Saturday, August 11, 2012

XIX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – CYCLE B – 2012


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.  


No comments:

Post a Comment