Homily for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

1 Kg 19:4-8

Ps 34:2-9

Eph 4:30-5:2

Jn 6:41-51

 

St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church, Burkburnett, TX

St. Paul Catholic Church, Electra, TX

Christ the King Catholic Church, Iowa Park, TX

 

In the mid-1500s AD, the Council of Trent dogmatically declared “Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood.”(1551)

In the Gospel today, we continue with the Bread of Life discourse from John Chapter 6 and things are really heating up. Last week, we heard Jesus exhort with his followers to be open to the work of God within them. This week He revealed the mystery of the Eucharist. Jesus declared that He is the Bread of Life, given by the Father, come down from heaven. Jesus was not speaking figuratively or metaphorically or symbolically. He was speaking literally and declaratively and those who heard his words knew it! They did not misunderstand Him at all! Jesus words shocked his listeners and so some of them began to ‘murmur’ against him.

The Greek word John recorded Jesus as using for the complaining of the unbelievers is gon-gys-mos – a rebellious grumbling. It is an ignorant complaining akin to that of the Israelites in the desert when they constantly murmured against Moses and Aaron. Some in the crowd claimed that Jesus could not have come down from heaven because they knew his parents – Joseph and Mary. They saw only what lay on the surface and failed to grasp the hidden truth. Jesus did not regard murmuring as innocent questioning, but hard-heartedness. In Exodus 16:8, Moses declared to his rebellious flock “Your grumbling [gon-gys-mos] is not against us, but the Lord.” Those who murmured against the teaching of Jesus sinned by murmuring against the Lord God. 2000 years later, do we still murmur against those who would teach us about the work of God? Do we engage in rebellious grumbling, malicious gossip, and poisonous slander against our pope, the Vicar of Christ; our bishop, a successor of the Apostles, and our priests, the shepherds of Christ’s flock?

In response to the rebellious grumbling of some in the crowd, Jesus reminded them what we heard taught last week: that God is working within them to bring them to Jesus in faith so they can believe in Him. Jesus begged them once again to yield to the work of God so that they may receive the gift of eternal life through faith in Him. (CCC 153-154). Jesus even invoked the writings of the prophets by reminding them Isaiah had prophesied that ‘They shall all be taught by God.’ (Isa 54:13). Being taught by God involves listening to the Father, yielding our will to His, and thus allowing ourselves to be led to Jesus. The work of the Father, hidden within each of us, draws us to his Son – the one sent by God and the only one who has seen the Father. Was the crowd open and accepting to the teaching of Christ? Not all of them. Are we open and accepting to the teaching of His Church? Everything taught by His Church? Hmm.

Jesus did not back down. He did not shy away from the truth because some were upset with what he said. In fact, he doubled down on his teaching. He again invoked the manna in the desert and then He dropped a huge bombshell on those who would murmur against Him. Jesus revealed that the bread from heaven that gives eternal life is his very flesh which will soon be crucified on the cross and glorified in the resurrection! How do you suppose the crowd reacted when Jesus upped the ante? We will find out next week.

What we learned today breaking open the Gospel reading has serious implications for Catholic Christians. First, we believe that the Eucharist is the true Bread of Life that has come down from Heaven, which we eat to gain eternal life. We do not believe that the Eucharist is a mere symbol of Christ. It is the true body and blood of our crucified and risen Savior. If we reject this dogmatic teaching of Holy Mother Church, we bring condemnation upon ourselves when we receive it. Pray that we all may have the faith to see what lies beyond the surface and accept the hidden truth.

Second, because it is Jesus Christ whom we receive in the Eucharist, we must first examine our conscience before approaching Holy Communion. If we are aware of having committed a grave sin we MUST go to the sacrament of Reconciliation – confession – BEFORE coming to communion (CCC 1385). St. Paul sternly warns us in 1 Cor 11:27-29 that ‘anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgement upon himself.’ Please, my beloved flock, PLEASE do not receive the Eucharist if you need to go to confession first. Doing so puts your immortal soul in danger of eternal damnation. I love you too much for that to happen to you. I desperately want more of you to visit me in the confessional more often, for you are really visiting Jesus when you do. If the scheduled time for confession don’t work for you, I will meet you at the office at a time that is good for you and hear your confession there. I will add more scheduled times for confessions, if necessary. Whatever it takes to make sure my precious flock is ready to receive our Eucharistic Lord.

Finally, we need to keep in mind the requirement to observe the Eucharistic fast before receiving Jesus in Holy Communion. The fast is as easy as it can possibly be: we simply abstain from all food and drink, except water, for one whole hour before communion (CCC 1387). It is a small sacrifice for the Lord who willingly sacrificed His life for us.

My dear friends, the teaching of Jesus Christ in the Gospel today is one of hope and love, not of condemnation. Jesus wants to feed us His very flesh and blood in order that we may have eternal life. For Catholic Christians and Orthodox Christians, the Eucharist is the daily bread we ask for when we pray the Our Father. Elijah was strengthened by the food and drink given by the angel so that he could make the journey to the mountain of God. Let us be strengthened by the daily bread given to us by Jesus Christ so we can make this pilgrim journey through life into eternal life with God.

St. Joseph, Most Loyal, Pray for Us!