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Texts of the Readings
August 9,
2009
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Dr. Terrance Callan
1 Kings 19:4-8
X
Eph 4:30-5:2 X
John 6:41-51
We often encounter obstacles that prevent us from simply being
or doing what we want. At times such obstacles cause us to give up our
initial goal. At other times we are able to overcome these obstacles and
reach our goal despite them.
The reading from the gospel according to John is another part of
the presentation of Jesus as the bread of life that is found in the sixth
chapter of the gospel. This passage describes people who find it difficult
to accept Jesus claim that he is the bread of life that came down from
heaven. They know his parents and think it obvious that Jesus has not come
down from heaven but is an ordinary human being. They do not understand
that the Word of God became flesh in Jesus, and thus looks no different from
an ordinary human being even though he came down from heaven. Jesus
responds to their difficulty by saying that no one can come to him, i. e.,
believe that he is the bread of life, unless the Father who sent him draws
that person. We cannot believe that Jesus is the bread of life on the basis
of appearances. We can only believe if God somehow brings us to this faith.
Jesus goes on to say that the one who believes in him, i. e.,
who eats the bread of life, has eternal life. Ordinary food, even the manna
that God gave the Israelites in the desert, can only sustain life
temporarily; eventually we all die even if we have all the ordinary food we
need. But Jesus promises us that eating the bread of life by believing in
him gives us a life that never ends, that continues even after death. This
is a compelling reason to eat the bread of life.
In the reading from the first book of Kings we hear a story
about the prophet Elijah. Jezebel, wife of Ahab, king of Israel, had sworn
to kill Elijah. He fled into the desert, and there, overcome by despair,
asked God to take his life. However, God did not grant Elijahs prayer, but
instead twice gave him food to eat. Elijah ate it and was strengthened to
carry on. Like Elijah we can be tempted to refuse life because we fear that
life will be too hard. If we overcome our fear of life, the bread of life
will give us the strength to do whatever we must do.
The reading from the letter to the Ephesians does not explicitly
mention bread of life. However, it does speak of the Holy Spirit with whom
we have been sealed. This can be seen as another way of talking about
eating the bread of life; if we believe in Jesus as the bread of life, we
receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the life in us that never ends,
the source of strength for our journey. The reading speaks of the
possibility that we sadden the Holy Spirit by our bitterness, passion and
anger, harsh words, slander and malice. Even after eating the bread of
life, we can fail to live out the consequences of doing so. This reading
urges us to avoid that danger, offering us the example of Gods and Christs
love for us to inspire us.
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