Walking with Jesus: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

For Sunday, August 11, 2024

1 Kings 19:4-8, Ephesians 4:30-5:2, John 6:41-51

Jesus continues this week with His “Bread of Life” discourse. He explains how He is the bread of life for us. Now this is important: He is not referring to the Eucharist — that is the topic for the next section of John’s Gospel that we will read next weekend. So, since it is NOT about the Eucharist, how can we interpret it — and how will it help us in our love of Jesus and His life, teaching and love? The claims that Jesus makes in this sixth chapter are quite radical and thought-provoking. Even the people who hear Him when He speaks start to murmur, complain and gripe against Jesus. Basically they're thinking, “Who is this teacher? He sounds phony. We've never heard these words before. Even the experts say He's crazy and not to be believed ... and to top it off, He defends Himself by tracing His origin back to God. He certainly isn’t like the God I've always heard about: 'I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is My flesh for the life of the world.'”

If God loves me this much, and Jesus is God, and Jesus suffered so horribly and died for me and everyone, then I certainly have to listen — because right off the bat, it’s hard to believe that God Himself has come down to Earth to tell me that He loves me, that His Son died for me, and that He wants me in heaven with Him despite the way I’ve been living ... and that’s been awful too many times.

The Wisdom books give us today’s background: The book of Proverbs invites us to “come eat of My food, and drink of the wine I have mixed” [Proverbs 9:5]. Jesus reminds us frequently that He is the bread of wisdom, nourishing all who come to Him in faith. His words are all we need for eternal life. And the way we consume Him is through Faith. Elijah is trying to escape from Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, because the prophet has individually killed the Baal prophets. So Elijah runs, wanting God to take his life. But God twice sends a pair of angels who provide food and water so Elijah can reach Mt Horeb, also known as Mt. Sinai. The people all know that God delivered the Ten Commandments on Sinai to guide them, serving as the foundation and root of their moral behavior in their relationship with God. God loves; we are to love. Praise God!

Paul is telling the Ephesians that Baptism sets them apart, as the Israelites are God’s people. Both have been chosen, as have we. In Baptism, they and we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit which is God Himself, setting us apart. This is the pledge of our redemption. The language Paul uses signifies a personal relationship, and the verb suggests that the Spirit is “saddened” by the unsuitable and shameful behavior of the believers. The seal of the Spirit not only sets us apart but also guarantees that Christians have been transformed into people according to the love and example of Jesus aided by the Spirit. This means we have to let go of our non-loving, non-caring attitudes like “bitterness, fury, anger, shouting and reviling” [Ephesians 4:31]. We are to be examples of Jesus — of love, compassion and caring — to show the life of Christ within each of us.

The “murmuring” of Jesus’ Jewish antagonists, prompted by His claim to be the “bread that came down from heaven,” is reminiscent of the murmuring of the Israelites in the Sinai wilderness that prompts God to send them the daily miracle of manna. The people listening to Jesus have problems with this because many know Jesus’ parents and “know” He isn’t divine; in other words, not called by God. Jesus counters this accusation by asserting that He indeed has come down from heaven and that He's also the one who will raise people up from the dead — and that those who believe in Him have eternal life. In claiming that He is the “Bread of Life,” He identifies the bread of heaven as His flesh. This is probably an allusion to the Eucharist, but using the word “flesh” infers His being in the world in human form. To give of His flesh is to surrender His own human life so that the world — each of us — may have eternal life. This means that the Eucharist and the death of Jesus cannot be separated. The murmuring comes loudly and, eventually, many dismiss Jesus — leave Him, reject Him — which leads to His death and resurrection. How is my belief?

So I reflect on:

• It’s so interesting to see the faces of the people when they come to receive the Eucharist: They come with anticipation and reverence, distracted and anxious by the needs of loved ones — even overawed by the peace of the Lord — or maybe nothing.
• I look at my own experience surrendering myself in peace to the Lord. It isn’t easy but I feel it's necessary. And you?

Sacred Space 2024 states:

“There is a challenge to break out of the prevailing system and do something differently. This can be too much for some. Lord, may we not be confined by the comfortable or mediocre but have the courage to live our gifts more fully for You.

“Many people are held bound by the mundane. Jesus revealed a new way beyond the ordinary and everyday where the action of God was more evident. We pray for openness to the deeper gifts and the surprising ways in which God is present in our lives and world.”