OMELIE / Omelie EN

19 ago 2018

19/08/2018  20th Sunday of O. T. - B 

19/08/2018  20^th Sunday of O. T. - B 

Reading 1, PRV 9,1-6 * Psalm 33 * Reading 2, E PH 5,15-20 * Gospel, JN 6,51-58

"Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood": this sentence is repeated many times in the passage of the Gospel. Eating and drinking, eating and drinking Jesus' flesh and blood, are core actions for the disciple's life. He receives from his Lord's hands the bread of the benediction, bread that is not only bread any more, but "living bread that came down from heaven", "my flesh for the life of the world".

We know that Jesus is thinking of the bread that He has given to his disciples during His last Supper at Easter. It is the bread through which they become part of His offering, through which they are in communion with His life while He sacrifices Himself to unite the children that were scattered because of sin. This bread, "my flesh and my blood", makes part of God's love, makes man's life truthful and full. Eating and drinking do not refer only to the actual physical action of eating the Eucharistic gifts, but they express also the desire and will to take part in Jesus' life, in His obedience to the Father, in His giving Himself to men, in His sanctity.

The Jews are discussing: "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"

They do not understand the deep and full meaning of the Lord's words. They are not thinking of the bread that He blessed as a memorial of His body "given for you". Christians instead do not ask each other "How can…", but they give thanks and praise God because He did it. We eat the bread of the benediction with the desire to be transformed internally and with the will to give ourselves to Him. In this way, we do not only have the certainty of our eternal salvation, but also fullness of life and peace while we still walk on this Earth. And we fill this Earth with the wisdom that comes from the love in which we are transformed.

The first reading is talking about wisdom, a Wisdom that acts like God Himself. The book of the Proverbs introduces it as a person that is working and speaking. He is preparing a solemn venue for a banquet and the banquet itself. Then he has his servants to invite all the people, He invites them to eat and drink, but provided that they renounce their silly thoughts in order to welcome the intelligent ones. It is not difficult for us to understand. Jesus is building the seven columns of His building, the columns that support His Church: we can think of the Seven Sacraments, or of the amount of the gifts of His love, in order for every man to be welcomed to live in communion, in the fullness of joy, signified by the image of the laden table.

"Forsake foolishness" the Wisdom says. In order to take part in the Lord's Supper, in order to eat fruitfully His Body, "Watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons", Saint Paul is urging us. Our life needs to reflect the Father's thoughts, Jesus' love, the grace of the Holy Spirit. Our attention therefore needs to be focused not on the pleasures of the body – and, as an example, Saint Paul mentions the wine, that maybe in that environment was the most difficult temptation – but on the praises of God!

Let us address "one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, and playing to the Lord in your hearts"!

Whoever has never tried, does not know what joy fills the heart and what deep and beautiful experience of communion you can live while singing together the praises of God. If then God's praises are not only sung with the mouth, but also looked  for as first interest of our desires, then the fullness and the joy overflow!

Thank you, Lord Jesus: You are the bread that fills my soul and my body with peace and joy! Your Wisdom opens my mouth to sing and to praise the Father! Your presence attracts me: I want to feed on You. I do not want to let even one week pass without feeding on You. What could I possibly say or communicate to the brethren if in my heart there was only the desire of pleasures and not You? When You are in me my life is precious for everybody, it is source of wisdom, it is a gift of God's grace.