Bread of Life...!
Bread of Life...!
Monsignor James Shea at the National Eucharistic Congress, started his message with these words, “Let us talk about satisfying, let us talk about hunger.” Then he shared a story. While he was praying on scripture from the book of Amos, “Days are coming, says the Lord, and when I will send the famine upon the land.” Suddenly her remembered a story his mother told him more than forty years ago. His mother was from a large family from the Windswept, North Dakota. They were so poor, they had no toilet in the home. But they were not the poorest family in the town. There was another family with many children, their mother had died young and father was drunk. Once someone gave them a pig, and the father slaughtered it and on a cold stove he roasted the meat to eat it. One of the children, a little girl, was so hungry and went to take a piece of the meat, but father caught her and pressed her hand on the hot stove. She ran out of the house squealing with pain.
Fr. Shea continued to talk about hunger for humanity. Then he said, there was a being who was jealous of God’s tender love for Adam and Eve. So he decided to poison the food supply – God. He said to them God is jealous of you. He is keeping away from you the best fruit because he knows if you eat it you will thrive and live. You are starving, look at that fruit, glossy and plump. She fell for the lie and ate the fruit and shared it with her husband. Now they lost the good food – God and life became weariness for them. They lost their freedom and became slaves. Then Fr. Shea said, humanity is starving – look at the violence, neglect, maltreatment and so on. Then he talks about God's promise and how he satisfies our hunger through the sacrifice of the Cross.
The readings for this weekend tells us God has special love for his people. How God satisfies our hunger and weariness. In the Gospel of John 6, Jesus told the disciples and everyone gathered around him that he is going to give real food again. In the first reading we see Elijah’s discouragement and frustration as he fled for his life. King Ahab of Israel married a pagan queen, Jezebel and erected an altar to Baal. The prophet Elijah challenged 450 of the pagan god Baal’s prophets, defeated them. Queen Jezebel got angry and sent soldiers to kill the prophet. Elijah fled for his life. He was going through the desert, got exhausted and fell asleep under a broom tree. He asked God for a speedy death. God sent an angel and angel woke him up and said, "Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!" The God’s gift of food provided nourishment and strengthened him to continue his journey to Horeb where Elijah would be commissioned again as God’s prophet to carry on the struggle and to anoint his successor.
In today’s gospel Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” God offers his people abundant life, but we can miss it. Jesus offers the very life of God himself - life which sustains us not only now in this age but also in the age to come. He is the true bread of heaven that can satisfy the deepest hunger we experience.
We saw in the Gospel, the Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." To accept the gift of the Bread of Life, they had to first accept that Jesus came from the Father. He was Divine. To understand the miracle and mystery of Communion, our starting point must be that Jesus is Divine, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. He gives us who He is, Eternal Life. When we receive the Eucharist, we are united to Him, to each other and to the whole Body of Christ.
What do I have to offer at the Eucharist? We have to think about what I want to offer every time we come for the Eucharist. It may be someone in our family who is sick, or may be my own disappointments and struggles. It may be a victory and joy of our life.
Today, what are the expenses of my offering? It may be how I prepare myself for the Eucharist. I may have to get up early and take time to get ready. I had to give up some other activities or fun to get here in the Lord’s presence to celebrate the Eucharist. It may be my financial contribution. There is an expense.
The Eucharistic celebration should not be a casual get together, as it is a giant celebration. It is a great meal, sacrifice, and thanksgiving. We may be tempted to murmur, let us stop and think what I am missing. God says, "Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!"
Jews murmured. Are there still people murmuring about Eucharist? There are people who don't know the true meaning of the Eucharist. That is the point of the Eucharistic revival and New Evangelization – Maintenance to Mission. A repetitive message of the Eucharist Congress was – “Walk With One.” It is an invitation to think about one person/family whom each of us would like to have to celebrate the Eucharist with us. Then pray for that individual or family for a while. Eventually befriend them. Once friendship grows and shares faith with them and invites them to celebrate faith with them. I would like to invite you to think about one person/family and pray for that individual/family and eventually befriend them and invite them to celebrate the Eucharist.