August 9, 2015 – Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Kgs 19: 4-8; Ps 34: 2-9; Eph 4:30- 5:2; Jn 6: 41-51
Of the Four Gospels the Gospel of John stands alone in many ways. It has been called by many the “spiritual” Gospel because of its unique approach to relating the Life of Christ. It was Clement of Alexandria who first called it that as he felt that the other three Gospels recorded the physical life of Christ, while John spoke to the spiritual life of Christ. Generally accepted as the last of the Four Gospels to be written, John the Apostle allegedly wrote it late in his life, and it is believed that he lived into his nineties.
It is interesting to note that St. John is thought to have died in Ephesus. It was Ephesus where Mary was believed to have lived her last days as well, and John is the one charged by Christ from the Cross to care for His Mother. Also, in our readings for this Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time it is the Ephesians (those who live in Ephesus) to whom St. Paul is writing in the Second Reading.
The idea of physical and spiritual lives surges through all three readings today. In the First Reading from the First Book of Kings Elijah is exhausted by his ministry, by what God has asked him to do. He turns to God and asserts to the Lord, “This is enough.” He is completely spent and seeks relief from his daily duties and challenges, his burdens. We often may do the same. However, God may minister to us in the same way that He does to Elijah. Initially God attends the physical needs of Elisha by granting him rest “under the broom tree” and then providing him with food, “Get up and eat.” The story of Elijah informs us that for the rest of Elijah’s life the Lord addressed the prophet’s spiritual needs.
In our reading from Ephesians last week St. Paul instructed us to get rid of our old self and put on the new self. He develops that idea further this week as he instructs us to get rid of “bitterness, fury, and anger.” These are characteristics of the old self, while the new self is embodied by kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. This is really the formula for us to be more Christian in our approach to life. Our call to discipleship and stewardship from Jesus intends for us to treat one another in this way. Our forgiveness, our love of one another, is patterned after the way we are treated by the Lord. God addresses our spiritual needs, and in response we need to reach out to the needs of those around us in service, forgiveness, and love. Jesus provided and provides self-giving love to each of us. That is the same kind of love which is expected of us.
One of our human frailties is that we think we are in charge, and that we make the choice to give ourselves to God and others. Stewardship is the humble acceptance of the fact that we are not in charge; we are never in charge. God is, has been, will be, and always will be in control. That is what Jesus means when He says in our Gospel reading, “They shall all be taught by God.” Jesus offers us spiritual bread (the Bread of Life) which is more than the manna provided in the desert. However, to fully receive and understand it, we must “eat it.” We cannot just savor or appreciate it. We must partake of it. Jesus must be part of our lives, and part of us. If we achieve that, then truly we can “live forever.”
