A Homily – The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

 First Reading – 1 Kings 19:4-8

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 33(34):2-9

Second Reading – Ephesians 4:30-5:2

Gospel Acclamation – John 14:23

Alternative Acclamation – John 6:51

The Gospel According to John 6:41-51 ©

 

(NJB)              

 

Listen!

God, the creator of the universe, God is not a king-maker; God is not a general leading armies and God does not desire sacrifices of blood and flesh.

God speaks to us of love and mercy, of justice and compassion, of tenderness and humility; God is the arbiter of grace.

Be mindful.

If you seek the divine, look no farther than your heart; you will find God through loving, and in loving you will be blessed.

Praise God through works of love; seek glory through service, in serving with humility.

Know this.

God’s greatness is exhibited through love. God has no name, therefore if you seek to exalt the name of God you will find yourself at a loss, and though it is good to praise the divine God does not desire our praise, what God desires is our co-operation in the loving work of creation...exalt that.

Listen to your neighbors, with a kind word you may deliver them from fear, God’s light will shine through you, and you will know it because it is the light of faith (which means trust), hope and love.

Know this.

With God there is no shame; the all-knowing God knows our iniquities, God knows us as we know ourselves, and God does not respect social status or wealth…God loves everyone the same.

Understand this: We are each of us like Job…in our own way.

Do not look for God to save you from your troubles, through faith in God you will understand how transient they are.

Look to your family and friends if you need to be rescued from some dilemma, look to your neighbor, remember the “good Samaritan,” the deliverance you seek may very well come from a stranger.

Know this.

All pain is temporary, but love lasts forever.

Do not fear; speak the truth. Avoid evil; do good.

God sees all, hears all, knows all, even your innermost thoughts, secrets, desires, and motivations, God knows your thoughts…even as you think them. Therefore, keep your mind in the present and give no attention to the things that may or may not come your way.

This is the way to peace:

Mindfulness…mindfulness…mindfulness and truth telling, mindfulness with compassion, compassion with patience, patience with grace; listen, see, feel…understand.

Pursue clarity, tell the truth, fulfill your duty with devotion, remain calm, practice mercy and forgive, be kind and share the divine grace in friendship with all whom you meet; do these things, act in these ways, promote these qualities in service to God.

Consider the teaching of the apostle and let us not dwell on the false claim he makes in his letter to the Ephesians. Jesus was not slaughtered like a sacrificial animal and given to God as a fragrant offering.

God does not desire the holocaust, and no one can stand in your place before the judgment seat. Each person is accountable for their own sins, mandated to forgive those who have sinned against them, and required to ask forgiveness of those they have sinned against.

What is important here is that we are asked to love one another, this is the appeal, to love another, show mercy to one another as Jesus taught.

Be Mindful.

God’s grace is not transactional; though love fosters love, there is always love and God is always with you…you do not have to buy a ticket to receive it, join a group or do anything at all.

Consider the Gospel reading for today, it is replete with theological errors, it could be a case study in the misapplication of metaphor.

The reading suggests that Jesus is the bread of life, like the mana that fell from heaven when the Israelites wandered in the desert…only Jesus, as the bread of life, is different.

Jesus, as the bread of life, feeds the spirit; its life-giving properties are not of this world, to receive it is a prerequisite for entrance into eternal life.

Understand this:

In the final verse of the reading, the gospel writers link Jesus, as the bread of life, to the cult of animal sacrifice; this is a common error among Christian writers.

The cult of animal sacrifice, bloodletting, killing, these have no redemptive value in and of themselves. There is no magic in it, God does not savor the scent of burning flesh.

The bread of life is a metaphor, it is not derived from Jesus’ actual body, the wine is not his blood. Rather, the bread of life is his teaching on the way, a mode of being that leads to a just society, one seeks the good of every individual.

To eat the bread of life, is to incorporate this teaching into your own life, for your benefit and the good of all people everywhere.

When the gospel writers get bogged down in their efforts to prove the authority of Jesus by appealing to his divine sonship, they forget that we are all the children of God. Rather, they should appeal to the simple authority of his teaching, measured by its truthful commitment to spreading compassion throughout his community, and doing so in humility with compassion.

Do not pay attention to the excuse making the gospel writers engage in when they tell you that no one come to Jesus except by the will of God; God wills that everyone come to the way. When the apostles and their heirs make these excuses they are merely justifying their failure to effectively communicate the real message in Jesus’ ministry and reach their audience.

The gospel is this:

God love you, and God loves us…we, all together. To serve God we must do the same.

First Reading – 1 Kings 19:4-8

The Angel Gives Elijah Food to Reach the Mountain of God

Elijah went into the wilderness, a day’s journey, and sitting under a furze bush wished he were dead. ‘O Lord,’ he said ‘I have had enough. Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down and went to sleep. But an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked round, and there at his head was a scone baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. But the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, or the journey will be too long for you.’ So he got up and ate and drank, and strengthened by that food he walked for forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

 

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 33(34):2-9

Those Who Seek the Lord Lack no Blessing.

I shall bless the Lord for ever:

  my mouth will proclaim his praise.

My soul will glory in the Lord:

  let the meek listen and rejoice.

Join me and proclaim the greatness of the Lord:

  together let us exalt his name.

I sought the Lord and he listened to me:

  he rescued me from all my fears.

Look to him and he will shine upon you,

  and you will not be put to shame.

This poor man called, and the Lord answered him

  and saved him from all his many troubles.

The angel of the Lord will build defences

  round those who fear the Lord:

  he will come to their rescue.

Taste and see that the Lord is kind:

  happy the man who hopes in him.

Revere the Lord, his saints:

  for those who fear him are never destitute.

The rich are hungry and in want,

  but for those who seek the Lord

  there is no lack of good things.

Those Who Seek the Lord Lack no Blessing.

Let Peace be All Your Quest and Aim.

Come, children, listen to me:

  I shall teach you the fear of the Lord.

Who is the man who desires life,

  who wants to live long to enjoy good things?

Do not let your tongue speak evil:

  let your lips not utter deceit.

Avoid evil, do good:

  seek peace and follow it.

The eyes of the Lord are on the just

  and his ears hear their cries;

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil:

  he wipes their memory from the earth.

The just cried out, and the Lord listened

  and freed them from all their many troubles.

The Lord is close to the broken-hearted:

  the crushed in spirit he will save.

Many are the troubles of the just,

  but the Lord will free them from all of them.

He will protect all their bones:

  not one will be broken.

Their own evil destroys sinners:

  those who hate the just will be punished.

The Lord will redeem the souls of his servants:

  those who put their hope in him will not be punished.

Amen.

Let Peace be All Your Quest and Aim.

 

Second Reading – Ephesians 4:30-5:2

Forgive Each Other as Readily as God Forgave You

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God who has marked you with his seal for you to be set free when the day comes. Never have grudges against others, or lose your temper, or raise your voice to anybody, or call each other names, or allow any sort of spitefulness. Be friends with one another, and kind, forgiving each other as readily as God forgave you in Christ.

  Try, then, to imitate God as children of his that he loves and follow Christ loving as he loved you, giving himself up in our place as a fragrant offering and a sacrifice to God.

 

Gospel Acclamation – John 14:23

Alleluia, alleluia!

If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him.

Alleluia!

 

Alternative Acclamation – John 6:51

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the living bread which has come down from heaven, says the Lord.

Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever.

Alleluia!

 

The Gospel According to John 6:41-51 ©

Anyone Who Eats this Bread Will Live Forever

The Jews were complaining to each other about Jesus, because he had said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ ‘Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph’ they said. ‘We know his father and mother. How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’

Jesus said in reply, ‘Stop complaining to each other.

‘No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets:

They will all be taught by God, and to hear the teaching of the Father, and learn from it,

is to come to me.

Not that anybody has seen the Father, except the one who comes from God: he has seen the Father.

I tell you most solemnly, everybody who believes has eternal life.

‘I am the bread of life.

Your fathers ate the manna in the desert and they are dead; but this is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die.

I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.

Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’

 

A Homily – The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)