Sacred Heart Parish
21ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B)
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For the past four Sundays, our Gospel readings have been taken from the
6th Chapter of the Gospel according to John – even though the B cycle of Sunday Gospels calls for the Gospel according to Mark. Liturgically we can call this a somewhat strange but happy Johannine interlude in the B cycle of Marcan Gospels.
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We refer to John 6 as the “Bread of Life” discourse. The chapter begins with the episode of the multiplication of the five barley loaves and the two fish. This is followed by the narrative of Jesus’ walking on the water. Jesus begins the Bread of Life discourse by saying – “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger; and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” The Bread of Life discourse – sometimes called the Bread from Heaven discourse – is divided into two sections: in verses 35-50 the expression “bread of life” means God’s teaching, God’s revelation to us in Jesus his Son. Our response to such teaching is the great gift of faith. In verses 57 to the end of the chapter, the expression “bread of life” means the unsurpassing gift which is the Eucharist, to which we refer in every Eucharist as the mystery of faith. The Jews quarreled among themselves saying – “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus responds – “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.” Chapter 6 then describes for us the bread of life which is God’s Word and the bread of life which is Christ’s body and blood. All this is excellently summarized in the prayer which will conclude our Liturgy today: “Lord God, your Word and your sacrament give us food and life. May this gift of your Son lead us to share his life forever.”
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We can discuss the great gift of the Eucharist in so many ways. The Eucharist is a sacrifice and a sacrament. In the Eucharist, the risen Christ is contained, offered and received. When we say “contained”, we mean the teaching of the Church about what we call the “Real Presence” – body, blood, soul, divinity. When we say “offered”, we mean the Eucharist as sacrifice. When we say “received”, we mean the Eucharist as Holy Communion. At this time, I will underscore the Eucharist as Holy Communion and discuss it as “food for the journey” and a pledge of the goal towards which we journey.
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Several weeks ago, we heard the story of Elijah fleeing from his enemies. Exhausted after the first day, he sat down under a broom tree and fell asleep. On awakening, he heard a voice say – “Take and eat”. He saw at his side a jug of water and two hearth cakes. He ate and drank and proceeded to walk forty days and forty nights until he came to Mount Sinai, his goal. This story of Elijah symbolizes the Eucharist for us here and now as we journey from where we are now until death. The whole point of Holy Communion is to nourish the divine life God first gave us in Baptism so that we may grow and mature in love of God and love of neighbor according to the Lord’s command. But I would like to stress that we have a journey, another journey, beyond the journey I have just described, for as our faith tells us death is not the end nor does it break the bonds God forges in our lives this side of the grave. The great journey each one of us must make is for safe passage through the experience of death to eternal life. We know when illness strikes us, the Sacrament of Holy Anointing of the Sick should be celebrated at the onset of any serious problem. This holy anointing is the Sacrament of the Sick. But what is the Sacrament of the Dying? The Sacrament of the Dying is the Sacrament of the Eucharist, to which the Catechism refers under the title of “Holy Viaticum”. This is the Latin word which means “give food for the journey”. It is celebrated when death is close at hand; it is thus the sacrament of the dying; it is best understood as the last sacrament of the Christian life. A distinctive feature of the celebrating of Viaticum is the renewal of the baptismal profession of faith by the dying person. Through the baptismal profession at the end of earthly life, the one who is dying uses the language of his or her initial baptismal commitment which the devout Christian renews every Easter. Thus Holy Viaticum is the renewal and the fulfillment of initiation in the Christian mysteries – Baptism leading to the Eucharist. In the Rite of Viaticum, the priest says to those who surround their dying relative or friend – “Before our Lord Jesus Christ passed from this world to return to the Father, he left us the sacrament of his body and blood. When the time comes for us to pass from this life and join him, he strengthens us with this food for our journey and comforts us by this pledge of our resurrection.” After giving Holy Communion to the one who is dying, the priest then prays – “Father, your Son Jesus Christ is our way, our truth and our life. Look with compassion on your servant who has trusted in your promises. You have refreshed your servant with the body and blood of your Son; may your servant enter your Kingdom in peace.”
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We call the Eucharist the “Mystery of Faith”. In our Gospel reading some were shocked at what Jesus had to say – “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” We, who do accept Jesus’ teaching, are not shocked at their being shocked – we know that the answer to the revelation of mystery is the obedience of faith, not immediate understanding. A measure of understanding comes slowly when faith turns to prayer, to good catechetics, and to sound theology. The obedience of faith carries with it the conviction that no one can be drawn to Jesus unless the Father grants it. As we have seen in the Gospel, many who heard Jesus began to drift away. He says to the disciples – “Do you want to leave me also?” These words are also addressed to us. So we turn to Jesus, as did St. Peter, and say: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”