Body and Blood of Christ
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Written by Eric Wilkes
When I first read this Psalm refrain, I thought to myself, “Just Jerusalem? Nowhere else?” It seemed a little exclusive. As I read past the refrain, I started seeing a greater inclusivity in this call to worship. Other places and people are mentioned. Jerusalem, Zion, Israel, and Jacob all got a shout out in the verses of today’s psalm. By itself, this refrain can be a bit confusing, but when you start expanding your view into the verses of the Psalm and especially the surrounding readings, things start to come together very quickly. Today is the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ and Jerusalem is a beautifully placed location to summarize the fulfillment of God’s promises throughout salvation history.
Jerusalem is the location of so many significant events throughout scripture. It’s where David chose to build his capital, where his son Solomon built the Temple as the national center for worship, it’s where Jesus was presented at the Temple as a child, it’s where Jesus preached, it’s where Jesus ate the Last Supper, it’s where He suffered, died, and rose again. Jerusalem isn’t mentioned in today’s psalm arbitrarily but for a very significant purpose. Jerusalem is the geographical heart of the Body and Blood of Christ. This is where Jesus instituted the Eucharist and ultimately where Jesus showed us the meaning of the Eucharist in and through his salvific work. If ever there was a place to embody gratitude, thanksgiving, and praise to the Lord, it would be Jerusalem.
So maybe you have a physical place that reminds you of something good. There’s a park in downtown Houston that reminds me of the night I first met my wife. It’s a place that we’ve revisited, walked around and reminisced about where our friendship and relationship began through an evening of music, meaningful conversations about life and faith and a few fun serendipitous moments. More often, we’ll look back at pictures and mentally revisit that night or all but attempt to transport through space and time as we tell others how we met, trying to bring them back there with us. We love retelling this story and painting a scene with our words about where we were elevates the story tremendously.
So too, in today’s psalm, the psalmist points to these people and places of God’s redemption and to remember where His love for us played out in some incredible ways. In the scriptures and in the stories we tell others, we revisit the good things in our lives. But I know as often as I remember the beauty of the night I met my wife, I find that I don’t nearly recall the good things God is constantly doing in my life as much as I should.
So today as we remember the Body and Blood of Christ in today’s mass, I invite you to take some time today to find your Jerusalem moments. Find those places and moments where God started something new, where redemption began in your life, where God’s love surprised you, where healing happened, and revisit that place or those places in your mind for a few moments. And once you’ve gone back to your own personal Jerusalem, where God worked in you and in your life, I invite you just as the psalmist does, to “praise the Lord.”
Where was I when I encountered God for the first time and what was that like?
What physical locations have I felt closest to God? When can I revisit that place in my mind, in photographs, or in person?
How can I share my personal Jerusalem moments with others so that the love story God has written through the Body and Blood of Christ can continue to be written through my life to a world desperately hungry for the fulfillment only found in Christ alone?
Eric Wilkes is a Louisiana-born and Chicago-based artist, musician and producer serving churches, communities, and ministries on an international level. He has been an artist, writer, co-writer, instrumentalist, and producer for several projects through NOVUM RECORDS, and is a part of the indie rock duo NOVUM. When he’s not playing music, he enjoys spending quality time with his wife, Cori, his family, and his close friends relaxing and enjoying good conversations. When Eric needs medicine for his soul he finds it in new places, sunny days, trips to the ocean, chai tea lattes, playing piano in empty churches and late night adoration chapel visits. Check out his music on Spotify and Apple Music, and follow Eric on Instagram.
Pray with today’s psalm.