Pop-Up Catechesis: The “Scandal” of Sharing the Eucharist with Others

A popular online matchmaking and dating service in Chicago is called “It’s Just Lunch.” The name captures a common line used by people who try to deny that there is any level of seriousness or “scandal” in getting together with someone over a meal. If sharing food with another person did not suggest relationship, we wouldn’t feel the need to use a phrase such as, “It’s just lunch.” The truth is, even in our contemporary, fast-food society, sharing a meal with someone usually does suggest a relationship. When we want to deepen or solidify a relationship, we invite the other person to a meal. The more formal the food and the presentation of said food, the more formal the relationship. To be spotted at a Eucharistic meal should make people talk about us, because it indicates that we are in a relationship that some may see as scandalous in some ways. Through the act of celebrating Eucharist, we are proclaiming an intimacy with God and with one another. In this episode of Pop-Up Catechesis, we explore the connection between meals and relationships.

For more information about the Eucharist and meals, check out the following links:

• Living the Sacraments: Finding God at the Intersection of Heaven and Earth
• Living the Mass: How One Hour a Week Can Change Your Life
• Pop-Up Catechesis: Eucharist as the Ultimate Meal
• The Lord’s Table: A Covenant Meal
• What’s So Catholic About Food?

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