August 05, 2012
18th Sunday Ordinary Time
Carol and Liz (two members of our Garden Club) pointed out a particular plant as I walked into church – a Rose of Sharon. It has a new blossom. I would have missed it and walked right by. In our readings today important things that are being missed are pointed out. The people of Israel are wandering and grumbling in the desert. They are hungry and wish to return to Egypt even if it means assuming the yoke of slavery once again. God, through Moses, hears their prayer and points out available food: migrating quail that land exhausted at night and “manna†-- a honey like substance -- on the desert floor in the morning. They come to see God’s providence in the quail and manna. St. Paul points out to the Ephesians a disconnect between their faith and manner of living. There is no difference between their behavior and the behavior of Gentiles or pagans who have not embraced the Gospel of Christ. In coming to Christ, one must let go of the old self and former way of living. In the Gospel according to John, Jesus points out to the crowd that they seek him out because they are hungry not because they desire to know the deeper meaning of the “sign†e.g. feeding the multitude with 5 barely loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus is explaining that there is in all of us a deeper hunger for God. Men and women do not live on bread alone but on every Word coming from the mouth of God. Jesus is the Bread of Life nourishing us with Sacred Scripture and with his very life, in bread and wine, his Body and Blood at Eucharist. Once we become aware of this precious gift, we must ask: “What must we do to do the works of God.†We must believe in the One God has sent and live a life worthy of the calling and gift that we have received.
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17th Sunday Ordinary Time
