The Solemnity of the Epiphany is transferred from its traditional date of January 6th to this upcoming Sunday. We know that Epiphany tells the story of the procession of the Gentile Magi (or Kings) who came to Bethlehem with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh for the new born Christ. With these gifts they worshiped him.
It is fortuitous that we have come now in this series on the Mass to consider the Offertory (the Preparation of the Gifts) at this time of the upcoming feast of Epiphany and its example of gift-giving. The Preparation of the Gifts begins the second major part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Eucharist. It is begun by the Offertory Rite in which a procession is made with gifts and they are offered to God the Father through Christ Jesus to be used in the Liturgy of the Eucharist..
It is important to note for a proper understanding of the Offertory that it is, however, God who first initiates the gift-giving that occurs in the Mass. First God gives us the gift of creation. The Offertory Prayers highlight this in the placing of both bread and wine upon the altar:
"Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,
for through your goodness we have received
the bread we offer you:
fruit of the earth and work of human hands,
it will become for us the bread of life.
"Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation,
for through your goodness we have received
the wine we offer you:
fruit of the vine and work of human hands
it will become our spiritual drink."
Notice that in these prayers we acknowledge that we have received the gifts of bread and wine through God’s goodness. The bread and wine also represent the gifts of creation and of human work. God gives us the creation to do something with it for the purpose of life and spiritual worship.
Second, God also gives us his greatest Gift: his Son as Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16) God’s Son is the Word made flesh; but the Word of God is always sent with the Breath of God, i.e. the Holy Spirit. (See Catechism #689 HERE; the Hebrew word for spirit also is the word for breath. And the breath carries the word we speak; thus this analogy of the Father’s Word and Breath being the Son and the Spirit).
In a theology of both the Mass’ Offertory and of stewardship, we respond to the gifts God gives us and bring our gifts to God in response. This is all part of God’s love for us and our love in response. Gift-giving is quite natural to those who love one another. Thus we bring the gifts of bread and wine which God gave to us to the altar, usually in a procession and also take up a collection of money and sometimes food for the support of the Church and the poor. Our money also represents our human work (or someone’s) and represents us.
Finally, the bringing of gifts to God for worship has a long tradition beginning in the Old Testament.
As the Book of Deuteronomy commands "No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed; each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you." (16: 16,17).
To recap, then, the meaning of the Offertory which is also called the Preparation of Gifts: Like the Magi bringing their gifts to Christ to worship him, so we bring gifts to God in our worship. They are, however, gifts that God has given to us first or the materials for these gifts. God is the First Gift-giver and our gifts are given in response to God’s love for us.
The Liturgy of the Eucharist needs the material of bread and wine in order that they may be Consecrated and Christ may be Really Present through the elements of the bread and wine. The bread and wine represent creation and human labor; they represent our world and we offer them to God to signify the redemption of creation and our human work collectively through Jesus Christ.
The money and sometimes food we offer in the Collection also represent us and our world and are offered to be used for the support of the Church and the poor. The Offertory therefore is a Rite inspired by God’s love and the gifts God has blessed us with so that we can love and bless others.
Next week: The Offertory In Detail
