SCRIPTURE FOR EVERYDAY LIFE
                       19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading: I Kings 19:4-8
     Elijah was a prophet to the Northern Kingdom of Israel 950 years before the birth of Christ.  In today's first reading, we hear how the prophet pleads for death: "This is enough, O Lord! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers." (v. 4)  He finds himself exhausted, starving and discouraged in the middle of the desert. He is fleeing from Queen Jezebel who has ordered his death because he had defeated her pagan prophets of Baal (an ancient god) and had put them to death.  Elijah lies down under a broom tree and prays for death.
     However, God still had plans for him and he sends his angel to provide for him: "He looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water..." (v. 6)  Though the angel had to prompt Elijah to eat twice, he complied and then felt strengthened to continue with the work God had entrusted to him.  Elijah's destination was the "mountain of God," Mount Horeb, formerly referred to as Mount Sinai.  Filled with new vigor, he walked for forty days and forty nights without resting until he reached Mount Horeb.
     Under normal circumstances and with proper nourishment, our bodies can undertake most any task.  After a period of time, however, and after many trials that we are faced with in our lives, moving forward can be quite challenging.  This is what Elijah experiences.  He fought for what was right and just, even defeating the ungodly paan prophets, and still he was being relentlessly pursued and tormented.  He felt dejected and defeated.  But our reliance is on the Lord and on the nourishmnet he provides us, both physically and spiritually.
      The parallel between today's first reading and the Gospel is that-just as God provided for the bodily needs of his prophet on his journey to the mountain- Christ likewise provides spiritual food to sustain us on our journey through this life, until our mission has ended and we are united with him in the new, eternal kingdom.

Second Reading: Ephesians 4:30-5:2
     In this reading from Ephesians, St. Paul tells his converts that they must get rid of those attitdues that keep them from being like Jesus.  Paul challenges us in this second reading to follow Jesus' way of love, by being kind and forgiving to others.  In the Gospel of John (John 13:35), we are told that charity and love of neighbor are the hallmarks of a true Christian.  This is what St. Paul is preaching to his converts.
     He urges them to put this charity and love into daily practice and to make it a part of their lives.  Paul encourages his converts to live every moment of their lives as people who belong to Jesus Christ.  "...all bitterness, fury, anger, shouting...and malice must be removed from you...Be kind, compassionate and forgive one another..."(v. 31-32)
     Paul also reminds his listeners that they have been sealed with the Holy Spirit; this seal is a sign of an intimate union with Christ.  It is a sign of the new covenant of dying to self as Christ so freely demonstrated by his death on the cross.  It grieves Christ greatly when one acts contrary to the love that he proclaimed.  He repeatedly reminded his listeners to "love one another."  He depends on us to carry that command to others.

Gospel: John 6:41-51
     Today's Gospel reading continues the Bread of Life theme.  The people begin to murmur and find fault with Jesus' message; they criticize him when he proclaims: "I am the bread that came down from heaven."  The people ask how could he come down from heaven, since he is the son of Joseph.  They become increasingly incensed and they struggle to understand what he is saying.
     The people who were familiar with Jesus and who knew him as a child could not believe that someone so human could possibly be divine.  Therefore, they resisted him and his teachings.  It takes great faith to think outside of our comfort zone.  Christ promised his listeners that if they ate the bread of life, they would live forever.  That seemed an impossible feat, especially coming from one of their own kinsmen.
     Our God is a God who invites us to journey with him through life, just as he called Abraham, Moses and Elijah.  He promised to nourish us in this lifelong trek by providing the spiritual food that is necessary to sustain us.  He feeds us through his Word and through the Eucharist, the Bread of Life.  Consumption of this precious food requires a deep faith; it cannot simply be an action that is taken for granted.  How can one partake this food and then continue with 'murmuring' against our neighbor?  Tdday's second reading instructs us to be compassionate towards one another.  Do we still hold on to the old habits of being resentful, bitter busybodies?
     If so, then the Bread of Life has not taken effect within us.  Faith in Christ requires a radical change in our attitude towards others.  Participation in the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist demands that we step outside of our comfort zone.

-Sunday, August 9, 2009