19TH SUNDAY HOMILY/SERMON IN ORDINARY TIME — YEAR B

19TH SUNDAY HOMILY/SERMON IN ORDINARY TIME — YEAR B

HOMILY THEME: EUCHARIST, FOOD THAT HEALS, FORTIFIES AND TRANSFORMS

BY: Fr. Isaac Awe

1 Kings 19:4-8, Ps. 34:2-9, Ephesians 4:30-5:2, John 6:41-51

Here is a story which has encouragement for all of us. Here we have a prophet, God’s own chosen representative, a man full of zeal for God’s honour and glory, a saint, and yet he was as human as the rest of us. He grew tired of fighting a losing battle, he fled from the front, he set out to get protection and consolation from God, but tiring of the long journey he became so depressed and so despondent that he wanted God to take him from this vale of tears. God was not disgusted with him, he did not think him a coward or a failure; instead, he renewed his energies and sent him back to fight on for the lord.

ALSO RECOMMENDED: 19TH SUNDAY HOMILY/SERMON IN ORDINARY TIME

There are few of us who do not have our moments, even days maybe, and weeks of spiritual depression. Our crosses seems at times to become unbearable; we feel like lying down under them and asking God to take us. This is exactly what this holy man did and we saw how kindly God dealt with him.

As today’s gospel deals with the heavenly bread of the Eucharist, the reading from the Old Testament gives us a story from the life of the prophet Elijah in which it is narrated that an angel fed him miraculously. After the incident on Mount Carmel, when Elijah challenged the prophets of the pagan god Baal and proved that Yahweh was the only true God, he put the false prophet to death.

That God provided for the bodily needs of his prophets, and that Christ did likewise for the simple people of Galilee, were but a foreshadowing of the spiritual food which Christ would leave to his faithful followers to sustain them during their journey through this life.
God offers his people abundant life, but we can miss it. What is the bread of life which Jesus offers? It is first of all the life of God himself — life which sustains us not only now in this age but also in the age to come. The Rabbis said that the generation in the wilderness have no part in the life to come. In the Book of Numbers it is recorded that the people who refused to brave the dangers of the promised land were condemned to wander in the wilderness until they died. The Rabbis believed that the father who missed the promised land also missed the life to come.

When Jesus offers us real life he brings us into a new relationship with God, a relationship of trust, love, and obedience. And he offers us real life which last forever, a life of love, fellowship, communion, and union with the One who made us in love to be him forever. To refuse Jesus is to refuse eternal life, unending life with the Heavenly Father. To accept Jesus as the bread of heaven is not only life and spiritual nourishment for this world but glory in the world to come. Do we accept Jesus as the bread of life?

POINTS FOR REFLECTION

Elijah knew, loved, stood and served the truth (John 14:6)

As heroic and iconic he was, he met with a situation that caused him to beg for death. Death is better than a life of endless sorrow and unlimited misery.

Elijah’s battle was a battle between the consensus of men and divine mandate.

In the difficult moments of Elijah, he was going to Horeb, God’s mountain to meet God(1kings 19:8)

Elijah was tired and God supplied what he needed to get to his destination.

The reality is that what we all long for, what we are really thirsty for can only be found in a relationship with God. We long to feel loved, and God is the only one that can give us unconditional love(Jeremiah 17:5). We long to have purpose, and God is the only one that can give us that greater purpose. We are thirsty for joy, and happiness, and greatest joy can I oy come from the freedom that Jesus gives us (freedom from fear, worry, anxiety).

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you are the living bread which sustains us in this life. May we always hunger for the bread which comes from heaven and find in it the nourishment and strength we need to love and serve you wholeheartedly. May we always live in the joy, peace, and unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, both now and in the age to come. Amen

Happy Sunday!

FOR A SIMILAR HOMILY, CLICK HERE >>>>>

Dear friends in Christ, We rely on you to upset our bills. To keep us going, please click any of the “Donation” buttons and support us. Remember we also pray for YOU>>>>>