THE BREAD GIVEN FOR YOU

                                  Reflection for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
                                          (1Kg 19:4-8; Ps 34; Eph 4:30-5:2; Jn 6:41-51)

1.0. “Arise and Eat”
Food tastes more delicious and palatable when one is hungry. It is then we appreciate its sweetness and value. Elijah was worn out from his journey and prayed to God to take his life. The depth of his hunger was so great that he could not continue. An Angel of the Lord brought him cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water twice. “Arise and eat, else the journey will be too great for you.” While Elijah was concerned about his hunger, the Angel was interested in the extent of the journey. The miraculous food sustained him for forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

In the Gospel Jesus offers His flesh as the Bread which comes down from Heaven. This heavenly bread sustains us to eternal life; “That a man may eat of it and not die.”

2.0.The Hunger and the journey
The Eucharist is enjoyed, eaten over and over again by those who know their need of God. Deep within, we are conscious of our hunger. We feel empty, lonely and afraid. Like Elijah, sometimes we feel like quitting—quitting the job, the marriage,  the relationship or even to keep off from spirituality and morality. It seems our efforts can no more carry us on. Being self-aware of our need for strength and nourishment encourages us to arise and eat.

But where does this lead us to? We do not know by ourselves. The extent of the journey is given by revelation; the future is in God's hands. So the Angel revealed to Elijah that the journey would take him to Horeb. Jesus reveals that He the Bread of life will lead us to conquer death and enter Heaven. Therefore,  our inherent weariness and divine revelation impale us to frequently approach this throne of grace.

3.0. The Bread Given for You
“And the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The bread given to Elijah was baked on hot stones, just as the bread of life given by Jesus was baked on the Cross. It comes as the greatest sacrifice. The most expensive food for nourishment and for the journey, which is given for us. Hence, the life within this heavenly bread is transferred to us who receive...

Therefore,  St Paul warns us,  “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,  in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” This life-giving bread summons us to responsibility. “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you...” We have the duty to pull ourselves from these negative dispositions, and direct our hearts to virtue. “Be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” That means we are to model ourselves after the bread given for us.

“Therefore be imitators of God,  as beloved children.” St Paul insists that we must model our lives after the sacrifice that nourishes and sustains us. We too who have been fed, must be baked on the hot stone of love. The Bread given for us energises us to offer ourselves as a fragrant offering for others—a life sacrificed to God.

Fr Jude Chinwe Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Holy Provincialate Chapel,
Katampe Extension,  Abuja.
August 12, 2018.