HOMILY SUNDAY 20 – B
Be Mature and Wise: Believe and Love
(Proverbs 9:1-6; Psalm 34; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:51-58)
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Usually, the readings for each Sunday are chosen by the liturgists to at least have a connection between the first reading and the Gospel. The second reading is kind of an add-on most often. Today, however, all three readings combine to give us a profound message for our lives:
Be mature; be wise; walk in the way of insight and understand the will of God which is to believe in Jesus as the Bread of Life, and learn to truly love one another.
Eucharist by Fra Angelico
The first reading from proverbs asks us to be mature and to walk in the way of insight. The second reading asks us to try to understand the will of God. In the Gospel, we can discern that to be mature, to walk in the way of insight, and to understand the will of God, is to believe in Jesus as the Bread of Life, come down from heaven.
We struggle to believe this because to be human is to be incomplete; to never be fully satisfied, to have a longing for wholeness. Those who are not wise, who do not understand this, turn to false gods like alcohol, drugs, sex and gambling to try to satisfy that longing. We know that never works. It only creates more problems like addiction and violence for families and communities.
When Jesus says that he is the Bread of Life, he is saying that he alone and his Spirit can satisfy that spiritual hunger we feel as human beings. We must believe this and turn to him as the Bread of Life. “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord,” the psalm tells us. The second reading tells us not to get drunk with wine, but to be filled with the Spirit.
The liberation of the heart comes about when we live in communion with the Creator of the universe, with God. God touches us in the core of our being, deeper than our compulsions for power and admiration, or our fears of rejection and our feelings of guilt. God reveals the uniqueness and preciousness of our being just as we are.
A mature, wise person who understands the will of God will live a life of love. That is the will of the Lord. When Jesus asks us to eat his Body and drink his Blood, he is not just inviting us to recognize him and receive him in communion. He is asking us to live the Eucharist by loving one another.
Jesus uses the Greek word “Sarx” for body, not “Soma”. Soma means the body beautiful, in its youthful prime. Sarx means the body that gets old, wrinkled, sick and weak. To eat his body, his “Sarx”, then, is to love the people that we don’t like; to love our enemies, those who hurt us, treat us badly and put us down. It is to respect and care for all others. To eat his body is to accept all people as they are, to forgive them, to treat them well. What a challenge that is! We can do that only with the help of the Holy Spirit.
For young people, to believe in Jesus is to listen to their parents and respect their elders. For parents, to believe in Jesus is to be there for their children, to speak well of them, to bless them, to tell them and show them that you love them. It is to listen to their feelings and problems, to help them, and to answer their emotional needs. The Spirit of Jesus will help us live this way.
For elders, to believe in Jesus is to support the youth, to speak well of them, to bless them, as God the Father blessed Jesus his son at least three times in the scriptures: “You are my beloved son.” That affirmation by the Father gave Jesus the power to freely die for us on the cross. Elders need to not just share their wisdom with the youth, but also need to learn to listen to the cry of the youth, to encourage them, not discourage them, and to help them find their way. The Spirit of Jesus will help elders live this way.
Imagine if every family spent an evening together once a week, without bingo, drinking, gambling and without television. They would read from the bible together, share their feelings in trust and acceptance, and pray for each other’s needs. Then they would perhaps play a game together. That would be to believe in Jesus. That would be to eat his Body and Drink his blood – truly loving one another.
The Eucharist that we celebrate today is not just a pious worship of Jesus in the sacred bread and wine, but even more so a commitment to recognize him and serve him in our brothers and sisters in need.
So, be mature; be wise; walk in the way of insight and understand the will of God which is to believe in Jesus as the Bread of Life and learn to truly love one another.
