Hungry?

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflection:

Last week in “Some Carbs are God” we talked about the beginning of the Eucharistic discourse on the “Bread of Life” from John. This week it continues and this time supported by a very interesting reading from Proverbs and, as is customary, a pragmatic set of instructions from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.

The Gospel continues with Christ’s remarkable revelation that, what he did at the last supper in the upper room was not simply symbolic (That is what all of the protestant denominations as well as the Pentecostal and Baptist denominations believe in spite of the fact that at least the Pentecostals and Baptists believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible.). What is interesting is the different flavor it has when we first hear from Proverbs.

If you remember, last week the first reading was from the Book of First Kings and how Elijah was given food for the journey. This week we hear about Wisdom and; “…Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding. “ This passage re-focuses us from the strengthening properties (food for the journey) to the way the Eucharist changes us in our understanding of God’s will for us (Forsake foolishness that you may live).

Let’s see what would happen if we took that same short reading from the Proverbs, which sounds to me like an early attempt to understand the Holy Spirit, and insert our understanding of the Trinity. It might sound something like this:

Wisdom has built her house,
Jesus has gone before us to prepare room for us.
she has set up her seven columns;
In his Father’s house there are many mansions
she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine,
At the Last Supper, in the upper room, our Savior gave to us his Body and Blood
yes, she has spread her table.
Yes, it is a new and everlasting covenant He has prepared for us.
She has sent out her maidens; she calls
from the heights out over the city:
He left his Disciples with the charge to go our and teach all nations.
“Let whoever is simple turn in here;
He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to Guide us.
To the one who lacks understanding, she says,
Come, eat of my food,
All you who hunger, here is my body, real food.
and drink of the wine I have mixed!
All you who thirst, here is my blood, real drink
Forsake foolishness that you may live;
advance in the way of understanding.”
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever

Here we can get a sense of the great gift our Lord gave us in his Body and Blood. When he tells us that he is in us and we in Him, we begin to see how he works to conform us to his glorious image. It is through the gift of the Eucharist that the Gates of Heaven are opened and it is only through the Eucharist that we can see them. Pax