20TH SUNDAY HOMILY OF THE ORDINARY TIME — YEAR B

20TH SUNDAY HOMILY OF THE ORDINARY TIME — YEAR B

HOMILY THEME: THE BREAD OF HEAVEN

BY: Fr. Stephen ‘Dayo Osinkoya

Proverbs 9: 1-6, Ps. 34, Ephesians 5: 15-20, John 6: 51-58

Taking a walk down the high streets of our towns and cities today, one wonders, how our contemporary culture has become so much concerned with the care of the human body. It is so amazing how industries of body care and cosmetics are fast growing. So much of our resources go to the care of our bodies, from the toes of our feet to the hair of the head. The care of skin, hair and nails is no more a luxury just for the rich.

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A few years back, I had to look up the dictionary for the meaning of terms like ‘manicure’ and ‘pedicure’, but now Spas and Jacuzzi are household terms. I see other terms on sign-boards: teeth-whitening, tanning, anti-ageing treatment… Do not let me go into any further detail in order not to embarrass you or appear to be showing my own familiarity about these matters. I am not in any way attempting to advocate a lop-sided spiritualist outlook here. As a Catholic and a priest, I do believe in “a sound mind in a sound body”, and by extension, a healthy soul in a healthy body. I go for my regular recreation and games, I try to eat a healthy diet, I try to enjoy good hours of sleep, and I do use my hair and body cream.

In any case, the impression one gets is that our contemporary society seems so physical in its outlook. Just as it tends to define the purpose of human life in terms of accumulation of wealth, success and fame, it looks at human life as only this-worldly, and equates the totality of the human person to the body.

So I ask myself: just as we spend so much of our resources –money and time – in caring for our body and even mind (in reading and studying) and heart (in socialising and communication), are we willing to spend some considerable amount of resources in caring for our soul? How often do we consciously feed our soul? Do we set aside time and money to care for our soul on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis?

Wisdom in our first reading today invites all of us to a great banquet she has prepared. Who in his right mind could turn down this invitation? But this invitation she sends out is for the simple, the ones who know they lack understanding, who desire to outgrow foolishness in order to advance in understanding and have life. Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24) and the table he has set before us is of his Body as food and his blood as drink, along with his soul and divinity – the Eucharist. Those who hear and respond to this invitation are those who are wise enough to recognize their need for God and who want to have life.

Beloved in Christ, the word of God challenges us today. We can see how Jesus in our liturgy today sets before us what we need to do to give proper care to our soul just as much as we strive to give proper care to our body. Our Lord said (John 6:52): “The bread which I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” The life of which our Lord speaks is the spiritual life of grace. The Holy Eucharist is the richest source of grace, for it is the sacrament which is Christ himself, by whom alone grace comes to man. How does the Eucharist achieve this on our soul? The Eucharist gives life to our soul through the effects its works in us.

The effects of the Eucharist:
1. The union with Christ by love. “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (John 6: 56). It is the desire of the soul to be united in love with its creator. “O God, you are my God, for you I long; for you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water…” (Psalm 62). If the soul is deprived of that which it yearns for, what awaits such soul is spiritual death. St. John says (6:50): “This is the bread which cometh down from heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die.” Manifestly, St. John speaks here of the spiritual death that sin brings.

2. An increase of sanctifying grace in the soul of worthy receiver. The reception of the Eucharist as sacrament nurtures our spiritual life and enables us to grow in God’s grace and become more like Christ and increase the divine life in our souls. The Eucharist does not purge away mortal sin, but the Eucharist as sacrifice is for remission of sin. It is as impossible for the soul in the state of mortal sin to receive the Eucharist with profit, as it is for a corpse to assimilate food and drink. “This is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the New and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28). Hence, in order not to be guilty of unworthy reception of the Eucharist, St Paul calls us to a rigorous “self-examination” (1 Cor. 11:28)

3. Forgiveness of venial sin and preservation from mortal sin. The Holy Eucharist is not only a spiritual food, but a spiritual medicine as well. This is based on the idea of just as earthly food banishes minor bodily weaknesses and preserves our physical strength from being impaired. To receive the Holy Eucharist worthily, a man must be free from mortal sin. Our Lord has prepared for us a sacrament to cleanse us from such sin. Hence, it would be sacrilegious for a person conscious of deliberate mortal sin to receive the Holy Eucharist. He must first cleanse his soul of mortal sin by receiving worthily the sacrament of penance. Although the Holy Eucharist contains all power, it was not instituted for the purpose of forgiving mortal sins.

4. The pledge of eternal life. The Eucharist promises glorious resurrection. “he who eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:56)

Even though some of us may find it difficult and doubt the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, all we need to do is to be humble enough and see the Eucharist as God’s way of making His presence more abiding within us individually and among us as a community, in the form of bread and wine. Throughout history, God has spoken to his people in surprising ways. He spoke to Elijah through the gentle breeze, and he spoke to Moses in the burning bush. The natives of Bethlehem weren’t too excited that a new baby had been born and, after all, who could expect the messiah to be born in a manger. Later on, Herod would mock Jesus as a fool, and the soldiers would jeer him as a king. After the resurrection, Mary Magdalene thought he was a gardener, Peter thought he was a ghost, and the disciples on the road to Emmaus thought he was a stranger passing through. That he should present himself in so simple a form as food and drink is just what we might expect from “The God of Surprises.”

St Paul in the second reading admonishes us to be wise and be sensitive to the signs of our time and not just be floating about like unwise men and women. St Paul calls us to use our time judiciously, doing the will of God and staying away from evil. The way out of unhappiness begins with a reform of how we live and whether we are making the most of the opportunity we have right now in approaching the Eucharist.

How many of us have ever invited our friends or relatives to come and pray before the Blessed Sacrament, exposed on the altar or repose in the tabernacle? When people are in difficulty, they are often desperate to go to anywhere in search of solution to their problem. They are ready to go to any church or spiritual and prayer houses. How many of us have used that opportunity to invite someone we know, who is having a tough time to come and visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? Perhaps the Eucharist does not even mean to us what it means to the Church.

Today, being challenged by the Word of God, let us respond to the invitation of the Spirit to consciously receive the body and blood of Jesus. As we say ‘Amen’ before receiving the Body of Christ, let us renew our faith in the presence of Christ in that bread.

It is my prayer that the Eucharist become the food for our soul. May the promise of Jesus become real to us all: “Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever” (Jn 6:58).

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