HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year B)

Aug 18, 2024

264

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First Reading

A reading from the first Book of Proverbs (9:1-6)

Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven columns; She has dressed her meat, mixed her wine, yes, she has spread her table. She has sent out her maidens; she calls from the heights out over the city: "Let whoever is simple turn in here; to the one who lacks understanding, she says, Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7)

(R) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall be ever in my mouth. Let my soul glory in the Lord; the lowly will hear me and be glad. (R)

Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol His name. I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. (R)

Look to Him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. When the poor one called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress He saved him. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians (5:15-20)

Brothers and sisters: Watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand what is the will of the Lord. And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks always and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (6:51-58)

Jesus said to the crowds: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Today's gospel is a continuation of the discourse on the Bread of Life that Jesus gave after the miraculous feeding of thousands of people, John (6:1-14). The people saw the sign and they decided to take him by force to make him their king so he could continue to supply their physical and material needs. But Jesus exhorted them not to merely work for food that gives temporary, physical and earthly life but rather for the food that gives eternal, spiritual and heavenly life, which He Himself could give. So, they asked him what they should do. Jesus replied that all they needed to do was to believe in Him whom God had sent. The people then demanded of him a sign, and mentioned Moses' gift of the manna in the desert as an example. Jesus corrected them by saying that "it was not Moses who gave the manna, but God the Father and now He gives the true bread from heaven." Moreover, Jesus said that He Himself was the bread that came down from heaven and those who would come to Him would never go hungry, and those who would believe in Him would never be thirsty, John (6:25-35).

On hearing this, the people began to murmur. They couldn't accept Jesus, known to them as the son of Mary and Joseph, as "the bread from heaven." In response, Jesus admonished them to stop murmuring and told them that God Himself would draw them to him through His teaching and that while their ancestors who ate manna eventually died, those who would eat the bread that "comes down from heaven" would not die. Finally, Jesus made the most shocking statement, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever, and this bread that I give for the life of the world is my flesh", John (6:41-51).

Today's gospel begins with this statement from Jesus. Upon hearing that the bread that Jesus was giving was actually his "flesh", the people who had been only grumbling so far began to quarrel among themselves because for some Jesus' statement was perhaps mysterious and obscure but for others it was offensive and repulsive. According to the Old Testament, the Israelites were forbidden to drink any blood whatsoever, including eating of the flesh with blood on it, Leviticus (17:12). Knowing their lack of understanding and unbelief, Jesus went on to explain further with much greater emphasis. He said, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you", John (6:53). From these words it is evident that eating and drinking of Jesus' body and blood was not optional but extremely essential to have life. In other words, apart from the life Jesus was offering them, they would be dead. Jesus then specified the consequences of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. He said that those who would eat his flesh and drink his blood:

would enjoy eternal life (v.54);
would be resurrected on the last day (v.55);
would be in union with Him because of mutual indwelling (v.56);
would share His life, just as He shares in the life of the Father (v.57).
Thus, Jesus made it abundantly clear that unlike the Israelites who ate the manna in the desert and yet died, those who would eat the bread that came from heaven would live forever (v.58).

What is the message for us?

Christians today are as divided as the people in Jesus' day over beliefs, practices and interpretation of the Bible. Especially, one of the subjects of much debate since the time of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century has been over the controversial statement that Jesus made about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. Some Christian denominations believe that when Jesus spoke of eating His body and blood, He was speaking metaphorically or symbolically, not literally. In other words, Jesus was not talking about actual eating and drinking, but about his death that gives life. They believe that if we place our faith in Christ and trust in His death on the cross to pay for our sins, we will be forgiven and be granted the eternal life. On the other hand, our Church teaches us that Jesus intended for us to eat His real body and drink His real blood. Because if Jesus meant this metaphorically or symbolically, He would have corrected the people and let them know that he did not mean it that way just as He had done on many other occasions. So, our belief is that Jesus' invitation to "eat his flesh" and "drink his blood" prefigured his invitation to his disciples at the Last Supper to "take and eat" the bread as His real body and "take and drink" the wine as His real Blood for the forgiveness of sins and the new covenant and His command to them to do it in memory of Him, Matthew (26:26-29).
Faithful to the Lord's command, we continue to remember and celebrate the salvation brought through His life, passion, death, and resurrection until his coming again and we call this "Holy Eucharist". It is also a "sacrifice of praise in thanksgiving to God the Father for all His benefits, for all that He has accomplished through creation, redemption, and sanctification", (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1360). During Mass when the priest extends his hands over the bread and wine and calls down the Holy Spirit upon them using the words spoken by Christ Himself at His Last Supper, they become Christ's actual body and blood. So, each time we celebrate Mass, we are brought before the eternal sacrifice of Christ's Body and Blood. And every time we eat and drink of His Body and Blood, we celebrate and embrace the new covenant he has established with us on the cross, we enjoy a loving relationship with God the Father, we share in the life of Jesus, we unite ourselves with Christ in a deep and intimate bond, and we are in the glorious presence of God.
But sadly, many Catholics tend to stay away from the Eucharist or consider the Eucharist as unnecessary for they too think that the bread and wine are merely symbols of the body and blood of Christ or they can't understand why God would come to us under the appearance of bread and wine and how the bread and wine can become Jesus' body and blood and so on. The only way we know a change has occurred is through faith. We believe that although they still look and taste like bread and wine, by divine power at the consecration, the substance of the bread and wine are actually changed into the substance of the Body and Blood of Christ. This change is called transubstantiation. St John Chrysostom says, "It is not man that causes the things offered to become the body and blood of Christ, but He who was crucified for us, Christ Himself."

So, just it was hard for Jesus' audience to grasp this mysterious gift He was offering them, we too may find it a little difficult as well. But we can ask our Lord Jesus Christ to help us understand and accept this precious gift for what it is and we can also give Him thanks for becoming the sacrifice that brings us eternal life.

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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