FROM THE PULPIT NINETEENTH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME YEAR A REFLECTION BY FATHER BENOIT
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NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B
SCRIPTURE: 1 Kings 19: 4-9; Psalm 34; Ephesians 4: 30-5:2; John 6: 41-51.
REFLECTION
Fr. Benoit Mukamba, CSSp.
The first reading presents Prophet Elijah wrestling with a very serious crisis in his vocation as a prophet of Yahweh. King Ahab and Queen Jezebel had driven him to flight for his own life. In his desperation Elijah prayed that he might die, but God sent his angel with food to sustain him on his journey to Horeb, the mountain of God. This food is a type of Holy Communion considered as nourishment for the journey of faith to God.
This story serves as a background for the discourse on the Bread from Heaven proclaimed in the Gospel according to John. In today’s Gospel, Jesus declares himself as the bread of life and the living bread that came down from heaven. This bread is Jesus’ flesh for the life of the world. Jesus made this declaration to a murmuring people; they knew Jesus and his family.
During my pastorate in Houston, Texas, a mother brought two of her kids to me for their first Holy Communion interview as it was the custom of the parish created to spare the catechists from any blame for lack of readiness of any child. The most determinative question was this, “If you came up to receive Holy Communion and found that its taste was not good; what would you do with it?” The bigger kid said he would spit it and throw it in the trash can. The younger child responded that she would swallow it no matter its taste because it is Jesus”. So I advised the mother to allow its bigger child to learn more and grow in faith.
First, we need to note that there are two levels in Jesus’ being, the natural or historical and the heavenly or the divine being, an understanding which we apply also to the Eucharist. There is a paradox between science and faith, empirical knowledge and a leap of faith or religious knowledge. Faith is not just an abstract, notional insight; it involves participating in eternal life. Faith comes to us as a gift from God that requires a free decision from the human person.
Second, just as Elijah was fed for the journey, we are gathered around this Eucharistic table to share and partake of the food from heaven that Jesus left us. We need the faith of the younger kid in our story in order for us to realize that God is here, in the bread which is familiar to our sight, God is here. Jesus stands ready to nourish us for the journey toward the Father, God and our final destiny.
Third, as we are fed for the journey, we are called by our way of life to resemble the one who has nourished us; because we become what we eat, Jesus the Christ. The Eucharist we share is more than what we can see, more than bread and wine, it is the real presence of the Lord Jesus. Being people of faith our language might sound crazy to the unbelievers, but we remain convinced that we are handling the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
