Transcript of the Video Above

Daily reflections for Lenten Easter, written by Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI.

Once upon a time, there was a Rabbi. Whenever he wanted God’s presence, he went to a special place in the woods, lit a fire, said some prayers, and did a dance. Then God would appear to him.

When the Rabbi died, his Disciple did the same. If he wanted God’s presence, he went to the same spot in the woods, lit the fire, and said the same prayers. Nobody had taught him the dance, but it still worked. God appeared.

The next Disciple carried on the tradition. Although he didn’t know the prayers nor the dance. He went to the same spot in the woods and lit the fire. God came.

Eventually a disciple came along who didn’t know how to light the fire or say the prayers or do the dance. He searched for the place in the woods but couldn’t find it. All he knew was how to tell the story. But it worked. He discovered that whenever he told the story of how the others had found God, God would appear.

Ritual is best understood through metaphor, through story, as with the tale just told. God appears whenever certain stories get told. When we ritually tell the story of Jesus’ sacrifice, in the Eucharistic prayer, the very heart of liturgy, we experience the real presence of, the event of Christ’s dying and rising.

Moreover, that reality is given to us so that we might participate in it. We, the congregation, die to the things that divide us and become the Body and Blood of Christ.