2422AFC053124 – Mutiny Over The Bounty
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Exodus 24:7 – 7 Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”
Psalm 116:12-13 –
12 What shall I return to the Lord
for all his bounty to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord
Hebrews 9:11-12 – 11 But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and [more] perfect tent [or tabernacle] (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), 12 he entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
Mark 14:22-26 – (GNT) [1] 22 While they were eating, Jesus took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. “Take it,” he said, “this is my body.”
23 Then he took a cup, gave thanks to God, and handed it to them; and they all drank from it. 24 Jesus said, “This is my blood which is poured out for many, my blood which seals God’s *covenant. 25 I tell you, I will never again drink this wine until the day I drink the new wine in the Kingdom of God.”
26 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
*Some translations and ancient authorities add “new” here. Covenant : diathḗkē (from 1223 /diá, “thoroughly,” intensifying 5087 /títhēmi, “place, set”) – properly, a set-agreement having complete terms determined by the initiating party, which also are fully affirmed by the one entering the agreement.
John 6:50-51 – 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
E pili mau na pomaika‘i ia ‘oe a me ke akua ho’omaika‘i ‘oe, ʻŌmea! (May blessing always be with you and may God bless you, Beloved!) Ahhhh, I have looked forward to this post! This coming Sunday is The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ or Corpus Christi. It is the third and final of the major post-Easter Solemnities. The previous two were Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord on May 12, and Pentecost Sunday on May 19. Next Sunday we begin the long stretch of “Ordinary Time.” We can begin this post by explaining the title. Most of us will remember there was a book (and later a movie) called Mutiny on The Bounty. There were three successful books as well as three successful movies about that event centered on the HMAV Bounty in April 1789, while sailing in the South Pacific under the command of William Bligh. Now, what is the connection between a historically famous and historical act of defiance, and a Solemnity honoring the Real Presence of Christ? I hope by the end of this you will not think I’m crazy.
Just as a refresher, here’s an image of the HMAV Bounty. There are plenty of stories about the “Tall Ships,” the era of stupendous naval battles, nefarious pirates, and 
dauntless explorers. Some of the tales passed down through the centuries are dramatic and fanciful. The great ships that were committed to these adventures were marvels of craftsmanship, ingenuity, and daring. There is much debate to this day about the events surrounding the fate of The Bounty. It seems incredible that crew members who participated in the mutiny were committed to an idea that Bligh was unfit for command and listed evidence of his harsh cruelty to his crew. It’s a bad rap that has very thin evidence historically. Still, the mutineers rebelled against what they believed was intolerable and assented to what they believed was justifiable. They knew they could be severely punished for their failure to conform to the “Laws of the Sea.” There were standards of conduct for Commander and Crew, and each thought the other had failed to live up to those standards. Here, then, is the connection which comes from our Key Verses from Psalm 116:12-13:
12 What shall I return to the Lord
for all his bounty to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord
We can see that the word “bounty” is also the name of that ship. If you click on the link for that passage you will see three different words in the position of “bounty” – bounty, benefits, and goodness. In this → collection of the same passage at Bible Hub → (Psalm 116:12), we also see precious blessings, bountiful dealings, good, rewards, great good, acts of kindness, and so on. The gist of it is, “How can we give recompense to God for all the great and wonderful Gifts he has given us?” I’ll give you the short answer: We can’t. What we can do – at the very least – is try, try, and try again to be and to do better. If this connection still seems a bit tenuous to you, let’s go back to the mutiny momentarily and ask, “Why was (is) mutiny a punishable crime?” One of those “rules of the sea” was that the ship’s commander was always the ultimate authority on board. His due was to be respected-as-ranked regardless of his personal qualities. There were specific remedies for “lousy commanders,” but they were much milder (and less effective) than mutiny. The mutineers decided that their recompense to the commander was to ditch him at sea. Bad guys deserve bad endings, we might say.
Now, a short detour to present-day realities.
Many of us have heard in recent years of a Pew Research Center survey (see summary) finding that a bit less than ONE-THIRD (31%) of Catholics believe in the Real Presence of 
Christ in the Eucharist. Nearly half (43%) believe that it is the Church’s position that this error is actually the Church’s teaching! About one-fifth (22%) disbelieve the action of transubstantiation is actual even though they know that’s what Scripture, Apostolic Teaching, and the Magisterium profess in the Catechism of the Catholic Church – CCC 1374: The mode of Christ’s presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all the sacraments as “the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend.” In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist “the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.”
“This presence is called ‘real’ – by which is not intended to exclude the other types of presence as if they could not be ‘real’ too, but because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present.” When we say we do NOT believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, that is NOT what the Church believes, teaches, and requires as what is due to God in Christ Jesus. It is essentially mutinous to say, “I don’t care what the Church wants be to believe. I can only believe what I can believe! You cannot tell me how to worship! I know what you want, but I don’t want what you want; I want what I want!” Very dangers words indeed!! That’s basically the same argument used by Lucifer.
The Worship of God is what we offer with the utmost sincerity and honor as is his due – and his requirement. Remember, Jesus stated the two Greatest Commandments – You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the Prophets. (See Matthew 22:36-40) To Love and Obey God, Jesus tells us we must give him the reverence, respect, awe, and worship he deserves and expects. That includes participating in the Eucharist in full faith knowing that we are experiencing the Real Presence of Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. If we are going up to Communion with anything less in our hearts, we are mutineers and at risk of severe condemnation.
When we say we believe that Christ is “consubstantial with the Father,” we mean that he is of the same substance as the Father. So it is also with the elements of the Eucharist – they are of the same substance of the Christ of God – they are The Real Presence. He is indeed present to us “through him, with him, and in him” as O Sacrament Most Holy (↔ Music Link). Thus, the Eucharist is the perfect core and operating system of the Absolutely Perfect Plan, God’s own APP. We are One Body in this One Lord! (↔ Music Link) For non–Christians, this idea is absurd, even bizarre and disgusting. Even among the early Disciples of Jesus, this teaching offended many and they just said, “That’s enough! I’m outta here.” I took some time to discern whether or not to add this passage – rather than just a link to it – and I believe it’s important to plant it firmly here (another mystery). One of the Key Verses for today is from John 6. Here is that passage in context:
John 6:50-65 – 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (↔ Click Link for full content)
This is the revelation of the Mystery of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. If I TRUST what God tells me, I believe Scripture, know it comes to us through Apostolic Tradition, and is presented to us through the Magisterium of the Church. (See more on TRUST below) We can believe it, or not. In my case, it’s sort of like “believe it or else.” The “or else” for me would be to contradict what I see in Scripture:
TABLE:
| τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ σῶμά μου touto estin to* sōma mou this is* the body of me * “omnitemporal” was, is, will be |
That is in my mind whenever I receive the Precious Body and Precious Blood (↔ Music Link). It is neither my goal nor my desire to convince you, dear reader, that this and this only is correct. I believe it is TRUE. IF you believe as I do, what I have written here should not offend you. IF you do not believe as I do, what I have written here might, perchance, offend you – scandalize you – but my purpose here is only to state my slight understanding of a Great Mystery (mystērion) of Faith. Further, after much searching interiorly and exteriorly, I am convinced that
If the road to Hell is paved with good intentions,
then the road to Heaven is paved with good works.
Not that one is saved by works, but that good works arise from the actualization of good intent – they are a product of F.A.I.T.H. in action. More than wisdom, more than religion, more than rites and sacrifices, God commands us to Trust, Love, and Obey him. On that point I want to share with you something I learned earlier this week at our Parish Mission. For those of you who are unfamiliar with that term, it is usually a guest speaker brought in to conduct inspirational instruction for a Parish Community.
Our Mission Director was Fr. Jim Sichko who can be described as “Priest, Preacher, Papal Missionary of Mercy, Evangelist, Event Planner & Sauce Maker (See www.frjims.com) He was selected by Pope Francis I to travel the world to deliver the Gospel in every corner – as Jesus commanded. Here is a very brief summary (including commentary from the Holy Spirit as he spoke) of his explanation of TRUST during #60MIN4JESUS:
T for Time – if we are to TRUST God, that means we spend time with him. I find that the more I trust him, the more time I spend with him.
R for Relationship – We learn to speak our heart and mind to God, and then we learn to close our mouth and listen. You have 168 hours a week available to be with him. Use it.
U for Understanding – God never promised he would give us everything we want; however, he does give us everything we need. Sometimes that includes pain in ways that help us grow closer to him and to each other.
S for Surrender – Let God be God, not us. It is God’s Will which we must Trust, Love, and Obey, not ours. God IS God, and we are not.
T for Try – Try to make the effort to stay reconciled with God in the Sacraments. Tell the priest whatever you need to repent. And remember, repent means to turn around, and in order to turn around you first have to stop.
When I take notes during a Homily or a Mission, it’s always a three-way conversation. There is what the Holy Spirit is telling the speaker, what the speaker is telling me, and what the Holy Spirit helps me write down as we listen. Over the past 20 or so years, not one speaker has ever told me, “Hey, you! Put that notebook away!” It is also true that often “The Healing Word” (↔ Learning Link) suggests part of the content of an MBN post. In this post, God has given me the Bounty of his love and direction so that I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord instead of throwing my own little mutiny about his extraordinary generosity. We can TRUST in God because Jesus has paid the full price for our sinfulness with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. We are reminded of that every time we see this:
If we are unwilling to surrender to God our gratitude for the Sacrifice of his Only Begotten Son as expiation for our sins, then we are participants in a mutiny that deserves – and will receive – isolation from the source of All that is Good. Instead let us strive to join all who have gone before us marked with the Sign of Faith, and pray to Our Father, “There, with the whole of creation, freed from the corruption of sin and death, may we glorify you through Christ our Lord, through whom you bestow on the world All that is Good.”
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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