TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - B

TWENTIFIRST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – B (Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b; Eph 5:21-32; John 6:60-69) Theme: We are invited to choose today whom to serve Reflection: An invitation to make a decision - Today Jesus is inviting us to make a firm decision in our Christian vocation. Today Jesus is calling us to make a valuable and right choice for the life. Today Jesus is exhorting us to fix our mind, heart and soul only on him for attaining the eternal life. We are here to make that once-and-for-all decision. We should not haste. We should not hesitate. We should not turn back. We should not fall aback. We should not doubt. Everything is clearly demonstrated to us. Every mystery is clearly revealed to us. Every event of love is manifested to us. We have received the enough testimony for making a positive and ultimate choice to serve only Jesus. The readings of today present to us this situation where we find ourselves to answer Jesus by following him. - We are still in the discourse of the bread. From almost five weeks we are meditating on this aspect of the bread. We are now at the end of the discourse. All these day we have been trying to comprehend completely the entire sixth chapter of St. John’s Gospel: which mostly deals with the theme of the bread that gives eternal life. If we just introspect what we have been reflecting we may understand it clearly. The whole discourse has its starting point in the multiplication of the five loaves and two fish feeding the five thousand people. Having seen the wonder of Jesus the people followed him wherever he was going. Observing this Jesus asks the people to search not for the bread that perishes but for the bread that remains forever. Taking this occasion and opportunity Jesus prolongs the discourse and reveals the actual mystery behind the bread. In this revelation that Jesus unveils himself and affirms himself as the true bread that came down from heaven saying, “I am the living bread descended from heaven”. He goes little further and intensifies the discourse stating that the bread that he gives is his own flesh and the drink he gives is his blood. Although the people did not understand all well until that time they were still listening because his teaching seems to be authentic and new. But when he said that it is “his flesh and his blood” that they have to eat and drinking for having eternal life within them, then the actual problem started. They started murmuring and they started leaving one by one. - Thus, the discourse has started with the miracle of multiplication and it is developed slowly and profoundly manifesting Jesus as the True Manna which God has sent for the redemptive hunger of the humanity. We have seen that Jesus is the living bread of God for us; he is the bread that gives strength in our journey towards the heavenly Jerusalem; he is the bread that gives the wisdom to our path so that we do not falter in our way. Finally, today Jesus is inviting us “to be with him and to follow him” which is the only way for the life of true joy and true glory. The time has come and the discussion is in the final stage. The final stage of anything needs a decision: decision to accept and to act. Jesus has completed his miraculous manifestation through the multiplication. Jesus has ended also his long discourse of the bread. Almost all who were listening to him went away because the teaching which seemed to be good and new in beginning is now turning to be the hard to digest. All have gone away and now there remained only the twelve disciples. Now before bringing it to the ultimate conclusion, he wants whether his chosen apostles have comprehended what has been said until now; Jesus throws at them the moment to make a choice. We will choose and serve the Lord alone: The heart of the readings of today - “We will serve the Lord” (Joshua – first reading): The first reading and the gospel present to us the heart of the today’s reflection. In the first reading Joshua gathers all the tribes of Israel, the leaders and all the people and admonishes them to make a decision. The journey of the desert is over. The life of the Manna is completed. There is no more food from heaven. They have crossed the river of Jordan and now entered into the Promised Land. God has brought them into the land he has promised them at the beginning of their escape from the slavery of Egypt. Though his people have been unfaithful at times blaming him and talking against him, God has been faithful and guided them for forty years and finally made them settled in the land of milk and honey. The journey is over. The manna is over. The salvation is offered to them. Now they have to make the decisive moment in their life in the matter of choosing whom to serve. God always respects the freedom to say either yes or no to the salvation he kept open for them. - In this context, Joshua affirms his being with the Lord always. He says: “as for me and for my family, we will serve the Lord alone” (Joshua 24:15). He recalls all that God has done in their lives for these forty years. He acknowledges the wonderful deeds that God has fulfilled in their lives by providing the water and the food and above all, of the covenant that He has made with them on the Mount Sinai where he promised his eternal presence with them. Finally, he reminds his people to observe and realize well the word and action of the Lord in their lives. The ones who sincerely acknowledge the hand and power of God in their lives, they do not hesitate to serve him till the end of their lives. Joshua is the first one among the people present in that gathering to acknowledge God’s faithfulness and affirms his consent to be with him. In this context, he declares openly before the people what he and his family is and will be for the Lord: I and my family, we serve the Lord always. - “Where shall we go, Lord, you have the words of eternal life” (Peter – Gospel): Now it is the turn of the twelve disciples to answer and to decide. As we have already meditated, all the listeners turned back telling that this teaching of Jesus is hard to understand (John 6: 60 – “this word is hard! Who can listen to it” and then, 6:66 – “from that moment many of his disciples turned back and did not go with him”). Jesus’ only hope is his twelve chosen disciples. They have been with him for quite some time. This is not the miracle and first teaching for them. They have been seeing him from the beginning of his ministry. They have already seen many miracles. They have already listened to many discourses. May be this one is deeper and profound in the revelation of the mysteries of God. But they are not in any way new to his teaching. Therefore, Jesus is not preoccupied when all went away. He wanted at least his disciples to understand this. That’s why immediately he asks them: “Do you also want to go away?” (John 6:67). He must have been very happy and content with the response that Peter has given. For Peter immediately said: “where shall we go Lord, you have the words of eternal life and we have believed and have known that you are the Holy of God” (John 6:69). Jesus is much satisfied with the answer. Whom he has chosen for himself remained with him. Whether they have completely understood what he meant about his flesh and blood is not that important. He wanted that they make a decision in their freedom. He does not want to force them. That’s why he did not even stop those who were going away. And he did not even drag his disciples into faith in his words. Their choice has to be liberal and free. Their decision has to be out of personal conviction. That is what happened finally and Jesus is happy. He is happy because, his twelve whom he called and confirmed in his mission, in whom he has put all his trust, have decided to stay with him. They have fixed their minds on him. They have followed him and his teaching. - For the surprise of everyone, the chapter and the discourse on the bread end here with this final and affirmative statement from Peter and the disciples. The miracle is the starting point. The discourse is the continuation and prolongation of the unveiling of the mysteries. The end is the right decision. First, he offers to them the material bread with the miracle. Then, he provides its ultimate significance with the revelation of the mystery. Finally, he waits and seeks for their decision either to accept or to reject. First, he starts with the simple bread; and slowly enters into the mystery of Eucharist, the offering of his body and blood; and finally he invites the listeners to participate in this banquet of eternal life. The result is quite satisfactory because at least the important ones have taken the Word seriously. They accept and decide “to eat his flesh and drink his blood”. Jesus has arrived to the conclusion he wanted and he terminated the discussion. The preaching is over but its accomplishment in the Last Supper and on the Cross is remaining. Everyone who listens to this discourse is invited to say yes or no. everyone who digests the word is invited to digest also the Eucharist. Everyone who takes part in the work of Jesus is called to make a decision, in freedom and in liberty, whether to serve the Lord or to the Devil. What about Us: Our Yes is the only possible way to attain eternal life - We are nourished by the word: though we are in the liturgical year B and we have to meditate upon the gospel of Mark, the Church has provided this long discourse of John after the miracle of multiplication. We have been reading, listening, meditating, and discussing about this for past five weeks. Now we are terminating the chapter and thus, the entire discourse on the bread. We know that Jesus is the bread that has come down from heaven. We know that he is the force and energy in our way and in our journey towards our salvation. We are nourished by the word for almost a month. Now what is our choice? Jesus is asking us today to take part in the final stage of the discourse: a decision and an action. We are invited to decide for ourselves whether to be with him or to go away from him. We are called here, around this table of banquet, to make a choice of whom we want to serve. What is our response today and at this very moment? Do we agree with Peter and consent to his words? We have to hurry up. Jesus is waiting for our answer. Jesus is seeking for our decision. He only throws the offer of salvation by hearing his word and participating in his banquet. But the decision he leaves to our freedom and to our liberty. Are we ready to embrace the offer of salvation? Or are we to turn back because this teaching is hard to understand and demands more from us? - We have already decided to stay with him: the truth is that this decision is not today’s. We have made this choice and decided to follow Jesus already in the moment of Baptism. Even there it was a free decision that the Church asked from us. That is the reason why, at the beginning of the rite of Baptism itself, the priest asks the parents of the child: “what do you want from the Church?” and they answer: “Baptism”. This is the free decision of the parents. Jesus and thus the Church do not force anyone to accept faith. The possibility of faith and salvation is offered to all. Receiving it or rejecting it depends on the personal choice of each individual. Once the nod of the parents is positive and once they themselves ask for baptism, the procedure initiates. The procedure has two important decisions to make: to renounce what is evil and to take up what is redemptive. That’s why priest asks the parents: “Do you renounce Satan and its seductions?” and they answer: “yes, we do renounce”. And now another important choice to make and the priest continues to ask: “Do you believe in the Father, in the Son, in the Holy Spirit, in the Catholic Church…?” and the response of the parents is: “Yes, we do believe”. This is the first moment of our decision. This each one of us, sitting here around this alter, has already made. From that time we have believed and known that Jesus is the Holy One of God. That is the decision we made at the time of Baptism. - Our renewal of the decision take place in every Eucharistic celebration: Not over with the Baptism. Every time when we come for the Mass – the Eucharistic celebration – we renew our decision. There is a important moment in the Mass: the reception of the communion. The priest says: “Body of Christ” before giving the communion. What does it mean? It means many a thing. Are you prepared well? Are you really ready to receive him? Is your soul purified? And is your heart beat for him? Do you want to receive him with love? All these questions are implied in the two small words: “body of Christ”. What follows is our response. We immediately say “Amen”. What does it means? It means that “yes, I am ready and prepared”, “yes, I want him in my life”, and “yes, I love him with my heart, with my mind, with the strength and above everything else”. Are we really aware of the words we are uttering? Are we really conscious of what we are responding? Do we really and sincerely make this choice of receiving him? This moment of renewal of the decision is made available for us in every liturgical celebration of the Eucharist. Do we make a firm decision? Do we really live up to what Jesus is asking? By saying “Amen” we are declaring our profession of faith and our readiness to take up the task of testimony. - Now is the moment of ultimate decision: today and right at this moment of our life, Jesus is inviting us to take the decision, the decision firm and fixed. Like Joshua and his family, we have to declare that we are ready to serve the Lord alone. Like Peter and the disciples we have to profess that the only Word that gives Eternal Life is Jesus himself and thus, we follow him until the last breath. This choice is to out of our personal conviction and out of our freedom. Once we decide there should not be turning back. There may be many doubts. There may be many teachings against it. Sometimes the demands of Jesus and of the Church may seem hard to understand and still hard to follow. There may be many insults and blames for the faith we profess. There may be various distractions and disturbances from the desires and pleasures of the world. There may be numerous moments of difficulty and pain. But once we have put our hand on the plough of the God’s kingdom we should not turn back. Such a real and radical decision is needed now. And Jesus is asking for that response. Are we ready now? What is our reaction to this question of Jesus right now? Jesus is waiting for an answer. We cannot pretend and drag the Christian life and dignity. We have an assurance from the Lord: “Who eats my body and drinks my blood has in him the life and he will attain eternal life”. We have an affirmation of the Church (Peter): “Lord, to whom do we go! You have the Word of Eternal life”. The human words may sometimes give us encouragement and they boost us up. The same human words also have the tendency to pull us down with desperation. The human words flatter and fumble. But the Word of God is Spirit and Life (John 6:63). It stands for always for us and by us. It enters into our heart and cuts down what is bad and implants what is life-giving. The Scriptures affirm this: “The word of God is a double-edged sword”. Let us decide now. Let us not hesitate. Let us not postpone it. Let us not neglect it. Let us make a choice now. The only possible way for our salvation is “our sincere and authentic yes” to God’s invitation of life. Therefore, before receiving the communion and before leaving the Church, let us decide whom do we want to serve and let us renew our decision and make ours the words of Scriptures: “Lord, where shall we go! You are the way, the truth and the life for us” and help us to be with you always.

TWENTIETH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - B

TWENTIETH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – B (Proverbs 9:1-6; Eph 5:15-20; John 6:51-58) Theme: The True Wisdom: To Taste and See that the Lord is Good Reflection: Eucharist, the heart of the Church, gives meaning to our human and Christian life - We are still in the discourse of the “bread of life”. From last four Sundays we have been reflecting on this bread that came down from heaven. The Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ, is very important in the life of the Church and in the life of every Christian. That is why the Church is encouraging us to “stop for a while” on such discussion in order to penetrate ourselves deeply into its effective significance. Therefore, we still meditate from the gospel of John the nature and the importance of the bread of life. to have a glance of the past: we have initiated this discourse with the miracle of the multiplication of the five loaves and two fish; from there we have come to the level of highlighting that we need to search for the bread that comes down from heaven; and from there we are asked to consume this bread, bread from heaven and bread of life, as the nutriment for the journey of our life. - Today, as the continuation of it, we enter into the most significant part of the discourse: Jesus affirms what happens if one participates in the banquet of life and enumerates the consequence and the content of the reception of the Eucharist. Even prior to that, as the introductory part, we may recall the truth that the Eucharist is the heart of the Church. It is true to reaffirm that the Eucharist makes the Church and the Church makes the Eucharist. It is for this reason that the Vatican Council exhorts: “It is not possible to form one Christian community if there is no Eucharistic celebration as its root and its hinge” (Presbyterorum ordinis, no. 6). This indicates the Eucharist is truly the heart of the Church and the Church reaps always a new vigor to be edified as a ‘community of love’. - We are called today into this house of God exactly for this: we have to create and build the community of love. We are capable of doing this because we are Christians and more over we participate in this banquet of love. We are invited to be nourished by the Body and Blood of the Lord so that we become “the edifice of love and life” to the world around. We have this task to do. Eucharist makes us enter into this sense of our life. We have the questions ever present and to which we always strive to provide answers: who we are? From where did we come? Where do we go? These questions rouse in us, not only the curiosity but also, the need for the research of what is the meaning of our life in the world. We are not animals but humans. Humans are composed of “body”, “mind” and also of “the soul”. We have body and mind and that which makes us really human is “the centrality of the soul”. We have conscience. We have heart. We have soul. Therefore, we need to answer the above question, not only with the logic and intelligence but also, and above all, with the right conscience and good heart. - Knowledge of the life eternal: we have various sciences to provide us with the reasons and the logical conclusions. But the technological and scientific developments can fully offer to the man an answer for his never ending desire of the heart? The research of the mind, the desire of the soul, the beating the heart have no end and no stoppable conclusions. The mind continues to search to the end. The heart continues to beat until its rest in some other heart. The soul desires for its eternal uplift-ment. This makes man to rise above the natural and visible reality and to search for the invisible reality of the life. In this way, man always looks above, journey higher and higher and grow not only in the body and in the mind, but also in the spirit and in the soul. Thus, he enters into the knowledge of the eternity and he desires to participate in that reality: invisible and eternal. - To put in simple words: Man is nourished by the ordinary food and drink insofar he is corporeal. He is nourished by the knowledge of the ordinary logic and science insofar he is mental. But above all, he is nourished by the truth of life, which goes beyond the needs of the body and mind, insofar he is a spirit. This final need to grow in the truth is the wisdom that give a sense and a meaning his life as a human being. In the Christian language, man is invited to ‘search for the food that gives life’ – that means in a deeper manner, that he is invited “to participate in life of Christ, the Wisdom of God for the world”. Jesus Christ: Wisdom of God for the humanity - The bread of wisdom: readings of today focus on this aspect of striving always for the bread that gives wisdom. Yes, it is true. Material bread gives health and fitness to the material life. And spiritual bread gives breath and sustenance to the spiritual life. Since man is both material and spiritual he needs both material and spiritual bread. Material bread he has to earn from his daily hard work and fatigue. Spiritual bread he has to acquit (buy or earn) from his daily attitude of faith. The balance between them is very important. He cannot forego one for the other. If he renounces either of them what happens is this: he either loses his physical health or loses his spiritual and interior calm. We may analyze little closely with the help and inspiration of the readings. - Wisdom invites us to be nourished by it (first reading – Wisdom is God’s word): We have a beautiful passage from the book of Proverbs, one of the wisdom books, and therefore, it belongs to the heart. The passage reveals that Wisdom is God’s word and action and now it acts as a person. Taking the place of a person, Wisdom has prepared a banquet. It means that it transforms itself into the common food and invites the men to be filled with it. The invitation of the Wisdom is simple: “come, eat my bread and drink the wine I have prepared” (Pro 9:5). It is not simply to taste a little. It is an invitation of the complete dinner: eat and drink. We are called to eat and drink it so that it has its ‘tent’ in us. It stays with us and in us. It makes us its own. It fills us with its nature of being wise. It takes control of us so that whatever we say or do has some sense and significance. We are around the table on which the wisdom is place in the plate. We may also choose to refuse it but on its part, wisdom has made available for us. We are given the possibility and we are open the space for it consumption. If we accept the invitation and take part in it we are filled with its taste of goodness and love. If we reject and neglect the invitation and throw away the given chance we go hungry, means, we return with the ignorance of mind and the weakness of heart. - Wisdom in the Form of Bread and Wine (Gospel – Jesus is the Wisdom of God): let us convert the above words of wisdom into our life and into our situation: Jesus is the Wisdom of God who has made himself “the bread from heaven” for us. He made himself available for us. He is the “Word made Flesh” for us. In this way, he transformed himself into the food for our nourishment. He has given the possibility to participate in his life. He has created a space for us so that we gather around his table. If we accept him with the faith we have the possibility of having life. The gospel is very keen in placing before us this truth: “Truly, truly, I tell us you: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you do not have life in you” (John 6:53). And Jesus further enumerates the four fruits of the consummation his body and blood. The first fruit of the body and blood of Christ is the Eternal Life and Jesus promises: “who eats my body and drinks my blood has the eternal life” (John 6: 54). The second fruit is the Participation in the Resurrection and Jesus exclaims: “I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:54). The third fruit of the reception of Jesus’ body and blood is the continuous indwelling of Jesus in the one who receives him and the words of Jesus are: “who eat my body and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him” (John 6:56); Jesus pitches his tent in him and he takes his shelter in Jesus. The fourth and the final fruit is the “life through Jesus” and we have the affirming words of Jesus: “Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me” (John 6:57). The one who receives lives no more for or because of himself but lives because of the one whom he receives. Jesus becomes the ultimate point of reference for everything he speaks and does. It is in this sense that Paul also speaks of “life by Jesus” and his words give better sound: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). These are the fruits and effects of the reception of the body and blood are Jesus Christ. - Jesus intensifies the discourse of the bread by referring it ultimately to his flesh and blood, which will be offered for the humanity first of all in the Eucharist and then finally, on the cross. This is what the Church is asking us to assimilate. For many it may seem to be illogical and incomprehensible as it was difficult for the Jews to understand the words of Jesus. But Jesus gradually brings his listeners to the level of seeking and receiving the true bread which comes down from heaven. He makes the platform for the discourse with the multiplication of the bread (John 6:1-15). Slowly, when people started looking for him because he has distributed the bread, Jesus takes another step ahead and tells them to strive for the bread that does not perish (John 6:26-27). Jesus guides the crowd furthermore and tells them that the bread that never perishes is himself: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35-51). There is a gradual growth. Now he presents himself as the New and Eternal Bread that God provides to His People on their journey towards the heavenly Jerusalem. There is a development of the theme from the normal and ordinary bread to the food that endures for eternal life. Jesus until now has invited people to come to him and to believe him so that they are not hungry and thirsty. With today’s gospel, he guides his listeners to the highest step: not only coming and believing him but “eating and drinking him” (John 6:52-58). It is here that the question and the discussion have become very intensive and hard to understand. It is very easy to come and to believe but eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Jesus does not sound well to the ears and does not reach well to the mind and finally does not connect well to the heart. That’s the reason why the Jews started disputed among themselves and wondered of what kind of discourse this could be (John 6:52). But all the more Jesus reveals the content and the heart of the discourse. The one who receives him literally eating his body and drinking his blood in the Eucharist will remain and live through him in this earthly life and will be raised up for the life of resurrection and eternity in the next life. It is this point that we have to arrive at. The Church offers continuously this discourse so that we take to the heart this content of the Eucharist. - Jesus is the Wisdom of God for humanity: Wisdom belongs, not the body or to the mind but to the heart and to the soul. It is not mere intelligence or excellence in the sciences. They are only the preliminary steps to the Wisdom because it is the highest point and it has its origin and end in God himself. Therefore, wisdom demands the opening of the heart to something above. It requires that one rises from this earthly desires and seek for the heavenly reality. It asks to strive for the heavenly will and thus will of God. In this sense, Jesus is the Wisdom of God. He strives always to fulfill the will of his Father even to the ultimate moment of “sacrificing his life” and making his life a “Eucharist” for the hunger and thirst of the humanity. Wisdom in itself is never for itself but is for others. It makes the room for others so that they have a dwelling place in it and they live a “wise” life. Wise life means that the one who receives it “lives for the will of God”. So also Jesus. He in himself is not for himself but for others. He offers everything of himself to others. He invites them to take part in it so that they too participate in the eternal life by accomplishing the will of God. Here Jesus becomes the Wisdom of God for us. And here we become the Wisdom of Jesus for the world because we receive his body and blood. Therefore, the true wisdom lies here: tasting and seeing that the Lord is good (the antiphon for the responsorial psalm). Our Task: taste and see how good the Lord is - Our daily experience of the dinner: We may start with our usual and ordinary understanding. We invite hosts into our home. We prepare for them the best food. While eating the first question we ask is this: How is it? Do you like it? Does it taste better? They are normal questions of the curiosity to know whether they are satisfied with the preparations and with the dishes. We shall try to apply this to our spiritual food. Jesus prepares a dinner for us. He invites us every time to come and dine with him. We listen to his word and ‘receive’ him into ourselves. Now Jesus asks us the same questions: my friends, how is it? is it tasty? Are you satisfied with the food I have prepared for you? When we return home from the dinner that our friends prepared we talk about it. We discuss about its taste. We share within our circle about the experience of the hospitality. But in the case of spiritual dinner we receive here in the liturgical celebration how our attitude is? Did we ever proclaim about the food that Jesus prepared for us? Did we ever give testimony of the Eucharist we have received? Did we ever share with others the taste and the experience we had in the reception of the Eucharist? These are the questions that we have ask ourselves before, during and after the Holy Mass. The kind of answer we have for these questions reveals how really we have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. Many times we fail to give testimony to the Eucharistic participation. It is because either we do not make good preparations to receive it or because we do not “receive him” with the worthy manner. When we fail to taste and see, we fail also to give a witness. Today Jesus is asking us “to taste and see” who he is and what he is for us. He is inviting us to be “filled and nourished” by him. - Jesus invites us to eat and drink him to the full: In the first reading we see that the wisdom builds a house on the seven pillars and invites the people to the dinner it has prepares. In our time and for our situation: Jesus is the Wisdom of God; the house he has built is the Church; the seven pillars are the seven Sacraments; the dinner he has prepared and invites us to participate is the Eucharist. We are invited to receive him to the brim of our heart. We are invited to have a good and perfect dinner so that we are satisfied completely and our hunger disappears forever. Once we are filled and nourished by “his Body and Blood” we are filled with the wisdom and we become “indwelling place of the Holy Spirit”. - Our attitude should be that of wise: when we are nourished by the Eucharist we become “filled with the Holy Spirit” as St. Paul exhorts us in the second reading (Eph 5:18). We drink the eternal wine so that we become temples of the Spirit. Therefore, we need to demonstrate a wise attitude in our life: “Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise” (Eph 5:15). The wise will make use of the time well without wasting even a single minute in the unnecessary discussions (v. 16). The wise will always seek for God’s will (v. 17). They do not lose control of themselves (v. 18). They construct and edify their life of unity and fraternity with others (v. 19) and finally, they glorify the Lord always (v. 20). This should be the attitude of those who are wise. We are called and made wise because we receive the Holy Spirit and we receive him “in the Eucharist”. - Let us accept the invitation. Let us enter with joy into the house of the Lord. Let us prepare ourselves well for the liturgical celebration. Let us embrace with good conscience the word that the Lord proclaims. Let us receive with good heart and soul the banquet he has prepared for us. Let us make our own the Body and Blood we receive. Let us go out and give testimony with our life how good the Lord is and how he has nourished us with the wisdom. This is the meaning of being wise. This is the meaning of “taste and see” that the Lord is good. Let us go and be wise because we are nourished by the “bread from heaven” and by the “body and blood” of Christ from the Eternal Banquet of the Eucharist.

NINETEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - B

NINETEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – B (1Kings 19:4-8; Eph 4:30-5:2; John 6:41-51) Theme: Jesus is “true food” on our journey of life Reflection: From the mystery of life to the message and to the mission of testimony - We can notice that from three Sundays we have been reflecting on the “discourse on the bread of life” from the Gospel of John. The whole reflection starts with the multiplication of the five loaves of bread and two fish. It is continued with the self-affirmation of Jesus: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). He affirms this in the context of the “search of the people for the bread”. He admonishes people to search not for the bread that perishes but for the bread that remains and lasts long and the bread which only he can provide (John 6:27). While proclaiming and distinguishing between the perishing bread and lasting bread, he unveils the “actual content” and “true significance” of the whole discourse: “I am the bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:41). This is the starting point for our mediation today. - From the miracle of the multiplication Jesus develops and builds up the truth that the people have to carry with them and live. The truth that finally he reveals is that he alone can give true bread and he himself is that true bread which the Father prepared and sent into the world for the eternal nourishment of the people. The destiny and motive of whole proclamation is to bring the people to this knowledge and acceptance of true and eternal bread. This is the reason why evangelist John, while narrating the miracle that Jesus has performed, elaborates and gives further message and meaning of the miracle. Miracle is not something that has happened and gone but “something that still happens in our lives”. The multiplication has been performed by Jesus and, in every celebration of the Eucharist he still performs that miracle in our lives. Therefore, the miracle has all the tenses. It has a past because it has been worked. It has a present because it is still happening. It has a future because it will take place with its eternal meaning. - The Christian life itself is a miracle because it has its beginning from God, it sustains in God and it will arrive finally to be in God. Thus, as a miracle, Christian life is a mystery. It is mystery because all life is from God from the foundation of the creation: it is the past of the mystery. Life is totally donated to man through his Son Jesus Christ in history and in time: it is the present of the mystery. The same life is not yet fully realized and it will be completely consummated only when the life re-enters into its author, God and that mystery is moving forward with the hope: it is the future of the mystery. Jesus himself, who is the ultimate mystery, reveals and realizes the true life before our eyes. The mystery of Jesus is reveals both in the “Word” and in the “Flesh” because he is the “Word made Flesh”. In the beginning he is the Word but he is not remained only the word but assumed the human nature, the flesh. The mystery of the Word is transformed into the mystery of the flesh. He is both “proclaimed word” and “broken bread”. This is what we celebrate in the liturgy of the Mass. He does not remain as a mystery which is beyond comprehension but reveals it and makes it happen in front of our naked eyes. As a consequence, the mystery is transformed into the message we listen and the mission we imbibe. - To put it in simple words, Jesus does not simply say that he is the “bread descended from heaven” and remains there. Instead, he gives the bread as the nourishment of life. we participate in the mystery with our faith and sacramental life and thus we need to live the mystery. Living the mystery means to listen to message and to do the mission. In the context of today it means this: we need to receive the true bread and we need to provide to the needy the same bread. Message and mission together make the mystery. - Christian life is a mystery: it has to receive and give and give and receive and it is a reciprocal exchange. As the reciprocal taking and giving, life is always a movement. In other words, life is a journey. It goes ahead. Life cannot take stop. When it takes a stop what happens? It becomes stagnant and it becomes unbearable. We can analyze the examples of a stream: as long as the water ‘runs forward’ it is fresh and gives energy to those who receive it and if it stops flowing, it becomes stagnant, undrinkable and moreover poisonous. Life too is like that. If it does not go forward and it finds itself stopped, there is no energy that passes. No one can have some force from it. It is like almost dead. The readings of today, in particular, the first reading puts forward to us this kind of “state of life” of the Prophet Elijah and God comes always to our aid and “makes the life move forward”. Bread God provides: Nourishment for the long and eternal life - Elijah walked for forty days – first reading: The first reading is the best example for the desperation of life from part of man and for the providence that arrive in the right for the sustaining of life from the part of God. Life is God’s gift and he alone takes it back to himself when he wants. Until then the life cannot be stopped. Although it seems to be difficult to carry forward because of the various hindrances, man is not the author and master of life. He has to push it forward until God wills it. Same situation is found in the case of Elijah. He is tired physically and but more than that he is depressed psychologically and spiritually. He is desperate because he finds himself running away for the good he has done. He is afraid because Jezebel seeks to kill him. He is rejected and thus flees for life. His flee and his run for life is so exhausting that he desires to die and he asks God for the same. His prayer is for the cease of life: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better that my ancestors” (1 Kings 19:4). The amount of fear and anxiety he undergoes for the good he has done is seen here. He has not done something of himself or for himself but has accomplished what God himself has commanded to him. But the result is something unimaginable: escaping for life. His words become true in every human life in one instance or the other. - He really desired that God may take his life. He really prayed that he may die. But he is not the master or author of his life. God still wants him. God still wills that he continues his mission. The mercy and providence of God reaches him in due time. Exactly in the moment of distress and fear, which is dominated by physical hunger, God sends his angel not with the sole words of consolation but with the food that energizes him. Not once but twice, an angel empowers him with his presence and with the providence. Elijah is not aware of the amount of the journey he has to make. But the angel does know. That’s the reason why, angel provides him the food for the second time telling that the journey is a long one. The important phrase is this: “He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of the Lord” (1 Kings 19:8). We can understand two noteworthy elements here: o First, the amount of the food he has taken is not the matter but ‘the food provided by God’ is important. It is God who provides. When he provides, even though it is a small portion, it is enough to complete the journey and thus a mission. Elijah has walked for forty full days with the food provided by God. He is nourished by “the cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water” but is it enough, ordinarily speaking, for the journey of forty days? But here, to Elijah, it was sufficient. It is not because of the quantity of the food but because of the power of God’s providence. o Second, the prophet is re-filled with the faith and spirit of God rather than mere material food. Once he is filled with the confidence that it is not he who does but it is God who acts in him he can re-start his journey with the enthusiasm and vigor. It is this spirit-filled ‘will’ that made him to continue his journey without counting either the days or the distance and to reach his destiny of God’s mountain. - God provides all that we need, but provides in its time: hurrying up or becoming desperate with the distrust with regard to the providence of God is meaningless. We need to believe that God provides when it is ultimately needed. He gives us the mission and he makes us move forward in the mission. If we are tired and lose courage he comes into our aid, not because we ask but because he wills. Thus, like the prophet Elijah, our mission should be ‘accomplishing our journey’ and ‘arriving at our destiny’ and ‘reaching the mountain of the Lord’. - “Who believes in me has the eternal life” – Gospel: Jesus first of all condemns the unbelief of his people. Their unbelief is manifested in their rejection of him and his words. They are not able to ‘digest’ and ‘accept’ his words. His words seem to be hard for them. “I am the bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:41) is still harder to digest for their mindset. That’s why Jesus, instead of taking about the bread, immediately asks them to believe though they do not understand for now. He invites them to accept it as God’s doing. And he finally affirm that the faith, not the food alone, that saves man: “Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life” (John 6:47). - Only after guiding them into the sphere of faith, Jesus says that he is “the bread of life” (John 6:48). In order to rouse in them the authentic faith he compares between the food that perishes and the food that lasts long. He makes the comparison between the manna and the bread he gives. Both are from above. Both are sent by God. Both have come down to feed the hunger of man. It is God who sent Manna and it is God who sent Jesus. Manna in the desert is to nourish the people in their journey to make them reach the Promised Land. Jesus who has come down is the bread to nourish the people in their journey to the eternal life. Comparing both, Jesus affirms the superiority of ‘his bread’ which is himself. Those who eat manna see death but those who ‘eats’ him will not see death. This Eternal Manna is Jesus himself and he says “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51). Jesus wanted to clarify the doubt the Jews and thus create in them the faith but the things have turned to the worse as it will be seen in the further verses. - Jesus highlights that the food which he gives is “his flesh and his blood”. His bread is made available to all. He made this bread to reach to all by his ‘sacrificial death’ on the cross for all. He invites all to eat this bread so that they will the mountain of the Lord, presence of the Lord and in other words, they will “reach the eternal life”. For this, the requirement that is demanded is the faith that Jesus has made himself ‘bread of life’ for us: to believe that he is the food for our life’ journey towards our promised land, towards the mountain of the Lord and towards eternal life. Life is a journey – Jesus is our support and our food - Life is a journey: life is a journey. We are always on the move. We cannot stop or we cannot turn back in our Christian vocation. We are called to march forward towards the altar of God in this life and towards the eternal banquet in the next life. Insofar we journey we are not fixed to a particular system. Insofar we are moving we are not immersed in the same mode of life. Instead, we grow and better ourselves. Since we are the pilgrims and journey throughout, we place ourselves on the road: we are on the road to heaven. We walk ahead to climb God’s mountain and thus, we always look high and watch above. We have to keep our sight above and in high. In a word, our journey is upwards. But in the journey there is no guarantee of safe and painless life. In this journey there is a assurance that everything will be alright without any obstacles. - We climb the mountain of God and in our climbing we also look into the valleys. We try to move upwards and we experience also moments of ‘down’ in life. Our spiritual journey is always entangled within the passing moments of this life. It faces the individualism where no one is found ‘near and next’ to us and thus experiences loneliness and rejection. It faces the liberalism where everyone goes in proper way and thus experiences various psychological complexes such as fear, anxiety, depression and finally death. It faces socialism, political influences, technological attractions and with all these the journey of life takes different ‘roots’ which lead to injustice, unhappiness, perplexity, madness and finally to the state of putting end to the life. - In all these moments of darkness and un-life, the heart of man still searches for the life. Man still hopes for life. He keeps on moving forward with lot of desire for bettering the life. This ‘desire for life’ is something that makes that one to rise up and keep going forward. There are lots of ‘falls’ and lots of ‘stops’ in life. We are tempted to stop our journey. Many a time, our unbearable conditions seem to be very much powerful than our force. We face the situation which Prophet Elijah has faced during the various moments of our life. How many times we must have prayed to God to take away our life? How many times we must have cursed ourselves for the conditions we live in? How many instances there are in our life in which we wanted to end to our life without willing to live anymore? These are the moments of depression and suffering, be it physical or psychological. Exactly in these ‘obscure’ moments that God’s providence and help comes to our aid. - Jesus is our support: God does not leave us alone and drowning. He extends his hand in the right moment. Only we, as the people of hope, have to manifest faith in him and in his providence. Better examples are given to us these Sundays. Last Sunday we meditated that the people of Israel were in the same condition of losing their life for the cause of hunger and they started blaming God and murmuring against him. God has immediately promised and fulfilled an act of providence: he sent them the Manna for their journey. With that they walked for forty years in the desert. Today we have, as we have already seen, another example of Elijah who is offered food by God’s angel and immediately got up and re-started his journey and walked for forty days. In our times, we have the “true and living bread” which has come down from heaven in the person of Jesus Christ. He is our support. He stands by us. He takes our hand and rises up. He does not want that we fall down and lose our life. He has not abandoned the sinking Peter, instead, extends his hand to guide him into the boat of life. What is required of us is to come to his recourse: to seek for his help. The journey will take its start again with the support that Jesus offers to us. He does not wish that we fall short of our destiny. He asks and encourages reaching the mountain of the Lord, to the eternal presence of the Lord. - Jesus is our food: Jesus is our support because he extends his merciful look and generous help. He is not only the God of mere words and mere promises. He is the God who becomes everything for us. He becomes human flesh so that he can ‘be with us’ and this is the first act of love in the incarnation. He becomes ‘Eucharist’ – ‘offering his body and blood’ for our spiritual nutriment and this is the final act of love in the death and resurrection. The whole mystery of Jesus found in the Eucharist: he is our food. He feeds us with his body and blood (as food and water) and makes us to get up and walk so that we keep moving forward. We do not die of hunger and thirst. He invites to come to him those who are hungry and thirsty so that he could satisfy them with his own body and blood. What is required of us is to ask for it and to believe in his presence in the Eucharist. We need to participate with ‘faith’ and ‘confidence’ in the Eucharist so that we are ‘nourished’ by the word and by the food. It is the only way that Jesus has chosen in order to enter deep into our human lives: the Eucharist. Therefore, we need to journey forward and upward until we arrive at our destiny of communion with God. And Jesus is “true food” on our journey of life. Let us consume him, let us get and walk and we are not worried about either about the amount of distance or about the number of days. We can journey all through our life, facing all the valleys of life, by the power of his presence in the form of Eucharist. Let us hurry up with faith to his altar to be filled by this spiritual nourishment which has descended from heaven.

EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - B

EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – B (Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15; Eph 4:17, 20-24; John 6:24-35) Theme: “Lord, give us our daily bread and make us a daily bread for others” – our prayer Reflection: True bread is from above - John’s Gospel instead of Mark’s: we are in the eighteenth Sunday of the Liturgical Year B. Generally we have the readings from the gospel of St. Mark for this year. But strangely we see last Sunday and today, the reading is not from Mark’s gospel but from John’s gospel. The motivation is simple. John elaborates and gives the completion to the miracle of multiplication of the loaves and fish. Mark narrates it well but with the meaning of the messianic wonder. John prolongs it giving the theological meaning of Jesus becoming the “true and living bread” for the salvation of all. Therefore, the Church recommends us to have a glance of the narration of John so that we enter profoundly into its significance and make it our own. - Last Sunday – bread multiplied with the loving sharing: Last Sunday we have meditated upon the miracle of the multiplication of five loaves of bread and two fish. The content of it is: God brings into fulfillment the action initiated in faith and trust. The heroes of the miracles are Elisha in the first reading and Jesus in the second reading. Both of them did not have any doubt and worry of the small portion of bread they have or any fear whether it would be sufficient for all or not. They offered the miracle to God. They put all their trust and faith in God. They believed that they only start the action but it is God who actualizes it. God has seen their perfect praise and thanksgiving which is the expression of their faith. As a result the impossible has become possible and the small portion of bread has become sufficient and abundant. This is the content of the miracle we have seen last Sunday. The story is not complete there. The content needs to be comprehended and continued. Reflecting the miracle and glorifying God for it is not enough. It is only the one side of the coin. There is second side: the continuity. The continuity of the miracle is: We have to become the miracle worker and thus multiply our deeds of love. Each authentic believer has the Christian capacity to perform such a miracle of multiplication of love: our love has to be sufficient and abundant for all who come into our life. This is the vocation of those who participate in the miracle of Eucharist. - Today’s gospel – true bread is not from the earth but from heaven: today’s readings lead us one step ahead. They invite us to distinguish between the bread that perishes and the bread that lasts long. Jesus clearly tells the crowds not to worry about the bread that they have been filled with but work hard, with faith and charity, to accumulate the bread which gives them not momentary and temporary satisfaction but ever and eternal salvation. The bread produced and prepared in the oven of the earth, by the hands of man, is important for the material and physical nutrition. It gives strength and growth. But it has its end only in the earth. Instead, there is special and delicious bread, produced and prepared in the oven of the heaven, by the very hands of God. It is sent by God himself from above. This bread is ever lasting. It gives spiritual growth. It keeps the human spirit always attached to the Divine Spirit. This bread has no end. It remains forever. It makes the consumers to grow not only horizontally but also vertically. It makes them to reach the one who prepared it. We need to strive to earn such kind of bread so that we attain the salvation it provides. Let us observe well the readings to understand this significance. Jesus Christ: The Living Bread coming down from heaven - The readings of today invite us to consider and to conquest not only the earthly bread but also heavenly bread. They unveil the mystery of Jesus Christ as the “bread sent by the Father” to feed the redemptive hunger and thirst of the world. Jesus is the New Manna coming from heaven and he confirms it in his own words: “I am the bread of life. whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35). - “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you” (Ex 16:4 – first reading): God promises to send a food from heaven after listening to the grumbling of the Israelites against him and his servant Moses. God has initiated an event of delivering his people from the slavery and to lead them to the land full of prosperity. Without much comprehension and without much preparation to face trials, they has set out in their journey. They cried out for the redemption from the Egyptian dominion. They must have thought that God guides them into the safe land without any difficult. In fact, God promised the fertile land for them in future but he never promised that they would reach it without any trials and difficulties. Nothing comes so easily. God demanded their complete trust in his action. But soon they have forgotten the demand and remembered only his promise. When they are attacked by the hunger and thirst they doubted and feared that God has forgotten his promised. They doubted his faithfulness and his promise. - God, seeing their depression and distrust, manifests his mercy and love by providing them what they need: he wills and decides to satisfy their hunger. He makes them promise of sending them food for them and he immediately fulfills it by sending Man-hu, manna, which means “what is this?” Therefore, manna, in the Old Testament, has become the sign for testing God on the part of Israel (because they have tested God), and it has become the sign of the word coming down on the part of God (because God will make his Word a new manna for his people). - The meaning of manna: “what is it?” needs more reflection: The Israelites are aware of the usual bread they eat. Now they find something different and some element unusual before them and in front of their eyes. Out of curiosity and out of wonder they ask themselves what this strange substance could be. This reveals the truth that what God sends is not an usual food but a special and extra-ordinary. Though it is not ordinary it can be consumed. For his people he has sent a food from above and thus satisfied their hunger and thirst. This is the pre-figuration of something more and definitive that God is going to do for his people: he is going to rain bread from heaven. Indeed, he rains in the appointed time: he sends his Word made Manna for his people. Jesus himself takes this event of manna in the desert and the words of Moses and gives them their completion and perfection. He demonstrates himself to be the “New and True Manna” which would satisfy the hunger forever, hunger for salvation and thus, leads those who eat it into heaven, the place of eternal life. - “I am the bread of Life” (John 6:35 – Gospel): Jesus, basing himself on the miracle of multiplication of loaves, produces a discourse of himself as the True and Eternal Bread. He knows well why the great crowds are following him and he admonishes them to work for the bread that will not fade away. He opens this discourse in the synagogue of Capernaum with the vigorous comparison: he opposes the “food that perishes” (the bread) with “the food that lasts for the everlasting life” (Word and Eucharist). He already highlights this difference in his first temptation on the mountain with the beautiful words: “man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Math 4:4), the inspiration he takes from the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 8:2-3). And it is for this reason God sends not an usual food but completely different food in the form of manna. And it is for this reason what Jesus provides not an usual bread but “his own flesh” (John 6:51: ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh’). The antithesis of “perishing food” and “long lasting food” is also found in his earlier dialogue with the Samaritan woman. There he speaks with her about the thirst and water and makes the complete contrast between “the water which quenches the thirst” and “the spring of water gushing up to eternal life” (John 4:14). In this way, Jesus takes what is already prophesied and promised in the Old Testament and gives it completion in his own person. He manifests his superiority over Moses and thus not only provides bread for his people but above all, he himself becomes the bread for them. His true identity as the Word and Son of God is revealed: He is the True Bread coming from Heaven and He is the Fountain of Divine Life for whole world. This miracle happens in the Eucharist: the body and blood of Jesus provided by God for the salvation of the entire humanity. An Invitation to provide and to become the bread: “We are the manna” for the world - Eucharist – The Bread of Life Offered For All: The last thing that Jesus accomplishes in his life is “giving to the world his life”. In other words, he offers himself as the bread of life for the world. The unique and the only effect of the whole mystery of paschal event – His Passion, Death and Resurrection – is this: He gives up his Body and He pours out his Blood for the nourishment of the humanity. The institution of the Eucharist finds its ultimate significance only here. By dying and rising from the dead, he prepares a New Manna and Spring of Water, which satisfy the hunger and quenches the thirst of all those who come to him. And he calls all of them to taste the “living bread” he has given for the world. Eucharist, thus, is not destined only for some but for all. It is prepared and established in the presence of the few but it is ever extended to all. All have an access to it. All can participate in it. All have the possibility to consume it and thus, attaining the salvation it provides. Therefore, Eucharist is the “bread of life” offered for all. - Eucharist – an invitation to become ourselves “manna” for others: now as the active participants and authentic receivers of the Eucharist, we, the Christians have something more to do and something else to become: we have to provide the manna and above all, we have to become ourselves manna. We have to reach such a stage in which we can affirm that “we are the manna” for the salvation of all. We have to attain such Christian perfection in which we can confirm that “we are the food” provided by Jesus for the hunger and thirst of our community and for the people around. The body and blood of Jesus we receive in the communion transforms us to be the bread of life for others. Only that we have to allow ourselves to become such a manna with faith and with prayer. The gospel indicates such a kind of attitude: faith in him leads to the eternal satisfaction (John 6:35). - From refusal to the consummation of the bread: We are the witness for the bread we eat and the effect that produces. Our life has to be the manifestation of the Eucharist. Eucharist is not only a “participation” but also a “becoming”. For all those who do not have an access to this bread and for all those who do not eat this food, we need to be the guide and if required we need to become ourselves the bread. We have to lead them to the bread and fountain of life. For this we need to be the authentic people who prepare bread for all. Not just by our word, but by our very life, we have to invite all to consume the bread that Jesus has placed before the world: Eucharist. Eucharist is the “gratuitous food” that God provides for all. And we are that food and we are that manna and finally, we are that Eucharist. We are encouraged further by the words of St. Paul in the second reading: we have to be renewed in the mind and in the spirit and we have to cloth ourselves with the new self of Christ (Eph 4:23-23). This new self is to become like Christ. In a more specific manner, to put on new self means to be Eucharist for the world: to become sacrificial bread for our community. Only in this way, we realize our vocation of becoming the bread from heaven and the bread for all. Our faith and prayer, thus, should be this: “Lord, give us our daily bread and make us a daily bread for others”.

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - B

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – B (2 Kings 4:42-44; Eph 4:1-6; John 6:1-15) Theme: We are capable of multiplying the charitable works towards and for others Reflection: The Shepherd who provides the nutriment for the sheep - Last Sunday we have meditated that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and he himself calls and sends each Christian to be a “pastor” or a “shepherd” in the world and for the world. In this way, each Christian has the identity of “being chosen” with Baptism and of “being sent” with the mission of the Eucharist. The final words that the Mass offers to each participant are these: “Mass is ended, let us go in peace” or “In the name of the Lord, let us go in peace” or “Let us glorify the Lord with our life, let us go in peace” and so on. These words are not the simple words of ‘accomplishing’ the mass but they are the “invitation” of Jesus to go and spread the seeds of peace in the everyday situation of proper life. - We are nourished with the “Word” in the proclamation and with the “Bread” in the breaking. That means we are “refilled” with the loving grace of Jesus and with his own life. This “refilling” should not go without any fruit. We are “full” of the Lord since He himself has entered into us and he makes his throne in our heart. This entrance and the presence of the Lord in us, with the Eucharist, has its effect. It has its consequence. The consequence and effect is this: We have to share what we have received and we have to fill others with what we have and with what they need. This is the mission with which we are sent “from and by the Eucharistic celebration”. - That’s why we are both “called” in Baptism and “sent” with Eucharist. In other words, we are called “to participate” in the Lord through the Sacraments and we are sent “to share” the same Lord with others. This is the authentic meaning of being a shepherd in and for the world. This is the identity with which we are endowed: a shepherd is not for himself but for others and we are “not” and “never” for ourselves but for others. We follow Jesus who affirmed himself to be the Good Shepherd who gives his life for his sheep and who confirmed it by offering his “body and blood” on the cross for the nourishment of his sheep. If we truly follow such a Shepherd we have “to do just as he has done” because he said: “For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15). - Each Christian has this mission of being a shepherd. Though some are elected with the special consecration for the purpose of being a shepherd, each one, by the virtue of baptismal call and consecration, has this mission. We are “filled” by the Great Shepherd and so we have to fill others as the shepherds. We are “nourished” by the Good Shepherd and so we have to nourish others as the pastors leading other to the green pastures of faith and charity. In this way, we have the responsibility of “carrying forward” the Christian vocation of ‘feeding the world’ through the same power and grace that the Good Shepherd himself fills us with. - In reality, it is Jesus himself who gathers his sheep, guides it to the ever green pastures and feeds them with the finest nutrition. He does this through the mediation: with the mediation of his chosen ‘shepherd-flock’. We are that shepherd-flock. Therefore, we have double directed mission: first of all, we are his faithful flock who listen to him and follow him and secondly, we are the shepherds appointed by him “by call and mission” to lead the “far away flock” and the “flock without the shepherd” to the greenery of faith and love. That’s why, Good Shepherd provides the nourishment for us and in turn, as the consequence of the mission received, as the shepherds, we have to provide the food for others. This is very clearly explained in the miracle of the multiplication of the five loaves of bread and two fish. Let us analyze this event to enter into the deeper meaning of it for us today. Miracle of multiplication: “Giving” praise to God and “giving” bread to the people - “Praise of God” will make the miracle possible: How can the five loaves of bread and two fish be more than sufficient for the five thousand men alone? This is the question which needs to be answered. We all believe that it is one of the great miracles that Jesus has done. At the beginning itself we may affirm the phrase that “nothing is impossible to God” and positively, “everything is possible to God”. But it is only a general profession of faith. The deeper faith on the providence of God is needed: God provides the right thing in the right time to the right person. The miracle is made possible because it started “with the thanksgiving to God”. Every miracle that Jesus has done, is the event that he has done only in the name and with the glory of His Father. Jesus gave praise and glory to the Father before raising the Lazar from the death. Even in this particular instance of the multiplication of the bread the same thing happened. Jesus believed that it is the Father who does everything in him and through him and for his own glory. That’s why Jesus without holding anything to himself, offers to God the prayers and the praise. Once the whole confidence and trust is place in the name of God even the most difficult condition becomes easier: the impossible becomes possible. - Such kind of total faith in God is already prefigured in the Old Testament which we have read in the first reading. Elisha does the miracle but not in his own name but in the name of God, for he says: “Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘they shall eat and have some left’” (2 Kings 4:43). This is the answer that Elisha gives to the perplexed servant. The perplexity of the servant has the reason because he knows that the twenty loaves of bread are not enough for the hundred people. He also knows that if the bread is sufficient to all, there will be murmuring and grumbling. But Elisha has always placed his trust not in himself, nor in the servant and not even in the quantity of the bread that they have. He placed his total trust in God whom he has believed. He is confident that God will provide what is required. He is confident that God can feed the plenty with the minimum. This faith and confidence is manifested in his words. If we observe well the words we understand this: he affirms that “thus says the Lord, ‘they shall eat and have some left’.” How many loaves and how many people are not the important element. The small portion of bread has become enough and more to the good number of people: the very minimum is made sufficient to the maximum number of people and what was seem to be impossible has become possible. All this is the work of the Lord for the “faith and trust” that Elisha has placed in Him. Miracle is possible because of the faith and confidence in God. - What Jesus has done is the same and more. What was prefigured in the miraculous action of Elisha is accomplished and given the complete fulfillment in the miraculous action of Jesus. The first thing that Jesus does after taking the bread is “to give thanks to the Lord” (John 6:11). He is not worried about the small number of bread and fish. He is not perplexed to see the huge number of people. He is not tensed whether it would be sufficient or not. When he asked his disciples “to give them something to eat” (Mk 6:37), he already knows the kind providence of His Father. He knows that the only thing he has to do is to offer the action into the hands of His Father. Exactly this is manifested in his “thanksgiving” to God: “Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people”. Jesus did not even wait for the miracle of multiplication. He has done what he has to do: giving glory to the Father. And he has left everything to Him. He gave only five loaves of bread and two fish to the disciples to distribute. But he gave them only after the thanksgiving and glorifying the Father. Even the disciples must have wondered what is happening. The miracle of multiplication took place only when the disciples believed in the words of Jesus and started distributing without doubting his word. Jesus believed in His Father and the disciples believed in Jesus’ word. In the first reading, the servant started giving the bread to the hundred people believing in the word of the prophet. In the Gospel, the disciples started distributing the bread to the huge crowd believing the word of Jesus. The similarity is seen well: it is faith that made everything possible and it is faith that made the miracle possible. Even in the case of catching the miraculous fish, Peter has expressed the similar faith: “Lord, on your word I will throw my net”. On the word of Jesus the disciples started distributing and the miracle took place. Therefore, the miracle is only the effect of the faith professed and manifested. The profession and manifestation of faith is seen in “offering” to God that action that has to be done with “giving praise and glory” to him. True Eucharist: A thanking in the breaking and sharing of the bread - Giving to God “the praise” and giving to others “the bread”: the “act of giving” is itself a miracle. Miracle happens when we are ready to give what is to be given without holding anything for ourselves: giving glory to God and giving goods to others. Jesus is the greatest model for this miracle and he opens for us the possibility to make this miracle. The only thing that is required is “an attitude of giving and giving-away”. We have to learn to give without holding back ‘our glory’ and ‘our desires’. We do not look for our own glory and well being but we have to open the space for others to be highlighted and to create the possible for their growth. - Eucharist – a giving of ‘thanks’ and a giving of ‘bread’: the Greek significance for the Eucharist is “to give thanks”. Jesus multiplies the bread and feeds the sheep that is hungry. He feeds them of their both physical hunger and spiritual hunger. They are physically hungry because they are with him without food for three days. They are spiritually hungry because they are “without a shepherd”. He gives them bread and the bread that nourishes all the possible hunger. He fills both hunger stomach and hunger spirit by giving them not just the bread made of wheat but by giving himself. He will affirm it little further in his discourse of the bread saying: “I am the living bread descended from heaven”. This is the actual meaning of Eucharist: he becomes the food for our life. He himself becomes the bread that is broken and shared. - Miracle of multiplication – miracle of the Eucharist: there are more similarities between the miracle of the multiplication of bread and the institution of the Eucharist. There are few gestures common to them which make the miracle possible: taking the bread, giving thanks to the Father, giving them to the disciples and a command to do the same in his memory. Each gesture has a meaning and each gesture compliments and completes the other and finally all the gestures together make the miracle. “Taking the bread” signifies that we cannot do anything with what we own but depend on the providence that comes either from God or from others: we take from other. “Giving thanks to God” means that we acknowledge the great wonder that God has done in our life and we accept the providence of God: we glorify God. “Giving them to others” means that what we have received from the providence of God is not only for ourselves but it has to be shared: we give what we are to others. Only in this “giving and sharing” the miracle of multiplication takes place and it leads to the overflow of the grace. Our task: Multiplying of our charitable works - Sharing what we have: the first Christian community is the best example for this (Acts 2:43-47). We can observe well the attitude of the believers in Christ: they sell what they have and distribute them to all, they spend the time in the temple, they give praise to God and they break the bread. They actually LIVED the Eucharist literally. They shared everything they have and whatever they have is common to all. In sharing they are united. The single individuals have become a single community because of their sharing. They are not divided but united. By giving away what they have they have become thickly related and spiritually rich. This is the Eucharistic miracle: the bread is broken to be shared by all and by sharing all become the same bread. We have to learn this kind of giving and sharing. This is possible only when we truly and authentically believe in Jesus: the faith in Jesus makes the miracle possible. - We have the capacity to multiply our good action and thus intensify our love: we are invited by Jesus to build a kingdom of love and sharing. That is the reason why, when the people want to make him a king after the multiplication of the bread, Jesus has escaped from their emotional mentality and their mean understanding and has gone to a lonely place. They looked for the king who provides the bread for them every day. Instead, Jesus wanted a kingdom in which all share their love and their life: he wills for the kingdom of love, justice and equality where the hunger and thirst is satisfied not just by “arms giving” but BY SHARING. The difference is more important between “arms giving” and “sharing”: the former is an attitude of giving out of abundance and latter is an attitude of giving out of love and justice. Today, we have the task of multiplying our charitable actions. It is true that we give arms and we make charitable deeds. It is not enough because there is still a great valley between the rich and the poor. We need to do something more. It is not just giving what is required but it is sharing. The demand is very challenging. It asks for our total foregoing at times. It looks impossible for us. But as Christians we can do miracles and we can multiply our good actions. - Faith is the basis and Love is the pillar: In the terms and language of the world it may look impossible to establish a just and equal society. But in the terms and language of Christian love it is always possible. And it is possible only with the profession of true faith and with the acts of love. True love leads us to such an extent of “giving” everything of what we are for the betterment of others. Jesus today calls us to be the shepherds who feed their flock. He invites us to nourish our brothers and sisters around us with the “ingredients of love”. Eucharist in which we partake is the “fountain of life”. We take life from it and share that life with others. Only in this way we can become authentic builders of the world of love and only in this way we become wonder workers and miracle performers. Jesus “fills” our life with this bread of love and “sends” us to provide this bread to all by multiplying our loving sharing.