Sunday word, 12 Aug 18

Nineteenth Sunday of the Year B (12 Aug 2018)

1Kgs 19. 4-8; Ps 34; Eph 4. 30-5. 2; Jn 6. 41-51

Homily of Fr. Paul Panaretos, S.J. on 8-day directed retreat

Experiencing God

We can recall turning points in our lives. Some turning points offer hope for the future—graduation, a new job, reconnecting with a friend; others cut deeply—personal failure, pink-slips, illness, death of dear ones and acquaintances. Turning points affect us strongly; at times we want to flee them. Our turning points help us appreciate Prophet Elijah. He had miraculously manifested God’s power, but it earned him royal wrath. Afraid he fled for his life.¹ During his turning point God’s bread nourished Elijah. God strengthened Elijah to continue his ministry and life.

With nourishing and strengthening the bible describes God’s care for those who trust God. Jesus fulfilled God’s desire to nourish us in an unmatched way: the living bread come down from heaven. Our living bread is available to us in Jesus’ eucharist.

Jesus’ eucharist is his self-gift to us as he said: my body…my blood for you.² As food and drink nourish our bodies Jesus’ self-gift to us in his eucharist nourishes our baptisms. Baptism united us with risen Jesus and sealed us with his Spirit for our salvation—our life in him. His eucharist helps us put on Jesus each day. Jesus’ eucharist revives our Christian love³; his eucharist helps us think, choose and act in harmony with him. Sharing Jesus’ eucharist helps us grow in his friendship.⁴ 

As our friendships with others shape how we choose, think and act, sharing Jesus’ eucharist affects our daily living. Regularly sharing Jesus’ eucharist fashions us as Jesus’ presence for others. Regularly sharing Jesus’ eucharist helps grow more free from bitterness, fury, anger, shouting…reviling and malice: things that wound individuals and communities. Sharing Jesus’ eucharist clothes us with his compassion.

Regularly sharing Jesus’ eucharist offers new ways to see ourselves and others. Our vision is not limited by the familiar or the customary. Some of Jesus’ listeners that day were limited by the familiar: Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, I have come down from heaven? Jesus’ words could find no home in them.

Faith fashions a home for Jesus’ words and Jesus’ encouragement. Faith frees us to see the world as God’s gift; to see others as companions sharing life’s journey; and to see Jesus as our nourishment, our brother, our Messiah, our Creator and Redeemer.

Regularly sharing Jesus’ eucharist is a turning point for us. His eucharist draws us closer to him; it also frees and empowers us to live as his presence wherever we may be.

The oft-sung words of our responsorial psalm teach us to find out by experience: taste and see [God’s] goodness. Like the psalm retreat is our song of experience: experiencing God guiding, nourishing and strengthening us; our experience of God turning toward us and our turning toward God.

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1. 1 Kings 19.3. Verse before today’s reading; the reading may be used at a votive mass of the Holy Eucharist (Lectionary for Ritual Masses, [976. 6]).
2. Luke 22.19-20.
3. Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC] 1394.
4. CCC 1395.

Link to this homily’s Spiritual Exercise

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Wiki-images Multiplication of Loaves and Fish PD-US; by Reinhardhauke Stained-glass window CC BY-SA 3.0