God’s Law Above All!

 (Homily 22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr. B)

     The Word of God sets before us today the distinguishing factor(s) between a true Christian and a false Christian, an authentic Christian and a Christian-hypocrite. Drawing the issue further, it is not merely the external manifestations of goodness that matter, but the good disposition of the heart. Indeed, the recurrent words in today’s readings are “listen”, “put in practice”. “Observe” and “welcome”. Indeed, these exhortations revolve around the Word of God, his laws and commandments. To the God who speaks, there is need of a human agent who hears, listens, welcomes and puts the Word heard into practice. For in the verbs “to listen”, “to practice” we find the distinguishing mark between a doer of the Word and a deceptive hearer. Thus, the first reading invites the Israelites to an obedient listening of God’s commands, and the Gospel in turn fortifies this message by inviting us to rediscover the primacy of God’s Word and commands over human traditions. Then, the second reading takes the theme of listening to God’s Word to a radical conclusion with an ethical dimension: Be doers of the Word and to practice Pure Religion.

     In the first reading from the book of Deuteronomy (Dt. 4:1-2.6-8), therein Moses exhorted the chosen people with the following words: “And now Israel, listen to the laws and customs which I am teaching you today” (v.1); “keep the commandments of Yahweh your God just as I lay them down for you” (v. 2, 6). At this point, it will not be out of place to ask why Moses was exhorting the people in an insistent and persuading manner, to observe the commandments of God? The reasons are not far-fetched, for we find them in the verses thus: First, “So that, by observing them, you may survive to enter and take possession of the country which Yahweh, God of your ancestors, is giving you” (v.1b). Second, “keep them and put them into practice, and other peoples will admire your wisdom and prudence” (v.6a). Third, “What great nation has its gods as near as Yahweh our God is to us whenever we call him?” (v.7). The commandments of the Lord will be sign of the presence and closeness of God to his people. And above all, because God is a God, who loves and desires the good of his people, he accompanies and leads his people to liberation.

     Be that as it may, it is with this conviction that the Word of God can be welcomed with joy and also be put into practice, even when it requires sacrifice. This can be done when we welcome the Word of God as an initiative of love, as a proposition for our welfare, and not as an imposition or a mere obligation. In that bid, we can say that in the measure in which man does not listen to the word of God and doesn’t put it into practice, he distances himself not only from God, but also from salvation and true life that He offers. He ends up in paths that are not those of “wisdom and prudence”, thus deluding himself with ways contrary to his self-realization. Above all, in this passage, we see the prohibition to add or to subtract from the law (Deut. 4:2), and by that it becomes obvious that this passage was chosen to lay emphasis on the distinction between God’s commandment and the traditions of men, which is well orchestrated in the Gospel passage.

     The passage of the Gospel (Mk. 7:1-8.14-15.21-23) presents a part of Jesus’ dispute about the “ancient traditions”. Those hypocrites came all the way from Jerusalem to catch Jesus, unfortunately, not out of love for God, not out of love for God’s law, but they were driven by their hatred for him. They must have watched him closely, but they were not able to find in him any wrong. Certainly, because Jesus was an observer of the law in words and in behavior, not like them. So, when they could not find anything against him, they shifted the attention to his followers, and as they looked on and watched, they caught some who did not wash their hands before eating, then, they seized that as a point to question them and to attack their master. They never appealed to the law out of love for God, rather they appealed to the law in order to litigate and win, to catch and to kill. This is what happens when we are carried away by hysterical tendencies, and this unfortunately deteriorates into hypocrisy, which is capable of making any excellent law, even God’s law to degenerate in the hands of the people to something that kills, as it was in the case of Jesus, when he was nailed on the Cross under the pretext of observing God’s law.

     The Pharisees and the Scribes criticized the disciples of Jesus, because they were not observing some of the legal traditions, like the ablution rite, and Jesus responded with a warning from the prophecy of Isaiah: “How rightly Isaiah prophesied about you hypocrites in the passage of scripture: This people honors me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me” (v.6). And again, “You put aside the commandment of God to observe human traditions” (v.8). They relegated God’s commandment to the background and observed human traditions, especially with regards to love and justice. Afterwards Jesus explained to the crowd the meaning of his intervention thus: “Nothing that goes into someone from outside can make that person unclean” (v.15b), rather “it is from within, from the heart that evil intentions emerge” (v.21) and they are the things that contaminate man. From the intervention of Jesus we can infer three fundamental facts: ●first, we need to liberate the Word of God from the entanglement of human schemes and impositions, which tend to suffocate the Word of God that liberates and helps man in his journey of faith. ●second, care must be taken in order not to give much importance to certain traditions and practices, ensuring that they do not obscure the substance of the Word of God, which revolves around love and justice. ●third, there is need to purify the heart, that is the center of our personality, from disordered affections, thoughts, desires and intentions, such that we will be always disposed to welcome the Word of God, always conscious of the fact that “every good gift comes from the Father” (Jm. 1:17).

     Jesus used a very strong word or language on the Scribes and Pharisees by calling them Hypocrites. Hypocrisy is another word for false, of a person with double face, one who says one thing and does another, one who wants to appear differently from what he really is. Jesus did not hesitate to rebuke them for they did not come with a sincere heart to know the truth, rather to find a pretext for argumentation. They attached more importance to formality, to appearance than to the substance. Hypocrisy is an evil, a dangerous trap that can also find way into our comportment as Christians. It is the tendency of one who tends to appear and not to be, of one who is preoccupied about formalities and exteriorities and not about the substance of things. One who is satisfied with the observation of human traditions and religious practices, but neglects the commandment of God. The danger of a Christian-hypocrite is that his conduct scandalizes non-Christians, because there is disharmony in what he believes and what he lives out. He lacks orthopraxy: right believing and right living. It was I guess, on the basis of this that M. Gandhi opined that “He has great esteem and respect for Christ but not for Christians”. And in Jesus’ parlance, what matters is not outward purity, rather an inner purity that is manifested in outward behavior.

     The second reading (Jm. 1:17-18.21-22.27) can be divided into two parts, while the first presents God as the giver of every good gift. And that serves as a response to the argument in the preceding verses, against the idea that temptation comes from God, while instead it comes from the concupiscence (vv.13-16). He affirms that from God, “the Father of light” comes “every good and perfect gift” (v.17). The second part presents the highest gift with an ethical injunction. The highest gift that he has offered us is indeed, the “Word of truth” (v.18), it is a living, efficacious Word, that generated us by the power of the Holy Spirit, as children of God. As such, the apostle recommends, “humbly welcome the Word which has been planted in you and can save your souls” (v.21b). The motive for this lies in the following words: “but you must do what the Word tells you and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves” (v.22).

     The Word of God therefore, as divinely revealed is not a chain that binds or an imposition that has to be jettisoned, but it a Word that saves and gives life, which like a fecund seed fructifies in good works. It enables one to help the weak and the needy, to engage in works of charity.  Yes! if we desire to live an authentic and genuine religiosity, that is not pharisaic, we have to be attentive to the needs of the poor and the weak, like the old people, the sick, handicaps, orphans and widows, the list can go on and on. It is frankly against this backdrop, that we can verify if we have welcomed and are putting the Word of God into practice or we are just like deceptive hearers. Lastly, St. James insists on the need for an authentic religion. In Greek the word for religion is equivalent to cultus, and in that bid, in James’ parlance, the true cultus consists in ethical obedience of God’s commands. The epistle reading is suggestive of cultus as a possible avenue where distinction is drawn between the commandment of God and the traditions of men, especially where human traditions obscure God’s will and commands.

     In all, hearing those words of Jesus addressed to the Scribes and Pharisees, it behooves us to ask ourselves, what we ought to do, in order not to be qualified as Hypocrites? And on this the liturgy of the Word of today is of great help: Frist, we need to purify our hearts, rectify our intensions, and extirpate from us all that is disordered and contrary to the will of God. Second, we need to order our life according to the commandments of God, just as Moses teaches us in the first reading, to observe and keep the commandment of God, which will be a manifestation of our wisdom to other peoples (cf. vv.2,6). Again, St. James invites us in the second reading to “do what the Word tells us and not just listen to it and deceive ourselves” (v. 22). Yet, in the Gospel of Mathew Jesus puts it succinctly in a more touching manner, “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock”, “But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand” (Mt. 7: 24.26). Therefore, may we earnestly pray and ask God for the grace to be obedient listeners of his Word. May our actions manifest our calling and who we are as God’s children, for “agere seguitur esse”! Amen!!

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)

Fundamental Option For Christ!

 (Homily 21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr. B)

     Upon consideration of the overriding themes emanating from the liturgy of this Sunday, this Sunday may be well described as a Sunday of Choice and Decision. The word of God confronts man with this fundamental alternative: God or idols, Christ or other masters. There is therefore need for decision and choice. And indeed, human experience brings it to our consideration and our Christian journey confirms that we do not make this choice once and for all; instead we are called to renew our choice for and of Christ daily, through our words and actions. In the first reading and in the Gospel we see a parallel between the choice made by the Israelites at Shechem and the choice confronting the disciples at the end of that long discourse in the sixth chapter of St. John’s Gospel. The invitation: “Choose this day whom you will serve” is parallel to Jesus’ challenging question: “Will you also go away?” Again, the responses are parallel: “We will serve Yahweh because he is our God” and “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life”. Thus, while the first reading and the Gospel focus our attention on the theme of decision in the face of divine revelation, the second reading instead offers the occasion to speak on the manifestation of the fundamental choice of Christ in the Christian marriage, exemplified by love.

     In the first reading (Jos. 24:1-2.15-17.18) we read from the 24^th chapter of the book of Joshua. This 24^th chapter is important in the history of the tradition of the Israelites, for it preserves the remnants of the ancient liturgy for the renewal of the covenant at Shechem. It presents a great leader Joshua, who at the moment of entrance to the promised land, gathered all the Israelites and invited them to decide and declare if they want to serve the Only True God or the pagan gods, “Today you must make up your minds whom you do mean to serve, whether the gods whom your ancestors served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now living. As regards my family and me, we shall serve Yahweh” (v. 15). Indeed, it could have been very easy for them to choose the pagan idols made of human hands, which will not ‘disturb’ their ways and dreams, than choosing the God of Abraham, who is exigent. But interestingly, the assembly of the tribes of Israel did not hesitate in declaring unanimously their choice for the God of Abraham: “far be it from us to desert Yahweh and to serve other gods” (v.16). And again vehemently they voiced out: “We too shall serve God, for he is our God” (v.18). They recognized the benefits they have received from God, and the wonders he wrought for them. This indeed, is a religious attitude we need to rediscover today, always keeping in mind the benefits and the favors we have received from God, the psalmist puts it in a more glaring manner thus: “Bless the Lord, my soul, never forget all his acts of kindness” (Ps. 103:2). Indeed, more than ever, today the solicitation of Joshua becomes urgent, for we have to make a decision and choose whom to serve too, to follow God, his commandments and his ordinances, or to follow other gods, idols and current of thoughts in contrast with Christian values.

     Similarly, in the passage of the Gospel reading (Jn. 6:60-69) the apostles were equally called to make their choice. In the long discourse of Jesus on the Bread of life, he encountered incredulity and skepticism, when he affirmed to be the bread descended from heaven, and that the Bread he will give is his flesh for the life of the world. Indeed Jesus’ promise of giving himself as bread and wine in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist provoked a sort of indignation and doubt in his listeners, that some even walked away from him, even some of his disciples who have been following him, from that moment abandoned him, saying: “This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?” (v.60). Some of his disciples abandoned him, because they failed to accept his teaching as something practicable. At this point they understood that the teaching of Jesus is not merely symbolic or allegorical, when Jesus says he is going to give himself, he means it in the real sense of the word. However, their reaction did not make Jesus to modify the intensity of his teaching and self-giving, rather even in a more provocative manner he added “What if you should see the Son of man ascend to where he was before?” (v.62). Here Jesus makes a wonderful intelligible statement, he makes allusion to his divinity: “God from God”, he reminded them of where he came from. This statement equally revokes the power and efficacy in God’s word that does not fail. Afterwards, Jesus tested his 12 apostles: “What about you, do you want to go away too?” (v.67). Jesus somehow invited them to make a definitive and decisive choice. Then Peter, on behalf of all answered: “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life” (v. 68). Truly, the ‘question-response’ of Peter condenses the most beautiful and enthusiastic adhesion of faith in Christ. They affirmed and confirmed their faith in Him. In our society today torn apart by different idols and current of thoughts that deprecate and defame the Christian message, we cannot but follow the examples of Peter in proclaiming Jesus as the unique custodian of God’s word, let our voices and good works re-echo with that of Peter in affirming to the men and women of our time that only Christ has the message of eternal life. In fact, later on in his Gospel St. John will identify the knowledge of Christ with eternal life, thus: “And eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn.17:3).

     Today, many have abandoned God and Christ to follow other gods, some have constructed for themselves idols that they adore. Some adore money and wealth; others adore materialism and pleasure; while some others adore wickedness and malefic acts, immodest dressing and dishonesty in business, the list can continue on and on! In their thought, they have become freer, to realize themselves, while in reality they have become slaves of the product of their own actions. Many a times, it happens that they do not have time neither for God nor for others, they have time only for their self-construed objects of adoration. They abandon the True God in search of idols of every kind. Just as St. John reported in the Gospel passage, that some of the disciples “defected from the party of Jesus” (v. 66), but not for good. They defected for lack of knowledge, understanding and because of their feelings of insecurity, but how can one feel insecure before the author and giver of life?

     On the other hand, for all of us gathered here today, I may well presume that we have made our fundamental choice to serve the Living God, by following Jesus, and by putting into practice his teachings and examples. But let us all ask ourselves, whether we have been faithful to our choices through and through? Or we have sometimes preferred idols of this world to God and His ordinances. Today, we see Christians who say they are Christians, but non-practicing. Then, I ask: How can one be a Christian without practicing it? Little wonder, you see those who profess themselves Christians but they stand against life and Christian human values, and stand for anti-Christian ideologies and practices, like disrespect to human life and dignity, abortion and the denigration of the disabled. At times the so called nominal Christians adopt anti Gospel lifestyles just in the quest to follow the opinions of others or in the quest to be in line with what is in vogue. But this means choosing against Christ, it is a betrayal of Christ and His Good News of Salvation.

     The second reading (Eph. 5:21-32) swings between the major theme (choice for Christ) and its manifestation in the marital life. St. Paul sees in the sacrament of matrimony, not only a symbol of the bond of love that unites Christ and his Church, but also participation and a manifestation of that bond of love. Through the sacrament of matrimony the couples are invited to adopt Christ style of love and his capacity to love, for this St. Paul posits: “Husbands should love their wives, just as Christ loved the Church and sacrificed himself for her to make her holy” (vv.25-26a). And inversely we can also say: ‘Wives should love their husbands, as the Church loves Christ’, the Church represented authentically by martyrs and saints, who spend their life for Christ. The consciousness of this Christian ideal will capacitate husbands and wives to live a type of conjugal love totally different from the one being proposed today by the ‘world’, where husbands and wives are in a constant struggle for gender equality and supremacy. With the particularity of the theme of the second reading on marital love, let us try to contextualize the message of today to our own state of life. And in truth does our life style conform to our choice and adhesion for Christ?

    Beloved in Christ, today we are therefore called to renew truly our choice of and for Christ, and to embark on a more convinced and coherent adhesion to the Gospel of Christ. Irrespective of our state of life, let us contextualize today’s message in our calling and manifest the love for our fundamental option for Christ. It is equally true, that poor mortals like us, even though we proclaim our faith in Christ Jesus, in some difficult situations, we too have found the words of Jesus very hard, but we pray for His enabling grace to maintain us always on the track of his love, for without the Custodian of the words of eternal life, we are lost and disoriented. The voices of Joshua and Christ are still re-echoing: “Today you must make up your minds whom you do mean to serve”, What about you, do you want to go away too?” Like Peter I pronounce my declaration of love and adhesion of faith: I choose you Jesus today and forever, for your words are eternal!

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)

 

Where Our Mother Is, There We Shall Be Also!

 (Homily for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

     Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the taking up of the body and soul of Mary, by God into heaven. Indeed, at the heart of this event is the reminder that her Assumption does not mean that she has gone away or deserted us, rather she gets involved in our struggle against evil. Again, her Assumption vivifies our hope, for where our Mother is, there we shall be also. The pivot around which revolves the readings of today is the concept of “relation”, and it is orchestrated in the rapport between Mary and God, Mary and her Son and Mary and the Church. Mary’s greatness and favor springs from her relation with God. She is a woman of prevenient and enabling grace. In the Gospel we see the relation of Mary with God the Father: “He who is Mighty has done great things for me”. In the second reading we can see the relation between Mary and the Son, Jesus: “the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep”. On the other hand, the first reading presents the relation between Mary and the Church: “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars”, God’s warrior Queen!

       The gesture of Mary in today’s Gospel (Lk. 1:39-56) is not just an act of courtesy, but of love: “She went in a haste.” She visited Elizabeth, who was expecting a child (John the Baptist), and she stayed with her for three months, to be with her and to help her with the domestic chores. This visit of Mary to her was an episode replete with joy and exultation. As we were told, that as soon as she arrived the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leapt for joy. At that time Mary has already conceived Jesus and Elizabeth felt the presence and was sanctified. Elizabeth was illuminated by the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed: “Blessed are you of all women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (v.42). This expression is a compendium of the greatness of the Blessed Mother. Three times in this passage Mary is pronounced “blessed”, as a matter of fact, the second verse of the Magnificat is the scriptural ground for calling her the Blessed Virgin. And again two closely related reasons are given for the title “blessed” that Elizabeth gave to her: because of Mary’s faith (v.45) which is related to her obedience (Lk. 1:38) and the bearing of the Child Jesus (v.42). Be that as it may, Mary is blessed not based on who she was or is in herself, rather she is proclaimed blessed in relation with her obedience to the Incarnation event. Her importance is incumbent upon her faith and obedience which made the Incarnation humanly possible, and more still because she gave birth to the Child of Bethlehem, the Messiah.    

     On the other hand, Mary too exults with the canticle of magnificat, a hymn of praise and of gratitude to God for the wonders he has wrought. There, the presence of Jesus is a fount of joy for all, especially those who open their hearts to him (just as it was in the case of Elizabeth and Mary, even for John too).     On the other hand, this passage falls within the visitation narrative and the Magnificat. The Magnificat is to be seen not as an individual hymn of Mary, but as the hymn of the representative of the true Israel, and this is indicated by the switch from the first person singular to the third person plural (cf. v.50). Mary indeed is the symbol of the true Israel that rejoices in the Lord for the coming of the Messiah.

      In this passage we see Mary in relation to the Father. She recognized that the Father has done great things for her, what are those great things? ●First is the fullness of grace with which she was conceived, her Immaculate Conception, which accompanied her in the course of her earthly existence. ●Second is the mystery of her divine maternity, the Only Son of the Father took flesh from the Blessed Virgin Mary. This indeed is a wonderful gesture of the Father’s love towards Mary and all humanity. God made her the arch of the new covenant, with God in her womb she was a cause of blessing for John the Baptist and his fathers (cf. 2Sam. 6). ●Third is the mystery of her co-redemption, for God wanted Mary to be united to Christ the Redeemer; she was associated with the work of redemption in all her life but especially at the moment of supreme immolation on the Cross. The great things God has done in the life of Mary do not end with the birth of Jesus; for God continues to work his greatness in the heart and life of Mary. ●And the last of these great things is the assumption in body and soul to the heavenly glory. Mary was possessed by grace in body and soul, the Immaculate in whom there is no iota of corruption, because everything in her life is grace, pure grace of God.

      The second reading (1Cor. 15: 20-26) presents Mary in relation to the Son, Jesus. The mystery of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and of his consequent glorification is unimaginable without the reality of a body, formed in the womb of the Virgin Mary. Christ has broken the bondage of death and became the first fruits of the dead. The Blessed Mother can look at Jesus and say: “This is the flesh of my flesh”. If therefore, the body of the Son was glorified, is there any doubt that the Son will indeed glorify the body of her mother, the blessed flesh that was at the same time arch and nourishment for him. The risen Christ is the first fruit of those who have fallen asleep, in the temple of Jerusalem, the feast of first fruits pre-announces the abundant harvest, now, the glorified Christ pre-announces the glorification of the all the believers. It is a glorification that will take place in his second coming at the end of time. The definitive Easter of every Christian is not possessed, rather it is a certain and sure hope. Mary is the only woman who already lives in the definitive Easter, because in her blessed flesh, her Son Jesus Christ realized in fullness the work of redemption. In a certain sense, we can affirm that Mary together with Jesus, through his works, are the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. As such, we cannot but raise our gaze to Mary Assumed into heaven with love and hope.

     The first reading (Ap 11: 19; 12: 1-6a.10ab) instead presents Mary in relation to the Church, the woman presented in the book of Revelation symbolizes Eve, Israel and the Church. In the passage the child that is born is the Messiah, for in verse 5: “the son who was to rule all the nations with an iron scepter”, these messianic qualities were attributed to him as in Psalm 2:9, and again fostered by the proclamation that follows his exaltation to God’s throne. Thus, there is a question that arises from this passage: who is the woman that is described in this passage? There are three possibilities as regards the identity of the woman in question: ●Some regard her as the representation of the old Israel, the nation from which the Messiah came, this is a suggestion of the Old Testament literature (cf. Is. 66:7). ●Secondly, she is seen as the image of the Church, the new Israel, the mother of the faithful, it alludes to Rev. 12:17 that talks about the other children belonging to the woman. ●Thirdly, as a fruit of recent catholic exegesis, the woman is identified as the Blessed Virgin Mary. Indeed, of these three interpretations it does appear they all converge into the image of Mary, the daughter of Zion, an iconic expression of the old Israel as well as the new Israel. The dragon is the old serpent that tempted Eve, and made her to be sent away from Paradise (cf. Gen. 3). However, in the passage of our second reading in verse 15 there come rays of hope, with the woman that conquered the serpent, marching on its head. This woman is the new Eve, Mary, on whom the serpent had no power, and for this she can with total freedom obtain the victory on the serpent. The woman represents the people of Israel, the woman-spouse with whom God contracted spousal covenant, a woman beautiful like the sun, powerful as a great queen, in expectation of a baby. In the person of Mary, the vocation and the hope of Israel is realized in a perfect way. She is beautified with divine splendor, powerful for her humility, in expectation, for she carries in her womb the Son of the Most High. She is also the symbol of the Church, the Church in the splendor of her sanctity, in her fecund maternity, in the situation of persecution for the work of the Devil, in the desert to regain power and to prepare for battle of victory. Mary as the daughter of the Church brought even to God her sanctity, her fecundity, her victory; as the mother of the Church, from heaven she assists the Church in her trials and consoles her in pains.

     In all, the Assumption of Mary is a guarantee of our hope. The glorious destiny of Mary is our last and definitive destiny as well. Her glorious presence in heaven does not only reveal the privilege of Mary, but also of the call of God towards all to participate in this same life in fullness. Where our Mother is, there we shall be also! May Our Blessed Mother Mary the Bright Morning Star continue to intercede for us in our earthly sojourn towards our Promise Land. Amen!!!

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)

 

His Flesh: The Bread For The Life of The World!

 (Homily 19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Yr. B)

     Man by nature is always craving for the preservation of life, and as such, he is always in search of food to nourish himself and to keep him going in the existential journey. And of all the ‘foods’, there is one par excellence, the one that nourishes him both physically and spiritually: The Eucharist. In the Old Testament God provided manna for the people of Israel in the desert, but the manna cannot give eternal life. In the Gospel narrative of today, Jesus tells us that his flesh is the true Food and nourishment that will strengthen us in this life but also give us life in the world to come. Little wonder, the message of the first reading and the Gospel can be articulated around the verb: to eat. The Old Testament reading is suggestive of the Eucharist as viaticum, the food of pilgrims on their way to the mountain of God. The Gospel instead stresses on the mystery of the Eucharistic presence under the signs of bread and wine. Above all, the epistle reading points to the existential and ethical implications of being nourished by the Bread of life.

     The first reading (1Kgs. 19:4-8) presents a great prophet Elijah, who was at the point of crisis in his prophetic ministry, for the opposition of King Ahab constrained him to flee, in an attempt to avoid the persecution by Queen Jezebel, who was dominating in Israel at that time. He went to the desert, and after a day walk, he rested under the broom tree and at a point he expressed discomfort and desolation, and out of despondency, he desired to die: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life”. But it was not yet his time, for in God’s plan he has not finished his mission. At that point a mysterious figure sent by God “an angel” brought him food and drink (baked cake and a jar of water). He touched him and said: “Arise and eat”, and after eating he lay down. The angel came again the second time with food and drink, he touched him once again and said “Arise and eat”. Behold he ate and drank, and with the strength he got from the food, he walked for forty days and forty nights, up to the mountain of God, Horeb (v.8). Our God never abandons his people and those who put their trust in Him. He is indeed the Great Provider. In the context of the first reading, the Old Testament manna is linked to the Eucharistic Bread, and as such, the consideration of the later as Viaticum. Indeed, many a times in our existential experience and in our journey of faith, we face so many trials, to the extent that sometimes like him we tender our lamentations and sentiments of despair to God. However, this encounter and God’s intervention therein, is an assurance that God does not leave us alone; he doesn’t abandon us in time of trials and tribulations.

     The Gospel (Jn. 6:41-51) is the continuation of the passage of last Sunday. We are still in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, at the center of the long discourse of Jesus on the Bread of life, and indeed at the hit-track of the whole discourse, where Jesus declared “I am the living Bread from heaven”. In the evolution of this discourse, we see a progressive revelation of Jesus as the Bread from heaven: from the multiplication of Bread to the declaration of himself as the Bread of life, and finally at the heart of the discourse he says “I am the living Bread descended from heaven” and at the end of today’s passage he says that, that Bread is his flesh.

     The Jews reacted to the words of Jesus by murmuring as they were scandalized. The Jews in the fourth Gospel is a symbol of the unbelieving world, little wonder, their murmuring in the Gospel passage at the discourse on the Bread of life, just as the Israelites did in the wilderness. The purpose of their murmuring was that Jesus affirmed to be “the Bread from heaven” (v.41). As such, they were interrogating themselves: “How is this possible?” Probably deep within them they could have said, we know very well his origin, where he was born, his parents, etc. He is one of us and one like us. But they were unable to accept and recognize that He transcends them. Indeed, their fundamental challenge was how to reconcile his human origin with his acclaimed divine origin. They failed to recognize in the carpenter’s son, God and Redeemer. However, the miracle (signs) that he has performed (especially the multiplication of Bread and fish) ought to have helped them to open their eyes, at least to see in Jesus something beyond mere appearance. Certainly, he is one of them as they alleged, but he is different from them, he transcends them. And this indeed, is the bitter truth for them to grapple with.

     Interestingly, Jesus didn’t allow himself to be conditioned or influenced by the murmuring of the Jews, instead he profited from the occasion to make further revelations on himself. He not only affirmed “to be from heaven”, “to have come from God” and of “having seen the Father”, he equally affirmed to be “the Bread of life”, the Bread that gives eternal life, “I am the living Bread from heaven; if anyone eats of this Bread he will live forever” (v.51). He maintained that he descended from heaven, such that those who eat of the Bread (Him) will not die (v.50). In this passage the great “I am” found in the Old Testament (cf. Ex. 3:13-15) is repeated twice: “I am the bread of life” (v.35) and “I am the living bread which came down from heaven” (v.49). The phrase “I am” depicts a name. It is in line with this that the psalmist must have affirmed, “And those who know your name put their trust in you” (Ps. 9:10). And for seven good times (cf. 6:35,48,51; 8:12; 10:7,9; 10:11,14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1) in the Gospel of John Jesus used this self-revealing phrase.

     Behold, to this self-giving of Jesus in the form of Bread, what is required of man is to accomplish an act of faith, thereby welcoming and accepting Christ in His human and divine origins. And faith is a gift from God, and Jesus re-affirmed it thus: “Stop complaining to each other: No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me” (v.44). As such, man is expected to allow himself to be drawn by God. And without mincing words, it is as a result of this attraction, we have gathered today around the altar. Thus, we cannot but open up to his gift of grace, and not to close ourselves to our self-sufficiency, presumption, our mental schemes and prejudices. For us here, it is true that we believe that Jesus is the Bread of life, but we have to grow and mature in our consciousness of this and in our faith in him. May be like the apostles we have to ask Jesus daily: “Lord, increase our faith” (Lk. 17:5).

     Furthermore, at the conclusion of Jesus’ discourse on the Bread of life, Jesus makes a breathtaking revelatory affirmation thus: “The Bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world” (v.51). As a matter of fact, here Jesus makes his audience and us today to understand that, it is not only His word that is Bread of life, he takes the discourse to a personal level, and as such makes allusion to the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, He will become our Bread in the Holy Eucharist. In the original text, the word used to designate “flesh” is “sarx” which indicates the whole person. And this stands to signify that in the Eucharist, Jesus gives us himself in totality (body, soul and divinity). This Eucharistic existence will reach its decisive point at the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. Indeed, all his existence is “an existence-given-for”, given for the salvation of mankind. Truly, Jesus’ self-giving in the Eucharist is the continuation of his primordial self-giving at the Incarnation, where he assumed the human nature not in part but in its entirety, with the exception of sin. Thus, to say it with St. John the evangelist, ‘kai o logos sarx egheneto’ (Jn.1:12). And the self-giving that reached the climax at the Eucharistic table reached its decisive and definitive point on the Cross. In that bid, we may well affirm that these three events (Incarnation, the Eucharist and the Cross) point glaringly to the “pro nobis” (for us) of the life and existence of Jesus.

     The second reading (Eph. 4:30-5:2) situates us well into the context, when St. Paul exhorts us to “follow Christ by loving as he loved you, giving himself up for us as an offering and a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:2). Concretely, St. Paul invites us to do away with “any bitterness or bad temper or anger or shouting or abuse” (4:31), all the negative aspects of our comportment before our fellow human beings, and in positive he encourages us to “be generous to one another, sympathetic, forgiving each other as readily as God forgave you in Christ” (4:32). If truly we comport ourselves in that manner, our life no doubt will be a living witness that indeed, Jesus is the Bread of our life, and that we are nourished by Him.

     In all, no doubt, our readings today, especially the first reading and the Gospel passage reminds us of something essential in our faith sojourn, and that maybe well evidenced with the interrogation: where do you go when you cannot go on? Where do you go or who do you go to when you feel that the existential waters of human trials and challenges have engulfed you? Beloved in Christ, reflecting on those questions, we cannot but ask God to give us the enabling grace to be able to know where to go to and whom to go to when we are confronted trials and brokenness. Today, as Jesus revealed, in Him we see and discover the One who satisfies the deepest existential longings of man, who mends the human brokenness with and through the gift of Himself. I pray that God may give us grace to resemble more and more What/Who we receive in the Eucharist. May the Father continue to draw us to His Son, and may we see in the Eucharist the center of this drawing power and divine attraction. May Jesus mend our brokenness and satisfy our deepest longings and desires. Amen!

(Fr. Vitus M.C. Unegbu, SC)