A deficit is something that is missing. We use the word often to identify the shortage of funds in our monthly budget. But we also use the word to describe the shortcomings of a person: “He has a deficit of common sense.”
One of the deficits of our Sunday Eucharist is the weakness of our people bringing their own lives to this Eucharist and offering their lives as a living sacrifice, with and through the sacrifice of Jesus. We need to teach all people to bring their own lives as a living offering with and through Jesus.
The moment we are walking into the Sunday Eucharist we bring our entire lives with us. We never pray as disjointed spirits, but we always pray with all our experiences, our limitations and our successes. We always bring with us all our friendships and the people who support us and we support them. We bring with us all our history, the blest days and the days of suffering and confusion. We pray as a whole person.
We want to stress how important it is that we join our service and compassion for others to the very sacrifice of Jesus. This past week we may have driven our elderly neighbor to see the cancer doctor and accompanied her in the consultation with the doctor and the tests that entailed a further trip. This act of friendship took up the whole day. Bring the goodness you were to this elderly friend to the Lord.
But bring to the Lord the pain in your heart that your two brothers do not talk to each other. It was all over money. Bring to the Lord the times that you have sat in your chair in the evening and tears came to your eyes if your Mother (God rest her soul) ever knew that her family would be so divided. Bring all your pain and your tears to the sacrifice of Jesus.
Bring to the Lord your concern over your two nephews working out in Alberta. They are making big bucks but you know that they do recreational drugs on the weekends. In today’s drug market it is so dangerous. There have been too many men over the age of twenty-nine who have overdosed. They are dead! Be honest with the Lord. Bring your fear and your great concern for these dangerous-living young men. The pain in your heart of so real. Make your love and concern a part of the sacrifice of this Sunday Eucharist.
Bring the joy that your neighbors two little girls bring you. They come over for a visit and you sit them down to have tea and cookies. These two little girls enjoy so much playing at adult roles and you enjoy their non-stop conversation. After their hour is finished, they politely know when they should excuse themselves and return home. After every visit you look back at how much you enjoy these two little ones. They just brighten up your day. Join this joy to the sacrifice of Christ.
We were never meant to be passive during the Sunday Eucharist. We all have some much to bring to the sacrifice of Jesus. We have so much work to make the sacrifice of Jesus also our own sacrifice.
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