19th Sunday in Ordinary Time - August 9, 2009

Lectionary #116
1 Kings 19: 4-8
Ephesians 4: 30-5:2
John 6:41-51


This Sunday’s Scriptures begins with the story of Elijah, fleeing the anger of Ahab, King of Israel. To escape, he flees into the desert. We have already seen in the previous Sundays’ readings, what the desert meant to the early Israelites. The desert heat drained them of energy; its lack of food and water weakened them; the starkness of the desert frightened them. It has the same affect on Elijah, just one day’s journey into the desert, and he is ready to give up. He complains to God that he has suffered enough, and is ready for death.

Most of us have had a “desert” experience in our lives. The struggles, the challenges of daily life can sometimes drain us of life, of hope. Some of us may experience a life crisis, a burden that we find too hard to bear. Like the desert heat, life can sometimes beat down on us, so much so that sometimes we feel like giving in to the despair, the hopelessness. Or else, like the early Israelites, like Elijah, we want to give up the journey we began when we were baptized. We want to give in to the bitterness, the anger, the hatred.

In the Gospel, we hear Jesus’ response, “Stop murmuring..” As God did for Elijah, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, comes to provide “the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.” Jesus Christ, “the living bread,” comes to feed us, to strengthen us, to renew the life within us, so that we will get up and begin the gospel journey again. As the bread Elijah ate, gave him the strength to reach Mount Horeb, where he encountered God; so to when we receive the Eucharist, we are united with God. Through the Son, our hope is renewed, the darkness of despair dispelled. Feed by the “living bread,” anger, bitterness, and hatred are removed, and kindness, compassion, and love are reborn.