19th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Jesus reminds his followers that they can truly know him once they open their mind and hearts and allow God to draw them in. We, too, must open our minds and our hearts, sincerely praying to be ready to accept God’s unlimited offer of life.
- To the point: Sometimes, what we claim to know does not square up with reality. The Jews in the gospel think they know Jesus’ origins (“the son of Joseph”) and, therefore, what he is and is not capable of doing. He commands them to “stop murmuring” — to stop limiting what they know. Only by opening themselves to be “taught by God” can they come to see who Jesus really is (“the living bread … from heaven”). Only with this deeper knowledge can they receive the greatest gift he offers — himself, the “living bread” who brings us to “live forever.”
- Connecting the Gospel (John 6:41- 51) to the first reading: The miraculous provision of bread in the wilderness sustains Elijah’s physical life for the journey to Horeb, the mountain of God. Jesus offers to his disciples the food of his teaching as well as his own flesh for the journey to eternal life.
- Connecting the Gospel to our experience: When we love another, we open ourselves to the mystery of who that person is. In this gospel Jesus invites us to love him, to encounter the mystery of who he is: the “living bread” who brings us to “live forever.”
Centering prayers
The Gospel
(John 6:41-51)
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
They went on murmuring. Bread, they said?
Coming down from heaven?
Well, we know his mother and father.
They live down the street!
Jesus answered: Forget about knowing. It’s about believing.
Believe that I love you, that I give my life for you,
not just to get you across the desert,
but because I want you to be a part of me forever.
And I want you to take me with you
and let me transform the world through you.
Christ, we do our best to believe.
Be our food and drink! Be our everything!
The First Reading
(1 Kings 19:4-8)
Elijah looked and there at his head was a hearth cake and a jug of water.
O God, we know about Elijah. We know his cry:
“It is enough, O Lord! Take my life!”
But it is you, Lord, not a hearth cake,
that we need you for our food,
for courage to leave the broom trees
of our comfort zones.
Be our strength for the miles to come.
The Second Reading
(Ephesians 4:30-5:2)
Live in love, as Christ loved us.
Holy Spirit, help us repair our wrongs wherever we find them. …
In our ecosystems, and discrimination, and neglect of the poor.
As Christ loved us, let us love one another.
Let us “be kind to one another and compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven us in Christ.”
Copyright © 2024, Anne M. Osdieck
Music for reflection