If you've heard me talk about Florence and the Machine before, you know that I am convinced that she writes her songs about the Sacraments. If you remember, "Dog Days are Over" was last year's Easter song, as it is definitely about the Paschal mystery. Then, "Shake It Out" (Reconciliation) came out, followed by "What the Water Gave Me." I'll grant you it's a stretch, but with a title like that how could it not be about Baptism? I tried to make "Kiss with a Fist" about Confirmation, since back in the day the bishop would slap you, but I don't think it works. Hey, no metaphor is perfect.
So today I bring you "You Got the Love," which is obviously about Eucharist. The Eucharist is a Sacrament of Initiation, but unlike the other two (Baptism and Confirmation) you can receive it every day if you so choose. Sacraments of Initiation pull you into the church community; the love and support found there is all yours for the taking! (That's why it's called Communion) They envelop us in the signs of God's love on Earth.
Let's get back to the song. It starts and ends with "Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air... Sometimes I feel like saying 'Lord, I just don't care'" And sometimes we do. Look at the verses - she's saying she often has bouts of despair where everything seems wrong and she's drowning in misery. We all have days, weeks, months like that. It seems the only feasible option is to give up.
At this year's parish mission where I work our speaker was Dr. Terry Nelson Johnson. He asked us to define our lives in terms of the Paschal Mystery - am I feeling Holy Thursday today? Going through that was Good Friday for me... etc. For Holy Thursday he defined it in terms of hunger and feeding. What feeds us? What are we hungry for? The woman in the song is hungry for comfort and love. (Who isn't? I mean, I'm on OkCupid for goodness's sake) Fortunately, she knows where to get it.
Love is of course the point of the Paschal Mystery, but it is showed in a special way today. We have the kind of love that causes a man to wash his disciples' feet. The kind of love it takes to change the diaper of a mewling baby or vacant parent. The kind of love it takes to walk into certain death. The kind of love it takes to commit completely to another person.
I cannot remember the quote now nor can I find it on a quick Google search, but one of my professors brought it up in class one day: that one of the great tragedies of our lives is that we cannot love God as much as God loves us. And we can't, it's impossible. That could be sad thought or it could bring an incredible amount of comfort - that there is an unimaginable amount of love freely given to us at any time. On this night of love and service, Jesus institutes the Eucharist. A physical meal that is viscerally his love. We can receive it everyday.
"When food is gone you are my daily meal / When friends are gone I know my Saviour's love is real / You know it's real" We DO know it's real - isn't that what we say about the Eucharist? That's it is REALLY the Body and Blood of Jesus? We hunger for God's love and it's not easy to always see or feel it. We have to come back and come back and come back. So you can be initiated again and again by eating this meal, this sign of love. After all, God's "got the love I need to see me through."
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