Homily by Fr. Richard Vosko/ Feast of Corpus Christi/ Jesus Not a Priest Role of Priest to build church for justice/All baptized celebrate Eucharist

http://richardsvosko.wordpress.com/

..."Jesus, however, was not a priest. He was a Jewish layman. He did not belong to the Levitical tribe of priests. He never offered sacrifices in the Temple and in fact he was critical of a corrupt priesthood of his time. What he did do was eat meals with all kinds of people — with his family and friends, strangers, misfit disciples and social outcasts. In doing so he embodied what he stood for — treat all people equally and eradicate injustice. We memorialize his actions whenever we gather to celebrate the eucharist, which, we believe is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet.
In the post New Testament period the leader of the community was accepted as the presider of the eucharist. Later, only bishops who were the overseers in communities, and then other elders called priests, assumed the authority to preside at the eucharist.
By the mid second century the liturgy was believed to be a sacrificial act. Ordained men continued to preside in the person of Christ. The laity were no longer involved in various ministries according to their gifts. They became spectators which was, in part, what paved the way for adoring the sacrament they were no longer sharing. ..
The eucharist is not just about the transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ, which we believe. It is also about our transformation. The mystery of faith is found in the church. We are called to share our resources, even giving up our own assets and supplies, so others can share in the favors, the graces, the gifts of God.
The role of the priest then is not to turn bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ as if it were some solitary mystical magical act. Our role is to gather people of faith into the body and blood of Christ, to build up the church so we can bring justice to the world. It follows logically that all baptized persons share in this ministry. A priest cannot do it alone. As the late Father Andrew Greeley once wrote, even though the priest is the one who presides at eucharist, “the priest is not necessarily better than anyone else...”