, the Promised Land was heaven. In other words, that evening of the Passover Moses fed the people with a sort of “spiritual viaticum,” spiritual food for the journey. Don’t forget, though, along with the unleavened bread the Israelites also drank wine that night, and the Egyptians might have mockingly said about them: “They are filled with new wine.” The wine made the Israelites smile as they departed Egypt.

The Eucharistic Bread and Wine are not only food for the final journey after death, but also food for all our earthly journeys. That is, the Eucharist strengthens us and helps us to live like Christ lived. That is the reason at the Last Supper Jesus also washed and dried his disciples’ feet, and then commanded: “If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet.” Of course, Jesus did not mean that literally but illustratively, that is, his action was an example of service to the extreme, even if it meant washing feet.

How will we ever be humble enough and holy enough to do that? How can we perform service to the extreme? Simple: we must consume Jesus’ own Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in Holy Communion. The Eucharist, therefore, not only makes us holy but humble; we not only feel our Lord’s sanctity but also his strength, and that is how we are able to love like our Lord. When we are filled with the new Wine of the Eucharist, we can set out on all our journeys with joy. The wine makes us smile.

I recently looked up the ten most popular foods to take on a road-trip. See if any of these match your personal list. They included: (1) beef jerky, (2) popcorn, (3) hard-boiled eggs, (4) protein bars, (5) string cheese, (6) carrots, (7) grapes, (8), hummus and celery, (9) Greek yogurt, and (10) pistachios. I was shocked that “viaticum” did not make the top ten list of road-trip foods! But Holy Communion should be at the top of every Catholic’s list of road-trip snacks. We should not leave home without it, whether we are trying to make our way on earth, or trying to make our way home to heaven. Sometimes, it’s good to get on the road with the slight smell of Wine on your breath.

Praised be Jesus Christ!