19th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B)

ST. AUGUSTINE CHAPEL

 TANDU-COMOT, MABUHAY, ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY, PHILIPPINES

(The farthest chapel in my parish)

 

 

 

19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Date: August 12, 2012

First Reading: 1 Kings 19: 4-8

Second Reading: Ephesians 4: 30-5:2

Gospel: John 6: 41-51

 

One experience I could not forget in my parish life is Mico (not his real name), 19. He was our youngest Eucharistic minister. He first served as knight of the altar few years back. Then, he became a lector and eventually a Eucharistic minister. One day, he came and asked for the sacrament of baptism. I was surprised because he has been serving the parish in the active ministry for years and yet he is not yet a Catholic.

He explained that when he was still a kid, his parents were converted to the Alliance Sect. He was also baptized in that religion. After several years, however, his parents went back to the fold of the Catholic Church while he was left in the Alliance. Because he was very participative in school activities, he also volunteered to join the Knights of the Altar. Before he knew it, he was already accepting other ministries and he took these ministries very seriously. When he became a Eucharistic minister, he got the courage to initiate telling me the truth.

Our gospel for today talks about the Jews who murmured  about Jesus when He said that He is the bread of life who came down from heaven. They said to one another, “How can he claim that he is the bread from heaven, when in fact we know him!”

But Jesus said to them, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets: they shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.” (John 6:44-45)

Bulls-eye! Jesus clearly emphasized that nobody can come to God in his own effort. It is always the Father who draws the sinner who in turn moves closer to Christ. In the aspect of salvation, it is always the initiative of God, not man.

Our Eucharistic minister believed with all his heart that it is the calling of the Father that he got baptized in the Catholic Church. He only responded with faith. Through the Holy Eucharist, his life was changed.

What can we reflect today about the Bread of Life who came down from heaven?

The Bread of Life is a Person. Jesus is God but He chose to become man so we may attain salvation. In our part-taking of the holy sacrament, our relationship with Him only gets deeper.  I remember my old parishioner who lost track of her son after he (son) went to Sabah,  Malaysia without proper documents. I salute this old woman. Despite her problem, he is still able to go to Mass, and she never gets late. Sometimes, she is even earlier than our convent boy in opening the parish Church. She in fact is our daily mass-goer. One time, I asked her: “Madam,what keeps you going?” She replied: “The body of Christ.”

The Bread of Life has a Power. “Whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6:50). It doesn’t mean that we shall enjoy our life to the fullest until the end of the world but it means that our life will be changed. The Bread of Life has the power to change our life! The sinner is like a person who is dead. if we listen to His words and partake of Him in the Eucharist, He will give us a new life, a renewed life. God’s Word is alive and it has the power to change you.

The Bread of Life has a Promise: Eternal Life. For St. John, eternal life doesn’t begin after we die. Eternal life begins in the here and now. If we live our life in faith, we already practice eternal life on earth. I knew of one person who lived his life in faith. His name is Tatang. When he was still young, he had only one wish to God – that he be given a peaceful death. It was his constant prayer whenever he received Christ during communion . On the last days of his life, he always mentioned “November 4, November 4.” Nobody understood it, not even his family. Believe it or not, when November 4 came, Tatang died peacefully.

Friends, don’t underestimate the small piece of host that you receive during Communion. That is Christ – the Bread of Life. Talk to him, offer your life to him in faith and He will bring tremendous change in your life. His saving power that you only heard in the lives of the saints will unfold before your own life.