The Archdiocese of Cincinnati

 Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 1 Kings 19:4-8; Psalms 34:2-9; Ephesians 4:30-5:2; John 6:41-51

"Arise and eat, else the journey will be too much for you (1 Kings 19:7). It was an angel of the Lord who came to Elijah twice with the message to take food to sustain himself on his flight because of Jezebel's death threat against him.

The southern Judean desert was formidable and Elijah's strength was soon exhausted. Fresh-baked bread and water fortified him for 40 days and nights as he moved toward Horeb, the mount of God. It may be that Horeb — or Sinai — was a symbolic destination rather than the actual one, and "40 days" was a round number that indicated a very long distance. The theological import of the passage is that through His angel, the Lord provided food for His prophet to save him for the work He had in mind for him. As the Lord revealed His law to Moses, He would also reveal to Elijah his mission. In the strength of the food the Lord gave, an impossible task would come to completion. God who gives the mission and also give what it takes to accomplish it.

In Elijah's case, the bread referred to physical food. Elsewhere in the Hebrew tradition, the bread from heaven was the word of God. In the fourth Gospel, the Evangelist worked out of that concept and moved it forward to the incarnation of the Word who became the bread of life for all who believe. In the case of the spiritual journey of faith, we also need to take and eat so that the journey will not be too great for us. The bread the Lord gives us is strength that is sufficient for the task of living according to the message of Jesus.

In Exodus 3:13-15, when Moses asked God for his name, the Lord responded, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.' " I AM is God's name. In John's Gospel the concept of God's name has been given a forward thrust to the identification of Jesus as God who is the bread for the life of the world. "I am the bread of life. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; . . . and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh" (John 6:48-51).

The sixth chapter of John's Gospel is some­times called the Eucharistic discourse. The mar­velous gift of receiving the Lord in the form of food is a sign that it is God himself who is the strength of our journey and who brings to completion the work He has begun in us. The Apostle Paul tells us not to grieve the Holy Spirit. In other words, those who are sealed with the Spirit and who receive the Eucharist ought to be imitators of God and walk in love as Christ loves us.

The Psalmist reiterates faith in the protection of the Lord and His angels. "O taste and see that the Lord is good! Happy are those who take refuge in Him!" (Psalms 34).

(Sister Lillie is a member of the faculty at the Athenaeum of Ohio in Cincinnati.)