FIRST
READING – 1 Kings 19:4-8
«
In this episode of the prophet Elijah’s life,
the prophet starts a pilgrimage towards the Mountain of God, as the people of
God did when they left Egypt, towards the Horeb, Mount Sinai.
«
The history of Israel is reenacted in the life of the prophet
o
Israel is persecuted by the Pharaoh of Egypt. Elijah flees from Queen Jezebel who has sworn
to kill him, because Elijah had slaughtered all the prophets of Baal.
o
Israel arrives at the shore of the Reed Sea, and
full of fear and desperation thinks that everything is lost, that the only
thing that is left for him is to die. During his pilgrimage in the desert
Israel loses heart many times, it loses its trust in Yahweh. Elijah being exhausted
after a day in the desert decides not to continue, and he is ready to die.
o
During the pilgrimage of the people through the
desert, Yahweh gives to Israel, his chosen people, “manna” to eat and water
from the rock to drink. Elijah open his
eyes and sees bread and water, and hears the voice of Yahweh who tells him to
eat and drink to have strength to
continue his journey.
«
In this episode of the life of Elijah we may
discover also the journey of every man and woman.
o
Israel and Elijah are tired, discouraged,
without hope, ready to die. In our life there are also moments like this.
o
Israel and Elijah flee from their persecutors,
in the life of all of us men and women there are also persecutions,
difficulties, which we want to flee from.
o
But as we will see in the Gospel, God
gives to us as he gave to them, the food and the drink that we need to continue
our journey,
« The
biblical text presents Elijah fleeing, but in reality he is not fleeing from
something, but Elijah is attracted by the seducing strength of Yahweh who
impels him to journey toward the mount of God, the Horeb to encounter there the
living and compassionate God. In our
life as well there are moments in which we flee from God, because we are scared
by the deep seducing attraction of his beauty and his loving kindness.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM: Psalm
34
ü The
answer we will repeat this coming Sunday is TASTE AND SEE THE GOODNESS OF THE
LORD.
ü Yes,
let us accept the invitation of the psalmist and thus discover in our life the
goodness of the Lord who surrounds us with tenderness and compassion, no matter
what our situation might be now or in the past.
ü The
Lord is good, let us enter into our heart and let us discover there this truth
which will make us free and happy.
ü If
He loves us, whom shall we fear?
GOSPEL John 6: 41-51
Ø The
Jews murmured about Jesus, because he has told them that He is the bread that
came down from heaven.
Ø The
people of Israel in his journey through the desert complaint many times against
Moses who had taken them from slavery.
Ø Jesus
invites his countrymen not to murmur, not to believe that they know who he is,
where he comes from, or that they know the things they give for granted.
Ø He
reminds them and reminds us also that no one goes to God unless God attracts
him or her first. As we have seen in the story of Elijah he continues his
journey seeking for God who has had the initiative to attract him irresistibly.
Ø God,
the Lord, also attracts us irresistibly, and we will discover his presence if
we are attentive to the inner movements of our heart, and if we dare to allow
him to seduce us,
Ø Jesus
tells us that only those that listen to the Father will go to him.
Ø He
reminds us also that nobody has seen the Father, but only He who has come from
the Father.
Ø He
who believes has already eternal life, because the one who believes loves God
unconditionally, and trusts in him, enters into a intimate and personal
relationship with the Lord who has loved us first.
Ø In
verses 48 to 51 John speaks of Jesus as
the Bread of Life. He is the Bread who gives life, not as the manna in the
desert, image and anticipation of the true bread, because those who ate the
manna died. He is also a different bread than the bread given to Elijah who
also died; but he who eats of this Bread which is Jesus will live forever.
Ø The
manna and the bread of Elijah are moments of light in the process of the
progressive revelation of God to men and women. Jesus, Bread of Life, is the
full revelation of God, who gave bread to the Israelites and to Elijah.
Ø This
bread is his flesh given on the cross for the life of the world. And the drink
he gives to us is not water either from the rock or from the jar, but it is his
very blood given and spilt for the life of the world.
SECOND READING . Ephesians 4:30-5,2
The letter to the
Ephesians:
Was written after the death of Paul by one of
his disciples, who used his name to move other people to write the letter,
which is full of the thoughts of Paul, but also with the thoughts of his disciple.
The Christian community of the second generation
faced different problems than those of the first generation when most of the Christian members of the community came
from the Jewish community. Now the majority of the faithful come from the pagan
world.
A new reflection over the universality of the
Christian faith is needed. They must acknowledge that there are no differences
among those who have been baptized: either
pagans nor Jews; free men and
women or slaves; women or men; all form one baptized people.
Some scholars say that the letter to the Ephesians
begins where the letter to the Colossians ends.
o
The letter to the Ephesians speaks of the
Church
o
The letter to the Colossians speaks of Jesus.
After the greeting the author
o
Pronounces a blessing over these brothers and
sisters who have reach this moment in
their lives when they will receive the sacrament of baptism
o
And afterwards he says a prayer asking God that
they may discover and enjoy the immeasurable riches of Christ.
o
The second Reading of this coming Sunday, is
taken from the last verses of chapter 4 and the beginning of chapter 5. The author invites the baptized sisters
and brothers
§
Not to sadden the Spirit of God
§
With behaviors that are not like those of
Christ.
§
On the contrary he invites them to forgive each
other in the same way in which Christ
has forgiven all of us.
§
He invites to imitate Christ and to become beloved children of God as He himself
is.
§
Let us follow the way of love and let us make of
our life an offering a sacrifice of fragrant aroma, let us make of our life a liturgy, a Eucharist.
§
What a wonderful image of our life as husbands
and wives, parents, children, students, workers, housewives, scientists, doctors,
nurses, farm workers, politicians, economists, priests, bishops, deacons, seminarians,
religious men and women, novices… a liturgy of thanksgiving, a Mass to our God
and Father.
CLARETIAN CORNER
Let the missionary
pray with Christ, praying; travel with Christ travelling; eat with
Christ eating;
drink, with Christ drinking;
sleep with Christ sleeping; suffer with Christ suffering;
preach with Christ preaching; rest with Christ tired and live with
Christ dying,
if he wants to enter into life with Christ reigning.
To the greater glory of God and well-being of my soul. María Antonia París, Foundress
of the Claretian Missionary Sisters, The
Apostolic Missionary 2,31.
I
tell myself: A Son of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a man on fire with love,
who spreads its flames wherever he goes. He desires mightily and strives by all
means possible to set the whole world on fire with God's love. Nothing daunts
him; he delights in privations, welcomes work, embraces sacrifices, smiles at
slander, and rejoices in suffering. His only concern is how he can best follow
Jesus Christ and imitate Him in working, suffering, and striving constantly and
single-mindedly for the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls. Saint Anthony Mary Claret,
Founder of the Claretian Missionary Sisters, Autobiography, 494.
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