19th Sunday of Ordinary Time
1 Kings 19:4-8
Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Ephesians 4:30-5:2
John 6:41-51
“The angel of the LORD … touched him, and ordered, ‘Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!’ He got up, ate, and drank; then strengthened by that food, he walked 40 days and 40 nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.”
The texts of Sacred Scripture chosen for the First Reading on Sundays are selected for their relationship with the theme of the Gospel. To get a clue as to what is being highlighted for a particular Sunday, it is helpful to read the Gospel text first, then to read the First Reading, and then to glance again at the Gospel to discover what jumps out.
This weekend, we cannot mistake what is highlighted. Besides the clue offered by the account of Elijah’s desert feeding in I Kings, Jesus speaks solemnly with His emphatic “Amen, Amen.”
“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. 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.”
Belief, eternal life and the living bread are the themes emphasized. The Eucharistic discourse, which will continue for a couple more weeks, takes us into the very heart of the mystery of the gift of Himself that Jesus offers us. Receiving Him as the Bread of Life, we truly have the very life of God planted as a seed in us.
What has come before has pointed to this reality. Now we are invited to acknowledge what is offered. Believing, we taste the goodness of the Lord, and life enters us. “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” We have eternal life even as we respond to the gift. Receiving it as food, we eat this bread, which is the very flesh of Jesus offered for the life of the world. Heaven enters us. We eat this bread and we already are given to know that we will live forever. The One who promises is worthy of our trust.
Many who receive the Eucharist express how much they have learned to rely on it to strengthen them as they face the challenges of this life. Parishioners who are ill and homebound appreciate that they can share the community’s life through the Eucharist. Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion who go to hospitals, nursing homes and to the homes where the ill are confined discover a joy that gives them strength through the faith-filled responses of those who receive their ministry. This life and life eternal are not so far apart. Through the Eucharist, Jesus, who has conquered ever human weakness through His Resurrection and glorification, touches us with His own life.
There are many reasons offered concerning why people stop going to church. The implication is always that if the Church, her ministers and her people change their ways more would be present. This may be true. If we who receive the Eucharist allow the Lord to change our hearts to be more like His, invitation and welcome would be better experienced by those who now stay away. Nonetheless, Jesus Himself offers the challenge and invitation to all: “Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. … 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.”
How do we share our faith in the Eucharist? The Letter to the Ephesians gives clear direction: “All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.”