SUNDAY, AUGUST 11, 2024
NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B
FIRST READING: 1 KINGS 19: 4-8
RESPONSORIAL PSALM: PSALM 34: 2-9
SECOND READING: EPHESIANS 4: 30 – 5: 2
GOSPEL: JOHN 6: 41-51
Dear friends in Christ, the liturgy of nineteenth Sunday in ordinary time Year B continues the theme of the Eucharist as our nourishment for the journey. It highlights God’s unwavering and steadfast care for his pilgrim people. Elijah was a prophet, full of zeal for the worship of the true God. After his contest with the prophets of Baal in which he was victorious, Jezebel the wife of king Ahab vowed to kill him. Elijah fled from her toward the mountain of God. After a day’s journey, he was exhausted and prayed for death. Then he fell asleep. An angel woke him up and gave him food and drink. The angel fed him food and drink three times. Strengthened by it, Elijah walked for forty days and forty nights to the mountain of the Lord.
The experience of Elijah is in some way, a repeat of the experience of the people of God as they fled from Egypt pursued by Pharoah. Exhausted, they cried out to Moses, “Were there no graves in Egypt, that you have brought us to die in the wilderness?” They wish to die as slaves in Egypt than to suffer and die in the wilderness. God gave them the manna and quail; invigorated by the heavenly food, they journeyed safely to the Promised Land. In the same way, Elijah is exhausted as he flees from an evil power and on his way to the mountain of God. The food that the angel gives Elijah, just as the manna, has been seen by the Fathers of the Church as a figure of the Eucharist, given that strengthened by it, he was able to reach safely to the mountain of God. This experience of Elijah brings to the fore that this is not an ordinary journey and not an ordinary food. It is a preparation of the lesson that Jesus will give us in the gospel.
The Gospel today continues our reading of John chapter 6 which we started two weeks ago. Jesus continues His teaching on the Most Holy Eucharist. It will appear John is repeating himself. But John wants to lead us slowly deeper into the mystery of the sign of the multiplication of loaves. Keep in mind that the Exodus story is the dominant motif behind John’s telling of the miraculous multiplication of loaves. He tells us it was just before the Jewish feast of Passover; an indication that the Passover is the interpretative key that will help us to understand the mystery that is unfolding. Jesus chooses this most sacred time to teach His disciples that He is the Bread of Life. Later, He will choose this sacred time again to institute the Holy Eucharist.
He once again declares himself to be the bread that came down from heaven. To those who murmured because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day.” His response highlights that this is a great mystery, a mystery beyond mere human comprehension. It also highlights the truth that in our journey of faith, God is always the one who takes the initiative. All we do is to respond to God who wants all men to be saved and like the responsorial Psalm said, to “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.”
Throughout the scriptures, the Hebrews and constantly reminded that God is one and cannot be represented with any image. Yet, the core of Christianity is that this God who is infinite and transcendent willingly became man. He will condescend further to be our food. He is the spiritual nourishment that leads to eternal life. Unlike the manna the Israelites ate in the wilderness which sustained them temporarily, the living bread that he gives is his true flesh and will bestow everlasting life.
Happy Sunday
Rev. Fr. Chidi Onwuka, m.ss.cc